One of the perks to buying and selling antiques is I constantly have new pieces coming in that I can play with in my house. The only pieces that are off limits to sell are family pieces. Everything else is fair game, even the table and dining chairs straight out of my dining room, so my house is now in a constant state of flux.
This is what my living room looks like today…
…and here is what it looked like only a year ago. The paint? Changed. Furniture arrangement? Changed. Settee? Gone. Both side chairs? Gone. Curtains? Gone. Mirror and coffee table? Yep, you guessed it, gone.
I would say this is what my dining room looks like now, but as I mentioned, I sold this dining room set this summer.
I changed the paint in this room as well, getting rid of my decorative flourishes and bringing in corner cabinets and a gate-leg table, while moving out the buffet. In fact, the only furniture in this room that is the same is the high chair in the corner. Everything else, including the rug and pictures, has been changed.
I’m currently working on my new dining room set, which will be for sale…for one million dollars. That way, I can tell my husband I’m willing to sell it, but no one will buy it!
My guest room originally belonged to my boys until the great furniture shuffle a few years ago. The guestroom/craft room became the boys room, the boys room became the guest room, and the nursery became my office.
Can you believe this is the exact wall?
And we moved our bed from the obvious wall in the Master Bedroom to a wall that had a doorway right in the middle of it.
A fabric half canopy covered the door and made the entire furniture arrangement work much better.
So, the upside is I get first pick of all of my finds. The down side is that I don’t feel like much in my house is permanent. I know that the day may come when I need to part with a piece and there will be a new hole. In some cases, I don’t bother hanging pictures, because I know the piece (or the picture) might sell or I might move it around. There are days that I just want things to feel totally done and I know it won’t happen anytime soon and perhaps never.
How would you feel if furniture was always coming and going? Would you love the constant change or grow weary of it?
30 Responses
I think I would be ok with the musical furniture as I grew up with a Mom that rearranged the livingroom and at least one of the four bedrooms of our home at least twice amonth. After awhile.. you learn to go with the flow. :o)
I voted! I voted! I think I'm starting to know what you mean about musical furniture. I only started my blog less than a month ago, but already every room in my house is half done and half full of junk, unless it's about to be photographed, in which case, it's temporarily perfect, until I move to the next room.
I feel like I play musical accessories and sometimes furniture – not sure how I'd feel about furniture that may be sold! You're braver than I
Just voted for your bathroom redo!
Kathy
Just Voted! Love the curtain behind your bed.
April @ HomeHinges.com
I'm not sure how you can part with all of the gorgeous furniture that you put your blood, sweat, and tears into. I admire that and think we can all learn from you that we should "hold on loosely" to our possessions.
Wow! I am not sure how I would feel. I got a little taste of this when I had to store some furniture after my MIL died, for my youngest son. I finally have gotten rid of some of that and now my oldest son may be moving some of his things here! In the meantime we are hoping to downsize to a condo (and then no one can store stuff at our house! ha!)
I thrive on change, but the idea that practically everything was subject would bother me, I think. I always enjoy seeing your wholesale changes, however; and marvel at the work involved that you do. Sally
i have a hard enough time just finishing the to do list of projects that i have! i don't know if i could handle musical furniture as well. i guess i like to get it done and move on.
i realized that your canopy toile fabric is one that we used for my niece's bridesmaids clutches for her wedding…it's SO pretty. love how you mixed up the patterns and textures.
I don't know how you part with some of your pieces. You do fabulous work.
I do like to update and change, but all the hard work is for me or friends and family. I have no interest in selling my work, it takes the fun out of it for me.
I would go crazy if I had to sell or give away my furniture or decor. I really love what I have today, but I confess I have given away almost everything I bought 15 years ago. I do change decor around all the time, move pictures, move vases, change wall colors, my taste changes!
But I am not giving them away anymore. Too costly!
I do the same thing! My friends always joke that my home never looks the same for two visits!
Oh my gosh… I drafted a post on nearly this very topic last night about not wishing to leave 'holes'. I'm starting to sell too and I'm in a TITHER on what to let go. This is very difficult! I've really bonded to some pieces but my full house is stopping me from creating. Yikes… it may be time to grow up and grow holes right along with ya. 🙂
Donna
That's why I am hoping you win the bathroom makeover, bathroom cabinets and fixtures are pretty permanent. I don't think people will visit the loo and ask if they can buy your faucet, at least hopefully not. I thrive on change and it is your business, I think I would just get tired of the heavy lifting involved. BTW I noticed your toile pillow is done, looks cute.
lisa
You amaze me!! I find it hard finding time to just vacuum under my furniture and your constantly making, selling and moving furniture.
First, I have to say each of those rooms has just gotten better! And while I sometimes get tired of things and like to switch things up, part of me really just wants it to all be done already. Of course I just got rid of all the furniture in my family room and currently have a rug. . .and nothing else.
I'd hate it because we move so often- we need the stability of being able to set up house and feel like we're home with in a few weeks because the clock is ticking until the military moves us again!
Your home is beautiful – this was a great post.
I especially love the pillows in the last photo
Jenny
It sounds like it would be fun, but then I don't have to do it. I'm very much of a leave things where they are person.
I can see it could be unsettling- but also rewarding as you can see that what you create is so great that people just want to buy, buy, buy !Just make sure you don't end up sitting on orange crates – but then I am sure you could make that pretty !!!!
Why don't you just make some more of your pieces off limits? To start, your bedroom and the boys' room are safe, because any changes would be disruptive. Your office is the same. Your kitchen the same. Use your guest room, dining room, and living room as a showroom for staging and photographs. You don't use your dining room much now, do you? When you find what you really, really like and want to keep forever, fix it up, THEN let the old piece go. Don't sell things first if it makes you feel bad. I know the dining room was an exception, but that type of furniture is very common. Maybe not in your area, but in the Northeast in general. You need a good picker to line up several of these sets because I think you can sell them as fast as you fix them up.
I think you are just having a little growing pains angst. It is good to get it out. Reframe your situation. You are buying more, therefore finding more things that you will love. More opportunities to find the pieces you will keep forever and more chances to trade up. You also see that many items show up time and time again. Ann
We moved so much in the first 25 years of our marriage due to military postings. Sometimes we could take our own thing and sometimes we had to make do with rented and furnished quarters. I'd pick things up and let them go with the moves. I regret some of the things I let go now that we are settled, but I had fun with all the changes.
I don't think I would like the changes all the time, but your business is really coming into its own and I guess that it is important to be flexible. I had a friend who always bought cheap linens because she tired of them easily and she didn't have to live with them too long. (We have had the same sheets forevveeeer!) I have bought some things to redo and my husband says I won't want to let go when I am done.
Marian,
I love change but don't think I could part with as much of the incredible furniture as you have. Plus, I like a feeling of completion at least occasionally. You are wise to sell what people want to buy and I'm sure you can find even better pieces to replace the sold items. That said, I really loved your dining room before you sold the set.
Karen @ Garden, Home and Party
Growing up, my Mom had a resale shop. When my brother would come home from college, he would joke that he was in the wrong house since all of our furniture changed, constantly! Now, we all swap furniture from sister to sister, frequently! Even today, at my age of 45 and my Mothers age of 72, we are discussing opening up a resale shop again so we can get from fresh furniture in our homes!
I'm okay with change to a degree but there is no way my husband could handle the constant change. My home as been in a completely unfinished state and there has been no "permanence" for months. It has given me grave anxiety. On the upside, you are getting fresh decor all the time and as long as you don't sell something you truly love, it's fine. I know you're a little worker bee and love giving your things a place in someone else's home but you deserve a finished, beautiful, relatively permanent space…it's where all your magic happens after all. Put some pictures on those walls girlie, and leave em'! I think we should each gift you one picture and then you'll feel too guilty to sell them and so they'll stay…maybe not, knowing you! lol
Note: Your space is already beautiful though! Just want to make that clear.
Half of the stuff in our house has a price tag on it. My husband has gotten used to it, and both of us aren't really attached to very many things. If I need a table in my antique mall space, so be it. Another table for our house will come along soon.
Musical furniture is fun!
I'm crazy that way, too. The thrill is in the hunt for me, so I think we're on the same page.
Happy Sunday!
Anne
I think I can understand that it can feel unfinished sometimes. Both a blessing and a curse. I do *love* that chair in the foreground of your living room photo. So gorgeous!
I like all the changes you've made, it's more light and bright and less stuffy and older looking. I just read that you were going to change the ottoman but I was about to say how much I loved that cute little ruffly ottoman. It takes me a long time to get to projects so if I really loved something, I'd have a hard time letting go of it. I guess if I got it knowing it would be for sale all along though, that would help. Oh, and I really like your version of the glitter/music Christmas stuff more than the PB one, I wouldn't worry about that!