Readers' Favorite Pieces

We all have that piece in our home we love and can't imagine not seeing every day. Whether it was a huge bargain, an antique passed down from generation to generation, or simply because it's something that fits our exact style and color preference (whatever the reason) everyone has that one fabulous piece!

We asked our readers to share with us a piece in their home that means a lot to them...it was definitely fun for us to hear the history on these pieces and not to mention, get a peek into their homes! Thanks you guys!

Thought we'd begin our post with the largest sized piece- wow, what an amazing statement in an entry hall!

This is from Julia, a designer in Chicago...

"When we were dropping off our daughter for college in L.A. I ran across the most fascinating thing that I had ever seen. "Washington" is a zinc architectural fragment from a building façade in NYS. He formally resided on Washington Street, thus the name. He has 3 identical brothers- two ofwhich live at a winery in Napa Valley. He looks like he weighs a ton but he actually only weighs about 70 pounds. We had just purchased this home and since we now have 12 foot ceilings he is perfectly, gracing our entry hall. We even decorate him for the holidays!"

Julia Edelmann

Buckingham Interiors + Design

www.buckinghamid.com

"My favorite piece in my house is my custom painted fleur de lis that I have on my kitchen bar top. It is 32 inches tall and is a nice statement piece."

Leah, Savannah, Tx


Well I've already shared my $89 end table I scored at the Room Service Home outlet, but on it sits two objects that always strike up interesting conversation. You see most "normal" people (not the design obsessed) have NO clue what these reproduction Chinese Calligraphy brushes could be. They have been guessed as everything from makeup brushes (um, eww) to, "is that what you used to paint the canvas above your t.v.?" I purchased the larger one first because I fell in love with the handle, and my Mother-in-Law (former boss- she understands these things) surprised me with the smaller one during one visit. Oh, and my dog likes them too (that is why they reside on the fairly tall end table).

Lauren - Material Girls

"I've been working on redecorating my living room and I came across this mid century, white chair and ottoman (in immaculate condition) at a vintage/antique store in my East Nashville neighborhood. I like to think that it belonged to some little old lady who kept it in her pristine living room. Oh and it was $175.00 for both pieces! Definitely a great find for me!"

Lucy Shine, Nashville


http://lucyshineon.blogspot.com/

"The attached pic is one of my favorite pieces. It is a reproduction oval marquetry tray with brass handles. The inlaid pattern is a classic urn design. I paid about $50 for it on eBay. I've seen the real thing for hundreds of dollars, so I was happy."

TN MIMI, Tennessee

"My girlfriends threw my bachelorette party in Dallas and they asked me what I wanted to do during the day and I said "scrap the spa day and let me go to the Horchow outlet!!" I found the screen in the scratch and dent room (why? I don't know) marked from $1300 to $89. We had no room in the car after hauling all my purchases back to Houston. I got a lot of 'you're crazy' from my girlfriends and then once it went up in our new house, they tried to steal it."

Katherine, Houston


"Here's my favorite piece, an old pine hutch with a history. My husband inherited it as a white elephant from his parents because his 3 sisters didn't want it. Most likely because it was stained very dark- almost ebony, and had glass doors, a real clunker. 15 years ago, I stripped, bleached, and painted it, leaving several areas natural. It inspired all the finishes in our new kitchen. Now, a homeowner has chosen it as an inspiration piece for his kitchen makeover on HGTV's Rate My Space (aired last week) and so that's added even more to its history! If you're curious and would like to see the "before" photo, it's on my blog at http://www.ratemyfavoritespaces.com/2008/07/how-i-remodeled-old-pine-hutch.html

Mary Kay, Florida


"My secretary is my favorite piece because it was my mother's. It's not so much that it's such a valuable antique but more that it was in my house growing up and it was given to my mother by her mother. It's a 1940's piece and I love the tiger eye maple and secret compartments it has inside!"
Kathryn, Dallas

"My favorite piece is my coffee table, the most used & favored piece of furniture in my house. It is a Baker swivel-top coffee table from the 1940s or 50s, I'm guessing.
The 4 main reasons I love it:
a) It cost $75 on eBay
b) The entire top swivels like a big lazy-susan which is SO convienient
c) It has brass goddess faces on the legs, these sort of caryatid faces
d) It is very useful as well as cool-looking
My 4 year-old eats his breakfast on it every morning (his little Batman chair fits under it perfectly), he plays with his action figures on it, we play cards on it, we rest our feet on it...just LOVE this table. One day I will have it refinished but for now I clean it with Orange Glo
once a week & it looks pretty good for all the use & abuse it gets."

Lisa K.Netcong, NJ

"I got it at an estate sale and it was marked $500 and i got it for about $75!"

Lindsey, Dallas

Aside from my glass artichoke, I have another favorite piece in my home...it's this crystal chandelier...my mom was about to throw it out- it was an old brass and crystal chandelier...I knew all it needed was a little spray paint! So I doctored it up with some cream paint, cleaned all the crystals (because it had been sitting in a garage for quite some time) and tah dah- it looked like a completely new lighting fixture! I love this chandelier because in a few years after I get sick of it (and knowing that it was free), I can refinish it and give it a whole new look!

Emily, Material Girls

"My favorite piece is a solid marble mortar with 2 wooden pestles. It is so heavy that when I want to move it both my husband and son have to carry it. It was first used by my grandmother in the early 1900's. She used it to grind meat. Can you imagine what they went through just for hamburgers? LOL. It now sits on my dining room buffet and is often the topic of dinner conversation! It measures 12 inches high and 18 inches across. I simply love it! It's very sculptural."


Dianne, North Carolina