If you are ever wanting to find some treasures, look no further than your own furniture. It should be no surprise that we lose things inside our furniture. We put things in our pockets and they slide out. Long ago before cell phones held all my contact information, I had a tiny address book that went missing. It held all my family addresses and phone numbers. While stripping that chair—long before I really knew what I was doing—I found it wedged inside the chair.

Since doing this professionally, coins, notes, jewelry, food crumbs, and Kodak film canisters have fallen out of the folds of these antique chairs. Once I found a receipt for clothing from the 1960s—boy things were a lot cheaper back then! And I’m always looking at the date on pennies. But perhaps the sweetest thing I’ve found is this little wooden heart.

Most things go in the trash, but this heart has remained on my desk. Some child wrote this for their mommy and it was lost in the folds of the chair. I can’t bear to throw this away. It came out of this chair.

These items often make me wonder about the people who owned the chairs. Why did they buy the chair, and what did they do in life? What did their rooms look like, and who did they entertain? You’ve heard the saying, “If these walls could talk…”  Well…if these chairs could talk, I bet they would have some amazing stories to tell!

Here’s a few that I’ve wondered about. This set of chairs came over from France and last year while exhibiting at Round Top I purchased them. The tag said Provence, France, 1860s.

Here they are after being redone. I could not bring myself to paint over the amazing patina that had probably been there for ages, so I just cleaned them up instead. What families sat in these chairs as they enjoyed glasses of wine and exquisite French cuisine? (Speaking of, I’ll be there in another two weeks!)

There was something about this sweet little pair of chairs that I purchased in South Austin. I couldn’t take off that amazing needlepoint, so I just sold them as is to a client in San Francisco. These are obviously old, so what stories could they tell? What did they witness in the homes that they adored?

My old settee that I refurbished 4 years ago certainly has some stories that date back to the late 1800s. The faded and scratched gold leaf and plaster finish has surely seen some things. 

Someday, when I have time, I’m going to update my listings to look more like a J.Peterman catalog with stories that go along with each chair or set of chairs. (Seinfeld fans, you know what I’m talking about.) One will begin with, “It was chilly evening as Margaret sat down to read the letter. But this wasn’t just any letter, it was from her lover. The chair felt so comfy with its springs and soft chenille fabric. She knew she looked good sitting in that chair, it was among her favorites…”  If only chairs could talk, it would be better entertainment than any old reality television show today, I’m sure of it!