The Soul Of A Space

I recently read an interview with Heather Clawson. Clawson is an interior designer in New York and the author of the popular blog"Habitually Chic". In this interview, when describing her love of old furniture and flee-market finds for her home, she said "Old pieces give soul to a space". That quote caught my attention. It made me think about my own home and what gives soul to my space. My grandmother bought the dining room set shown in the picture many years ago; my mother thinks it was bought in 1949. I remember this set sitting in Grandma's living room throughout my youth. After she passed away, my mother inherited it. It sat in Mom's garage for a number of years because she had no room for it in her house. When Mom and Dad built a new house, the table, buffet and hutch sat in her dining room for twenty years. Mom later moved to an apartment, and I was the lucky one to inherit Grandma's dining set. It now sits in my dining room. As I pondered Ms. Clawson's statement about old pieces giving soul to a space, I realized that these three pieces of furniture do, in fact, give soul to my space. They span three generations of women who shared a love of these beautiful pieces. When I polish the wood, I realize I am touching the furniture that my mother and before her, my grandmother, lovingly touched. I feel very connected to both of them. This connection is truly the soul in my space. When it is my turn to pass on the furniture to a fourth generation, I hope it will create the soul of the new home it sits in. Knowing that the items passed on from one generation to the next create the soul of the home . . . it's a good thing!