#DesignLife Heirlooms: Keeping It in the Family
Family heirlooms are complicated.
They're part of your history, they tell the story of your family, a map of who you are and where you came from. But they're also sometimes sitting in a garage in bubble wrap, making you feel vaguely guilty every time you push them aside to get to the extra paper towels.
So how do you actually incorporate heirlooms into your modern life without your house looking like your grandmother's attic exploded?
First things first: get them out of storage. I know, revolutionary. But seriously, remove them from their boxes and bubble wrap and put them somewhere you can actually see them. If they're packed away, they're not honoring anyone's memory. They're just taking up space.
Then, and this is the hard part, make an honest appraisal. Not a financial appraisal (unless you're planning to sell), but an emotional appraisal.
Does it make you happy? Do your memories of the item, or the person who gave it to you, make you smile?
If the answer to either of those questions is no, then maybe it's time to let that heirloom go. Maybe it would make another family member happy, or maybe it's just time to keep the love and say goodbye to the object itself.
I promise you, no one is keeping score from the great beyond.
Welcoming the Past to the Present
Once you've decided something brings you joy, actual joy, not obligation disguised as joy, then it's time to figure out how to live with it, not just display it like a museum piece.*
I believe it's important to honor heirlooms without being held hostage to the past. With larger pieces of furniture, unless it's a precious antique that would make an appraiser weep, don't be afraid to update it to fit your actual life and style.
For example, one of my clients had a family piano languishing in a storage facility. They were genuinely excited to have it, it meant something to them, but the piano was not in great shape structurally, and the finish was a glossy brown that just didn't work in their home. We talked about it. They loved the piano, not necessarily the color of the piano. So we went for it.
With the help of some incredibly talented piano finishers (yes, that's a thing, and yes, they're artists), we transformed it from this:
To this:
Changing the color gave this family heirloom a second life. In its original state, it would have stayed in storage. Now, it's an integral part of their home, something they use for holiday sing-a-longs and a reminder of their family heritage.
Heirlooms, But Make them Art
Framing is tried and true, it’s been the go-to method for preserving art for centuries. And yes, it's perfect for old family photos, vintage maps, drawings, or any artwork you've inherited. Don’t stop there, this idea also works beautifully for things that aren't traditionally framed.
Take lacework, for example. For years, it was everywhere in households. Today it feels, well, a bit old-fashioned for most modern homes. We don't really use doilies anymore. We're not putting lace runners on our coffee tables. But that doesn't mean those pieces can't have a place in your life. Framing a piece of lacework gives it a whole second life as art.
Other things can be framed too. I had a client whose mother loved to sew and had kept a beautiful box of notions and buttons from Japan. She'd planned to incorporate them into her designs someday, but that day never came, and after she passed, the box ended up in the back of a closet. We took a few of those buttons and had a skilled framer sew them onto linen backing, used lifted glass so they have dimension and finished it with a traditional gold frame.
It’s a piece of art with a story. It went from forgotten in a closet to something you stop and look at.
Think about what you have tucked away. A set of wooden spoons from someone who loved to cook? Your grandfather's gardening shears? If it brings you a happy memory, it can be art.
Protecting the Delicate Stuff
Sometimes you have something smaller or more fragile that needs a bit of protection. We've had custom plexiglass boxes made for all kinds of memorabilia, everything from signed baseballs to vintage scarves to flags.
Another option I love? A cloche. You know, those fancy looking glass domes. They come in all sizes and they create a beautiful focal point while keeping things safe.
You can use them to protect and display antique toys, a vintage teacup and saucer, collected sheet music, your grandmother's expired passport, anything that fits under the glass and means something to you.
Priceless #EverydayBeautiful
Family keepsakes come in every imaginable shape and size. The item that evokes memories for you is more than the sum of its monetary value. Real value is in the way they make you feel.
And when you care for these pieces, when you make them part of your actual daily life instead of boxing them up, you’re keeping those memories alive. Not just for yourself, but for the next generation too.
That's everyday beautiful.
*A quick note on care: Be thoughtful with antique and vintage pieces. Protect them from heat, humidity, direct sunlight, and pollution so they can actually be passed down through the generations. And for anything really special or valuable, ask an expert before you DIY it. Cleaning materials that work fine on your newer pieces can sometimes damage older ones. Better safe than sorry.