Miscellaneous items,

I am really big on steamer trunks and blanket chests. I restored the inside of the steamer trunks so I could put out-of-season clothing inside. The exteriors of the trunks and blanket chests were cleaned, but otherwise left alone. Luckily some of the trunks came with the original inserts. I am still perfecting re-lining the trunks.

This is the first steamer trunk I restored.It's a medium-sized circa 1890 dome-top trunk. All of the ornate trim is present and in good condition. Someone repainted the flat metal areas at some point, which is not uncommon, as these trunks took a lot of abuse in their day.

I did not restore the outside of this trunk because I wanted to keep the original wear. I love the worn areas the most because it shows the age of the piece and its everyday use.

Here is the inside of the trunk after restoration. I re-lined the interior with masonite board covered in jersey fabric. I wanted to use velvet, but it was too expensive. Sorry, I do not have any before pictures because I was so excited that I forgot to take some...silly me. I did not fix the latch on this one since it was my first project.

Here is the another beautiful trunk. This one is a little later - about circa 1900. Again, someone re-painted the flat metal and decorative tin areas.

I also restored the inside of this trunk. I did not take any inside pictures because it looks like the first trunk's inside from above.


I wanted to show our "traditional styled" Christmas tree. The artificial tree is fitting because it was a hand-me-down and it is over twenty two years old. It is starting to become the Charlie Brown tree because every time we move or lift it a lot of the needles fall off...lol. We collected a lot of ornaments from the era of 1910-1960. The pig ornaments were made in the former Soviet Union in the 1970s or early 1980s. The tree topper was a last minute find after Christmas. I just love this stuff!

This trunk will be restored at a later date because the inside needs to be fully restored. It's the largest of the steamer trunks we have and we were able to date it to 1887 or 1888 based on the manufacturer's address on a label inside the lid. This trunk was made in Baltimore on Howard Street. The exterior was refinished at some point. I will post the inside of this trunk on a later date because I have tons of stuff inside of it right now. :)

Isn't she a beauty! I can't wait to start restoring this piece but I have five thousand other things to do first. :(

Here is an early Queen Anne style blanket chest that my husband found from one of our favorite spots. This thing is huge! The sides, base, and lid are each made from a single old-growth pine board. It's an American piece and we believe it was made in colonial Virginia around 1740. Look at those hand-made hinges, lock, and rosehead nails! Each one was hand-made by a colonial blacksmith.

Not a great picture but it is just to show the size of the blanket chest compared to our little one. She was scared of it at first but as time went by she just toss her toys up against it like everything else in the house.

Our little one again. She really hates to have her picture taken but she will just sit there for me once in a while (saying get this over with).

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