everyone is talking about the Great Wealth Transfer but what’s already underway is the Great Heirloom Transfer
hop on marketplace to see what I mean…
KEYWORDS for finding beauty:
Lacquered/ lacquer/ lacquerware- refers usually to Chinese/Japanese designs in furniture or wood items with a shiny coating and intricate details
Pics in thread all from local marketplace listings, I bookmark these searches!
Even if you don’t buy, it trains your eye
Quilt/ antique quilt/ handmade quilt
Bonus points here if you learn some of the common quilt and quilt block patterns- Dresden plate and wedding ring quilts are especially beautiful
Brass
Sometimes keywords are simple! I recommend choosing a few materials (metals or woods) that you like and saving those… easy to create a cohesive look even with different eras of decor if they share a material
I especially love the brass fireplace andiron
Waterfall/ waterfall furniture
This refers to a style of furniture where the wood grain makes a waterfall-like triangular pattern
It was a popular technique in the 30s so you will find a lot of gorgeous Deco furniture with this keyword, but it’s not limited to that era
Victorian Parlor
You can get pretty far with just the keyword “Victorian” but the parlor sets are particularly marvelous.
Tip: don’t pay any mind to staging. These aren’t professional photographers, they are people selling furniture.
Owners of Victorian parlor sets are messy
Art nouveau
This is another excellent strategy- bookmark keywords for your favorite art styles. You never know what sort of trinkets you will find!
Art nouveau usually turns up interesting metalworking, like these cast iron bookends, floor lamp, and lovely jewelry boxes
Louis XIV/ XV/ XVI
Nobody really knows enough about Roman Numerals/ French history/ antique furniture to get these right consistently, so think of them as synonyms
Feeling regal? This is a very palatial keyword for finding furniture of many forms, ornate designs abound
Duncan Phyfe/ Phyfe
Duncan Phyfe is a furniture designer who created an eponymous furniture manufacturing company with his signature Neoclassical style
This keyword will turn up antique Phyfe furniture, mostly tables and chairs with elegant pedestal bases and harp motifs
Cane Rocking Chair
Little lesson here… (subtly I teach you how to Seek Beauty)
Special things have a sense of placeness.
I’m in TN. Caned furniture is popular here because the cane moves with the humidity, where solid wood warps and cracks.
Combine that with porch-sittin’
Bone China
Bone china is a strong, slightly translucent ceramic used for dinnerware
Two tips: 1) There are a number of reputable designers, search any of the following: Pfalzgraff, Noritake, Wedgwood, Minton
2) Focus on common elements, not a perfect match- eg blue and white
Hand embroidered / handmade embroidery
You’ll find a lot of napkins, table runners, and pillowcases, but also beautiful wall art with this keyword
Most of it is cross stitch (stitches in little x’s) but hand-embroidered turns up better results. Ignore wrinkles here.
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One of the reasons modern adults are so lonely is that every action is seen through the lens of the construction of the individual self.
Every act of combatting loneliness has to be filtered through this lens of construction. “If I go to a bar, I am the type of person who goes to bars, is that the type of person I want to be? What does it mean about me to go to a tiki bar vs an Irish Pub? I’m not sure there’s even a bar that would fit my Nancy Myers clean girl aesthetic. Plus, what kind of people would I even meet at this bar? The kinds of people who go to bars?”
It’s dizzyingly overwhelming, thus, everyone stays home and watches extremely personalized videos about what People Like Them are up to out there.
This is also partly explanatory of the dating/marriage decline. Cannot even begin to tell you how many times I suggest some generic, popular with young people activities to single friends and the pushback is all about the semiotics of the activity.
If you are so unique that you don’t need the banal pickleball courts to meet someone then surely you are already regularly going out to do your hobbies in person, are you not?
Ah… what is being avoided is not just socializing but the ego death of being normal.
You don’t have community because you aren’t a good community member. You don’t host events, you don’t know how to cook, you don’t know how to dance, you don’t know how to sing, and you aren’t doing anything to learn. You can’t tell stories or jokes.
You don’t have community because you stopped drinking for your health but you don’t invite your friends to the gym, either. You don’t have an open door policy and you don’t drop in for tea. You don’t play an instrument and you’d rather stream something than see a live band.
You don’t have community because community is what happens when we imperfect humans spend time together. It’s flawed and frustrating and certainly not maximally entertaining. People will disagree with you and disappoint you and spill things on your couch.