Inspire Appreciation for Antiques

Look around your house right now. Can you spot any antique items? If you can, then this post is for you. If you don't own any antiques, then this post also is for you.

When I was younger, I didn't appreciate antiques. Sure, I thought the items that belonged to my grandparents were cool, but I didn't appreciate displaying them around the house. I didn't understand why my mom enjoyed going shopping at a local antique mall. The furniture and collectibles were too "old" and "boring" for me.

If I could talk to that little girl right now, I would definitely say, "Oh, honey, you're so wrong."

That little girl would be so surprised that I now collect antiques. I'm eager to go shopping and hunting for antique items. While the items may be considered "old," they are new to me. I love learning the history behind the items--where they came from, who owned them before me and learning their purpose.

Antiques have become popular decor items for homes. If you have watched just one episode of Fixer Upper, you will know that Joanna Gaines loves decorating homes with antique, rustic items. By proudly presenting and polishing these "old" collectibles, we are giving them a new purpose.

And I think our ancestors would be happy to know that their beloved items are now appreciated and displayed in our homes.

Below is a collection of the antiques I proudly display in my house. These items are very special to me and I'm so glad we have them to carry us through the next generations.

Kitchen Antiques 

Antique kitchen items (photo/Kasy Long).

My grandmother was a phenomenal cook. I hear multiple stories about her delicious food. Because of this, you can imagine that these kitchen antiques are very valuable to our family. In fact, we still use these items for special occasions.

• Breadboard: My grandmother's breadboard is what she used to bake bread, or if she needed to roll out dough for her famous pie crusts. I now use the breadboard when I bake my own bread or dinner rolls. 
• Rolling Pin: Along with a breadboard, we also own my grandmother's rolling pin that she used to roll out dough. I imagine this is an antique kitchen item we will never sell. 
• Recipe Cards: Before Pinterest was invented, bakers used to write out recipes on recipe cards that they would keep in their kitchen. I love these cards because the recipes are written in my grandmother's handwriting. The recipe card featured in my photo is for my grandmother's famous pie crust. Even though I have the recipe, my baking will never be as good as hers. 
• Pie Tray: You can't own a breadboard, rolling pin and a pie recipe without owning the pie tray my grandmother would use to bake her pie crusts. It completes the set!
• Measuring Spoons: While I have my own set of measuring spoons, my grandmother's measuring spoons are an additional set to proudly display in my kitchen. 
• Meat Tenderizer: Whenever my grandmother would cook steak, she would tenderize the meat with this antique meat tenderizer. 
• Iron Skillet: This iron skillet is one of my mother's most valuable items she has from her mother. My grandmother cooked the best fried chicken with this iron skillet. My mother has so many wonderful childhood memories of watching my grandmother cook fried chicken with this skillet. 
• Cabbage Shredder: When my mother first showed me the cabbage shredder, I had no idea what it was or how you used it. That's the wonderful thing about antiques; you learn more about history with each item. My grandmother would easily shred/chop cabbage (or lettuce) with a cabbage shredder. That must have been a handy invention back in the day! 
• Butter Mold: Once again, I had no idea what a butter mold was until my mother showed it to me. At first glance, I thought it was a butter churner, but it's actually a butter mold. You could mold butter into different shapes, which I never knew about until recently. The more you know...
• Toaster: An antique toaster is a classic item to feature in your kitchen if you love to collect antiques. While toasters are still used today, there's something special about these tin toasters. 
• Coffee Pot: An antique coffee pot is another classic item to include in your vintage kitchen. Who can resist this tin pot? 

Antique Toys 

Antique toys (photo/Kasy Long).

If you're anything like me, you will find it fascinating studying the toys children used to play with "back in the day." Kids didn't need electronics to entertain themselves. No, they invented games themselves! They played with whatever they could find. And you know what? They had the best childhoods ever. Would you play with these toys? I would! 

My grandfather's toy dancing man (photo/Kasy Long).

• Bingo: Do you remember playing Bingo? It was an easy game, but also highly competitive. 
• Jacks: Kids loved playing with jacks during recess. How many jacks could you pick up with one hand? 
• Marbles: This was the game to play during recess! Kids absolutely loved this game. While it was easy to learn, it was a game that required a lot of patience and skill. 
• Jack Straws: Also referred to as "pick up sticks," Jack Straws was another popular game played at recess. Today's kids might not think playing with sticks is fun, but it was a great pastime back in the day. 
• Dominos: Imagine spending hours and hours playing with dominos. Wouldn't that be a fun way to spend an afternoon?
• Toy Horse and Carriage: Little kids need to have toy animals to play with, and this toy horse and carriage is definitely a classic antique toy. 
• Little Toy Gun: This is a harmless toy gun. It was a toy! It didn't have bullets. It was simply used to play "cops and robbers." You know, a classic game little kids loved to play back in the day. 
• Dancing Man: This is a very special toy that belonged to my grandfather. It's mechanical; the man's arms and legs would physically move as though he was dancing. Unfortunately, he can't dance anymore, but it's still a beloved antique in our house. I love basically anything that belonged to my grandparents. 

Tea Time Antiques 

It's tea time! I love looking at antique jewelry and valuable collectibles that women would have worn to tea parties. I love vintage style; therefore, I find myself marveling over these items. 

Antique tea time items (photo/Kasy Long).

• Tea Cups: It couldn't be tea time without antique tea cups. These tea cups are so precious that I'm almost afraid to hold them in fear that I will drop them. 
• Jewelry and Scarves: Pearl necklaces, brooches, and scarves were definitely "in style" back in the day. I love the simplicity of pearl necklaces. I especially love the ruby brooch I own that belonged to my great-grandmother. These fashionable items are timeless pieces of wardrobe that I believe will never go out of style. 
• Buttons: My mother owns a jar of old buttons that belonged to her mother. The jar is full of buttons for sewing projects, but we would much rather display the jar in our house as a decorative item. 
• Hat Pin: Hats were the thing to wear back in the day. You couldn't leave your house without wearing a hat. There were individual shops for just hats. Unfortunately, hats aren't very popular anymore, but I like that I own these antique hat pins. 
• Key: Where does this key go? No one will know, but it's a nice decorative item to have around the house. Crafters have designed all sorts of ways to make home decor items out of old keys--giving these antiques a new purpose in the 21st century. 
• Tie Clip: Men would attach a tie clip to their ties to complete their look, just like women couldn't leave the house without making sure their faces were powdered just right and they were wearing the perfect hat and shoes. 
• Pocket Watch and Handkerchiefs: I will always love my grandfather's pocket watch and handkerchief. Do you notice the "A" sewn onto his handkerchief? A for Archie, my grandfather's name! 
• Vintage Photographs: Perhaps the most precious and beloved item in this collection, I love looking at vintage photos of my grandparents when they were younger. Even though they are no longer here with us, we will always have these photographs. 

Cleaning Antiques

Antique cleaning supplies (photo/Kasy Long).

It's time to wash up and get clean! Our ancestors would say we have it so easy now with modern technology. They could never imagine owning a dishwasher, a washing machine, or a dryer. They would roll their eyes at us complaining sometimes about how difficult it is to clean the house. Try stepping into their shoes! These antique items provide an insight into the "appliances" used to clean the house. 

• Washboard: Can you even imagine using a washboard to wash your clothes? I certainly can't! Women would have to scrub clothes clean themselves with an antique washboard.
• Antique Clothespins: Dryers weren't even a thought back then. Instead, women dried their clothes outside on a clothesline, hanging the clothes up with these antique clothespins. Can you imagine doing that every day? 
• Doilies and Crochet Hooks: Doilies were decorative items to place on tables. You could easily make doilies with these antique crochet hooks. 
• Antique Razor and Shaving Mug: This antique shaving mug and razor actually belonged to my great-grandfather. Considering my grandfather was born in 1913, well, these antique items are very old. Try shaving without an electric razor. It's harder than you think! 

Antique lunchboxes (photo/Kasy Long).

Lunchtime Antiques 

It's time for lunch! I have a collection of antique lunchboxes. The one on the far left in the photo belonged to my grandfather when he was a coal miner. He brought that lunchbox to work every day. It even has his name carved on the top of the tin lid. 

These lunchboxes are unique because they were items frequently used. Whether they were taken to school, work, or to other special occasions, they were important items to my ancestors. 

Antique Technology 

I absolutely love antique technology! I find it fascinating to observe how much technology has evolved over the decades. These are timeless treasures that will always be valuable antiques. 

Antique telephones (photo/Kasy Long).

• Telephones: Ah, crank telephones! Can you imagine talking to your friend with a crank telephone? You couldn't "dial" a number; you cranked the handle a certain number of times to call the right house. Eventually, telephones were made with numbers, but you still had to crank to the individual numbers. I think our ancestors would be amazed that today's phones ("smartphones") only
  require the touch of your hand. And don't even get me started on how amazed they would be about texting. "You can send letters to your friends on a telephone? Say, what???" 
• Camera: I like looking at old cameras, whether it's a photography camera or a recording camera. They seem complicated to operate, but they were the first glance toward the future back in the day. Once again, our ancestors would be amazed that you can now record videos and take pictures on our cell phones. 

  

  An antique radio (photo/Kasy Long).

• Radio: This is my favorite antique technological device in my collection--because it belonged to my grandfather's family. My grandfather was born in 1913 and lived to be 102 years old. On his 100th birthday, we asked him what the best technological invention was in his lifetime. He easily acknowledged the radio. In his words, for the first time, you could listen and learn what was going on in the world around you at a much faster rate than newspapers. It was an amazing invention--probably mindblowing for families across the world. For the first time, they could listen to news reports, especially important during the wars. I was surprised to learn that the radio was my grandfather's favorite invention, but it makes perfect sense. I think he would be sad that the radio industry has somewhat died now. But if he was alive today, I'm sure he would still say the radio was the best invention--and always will be. 

Antique Furniture 

Let's shift toward furniture--items people placed around their house for decorative purposes. These items were used for comfort, for practicality reasons, and more. I love antique furniture because these items provide an insight into how old homes looked back in the day. I can imagine these precious pieces inside my great-grandparents' homes, and I'm happy they are now in my home. 

• Writing Desk and Chair: Isn't this a precious little writing desk and chair? This could have easily been inside an old one-room schoolhouse, but it belonged to my grandfather's family. I can imagine my ancestors sitting at this desk, writing letters to loved ones or reading a good book. As a writer and reader, I will always value these items. 

  

  An antique writing desk and chair (photo/Kasy Long).

• Antique Lamp: An antique oil lamp is a priceless piece of furniture. Originally belonging to my great-great-grandmother, this lamp has moved its way through generation after generation. I imagine it will continue to stay with our family for even more generations. That's the beautiful thing about antiques; they never seem to leave the family tree. 

  

  An antique oil lamp (photo/Kasy Long).

• Wooden Chair: Okay, so this little wooden chair has a story to go along with it. My grandfather actually made this chair by himself when he was about 10 years old. That's a pretty cool fact of itself, but that's not all. He was working on this chair when he saw my grandmother for the first time. She was walking down the country road in their small town in Indiana, perhaps carrying a lunchbox in her hand after returning from a picnic. He took one look at her and his heart was hers. This story restores faith in "love at first sight." 

  

  My grandfather's wooden chair
  (photo/Kasy Long).

• Kids' Ironing Board: This tiny wooden ironing board is actually for young children to use, and it originally belonged to my grandmother. It was used more as a toy for children to "pretend" they were ironing clothes. Like I said before, kids found many ways to keep themselves entertained back in the day. 

  

  My grandmother's antique toy ironing board (photo/Kasy Long).

• Ukulele: Antique musical instruments can be used as furniture items. After all, you can place them on top of other furniture items to add more rustic charm to your room. This ukulele is special to me because it was a gift to me from my grandfather when I turned seven years old. Here's what's extra special: The ukulele was a gift to my grandfather from his father (my great-grandfather) when he turned seven years old. As his youngest grandchild, my grandfather decided to pass it down to me when I turned seven. I imagine I will do the same thing one day with my own children and grandchildren. 

  

  My grandfather's ukulele (photo/Kasy Long).

• Baby Stroller: Have you ever seen an antique baby stroller? Now you have! I can just imagine my grandfather sitting in this baby stroller in 1913, as well as my other ancestors. This wooden baby stroller (or high chair) has so much decorative, intricate detail carved into the wood. It's been kept in near-perfect condition, which is very important when you collect antiques. You need to take care of your antiques in order for them to survive through the generations with you. 

  

  An antique high chair (photo/Kasy Long).

• Antique Trunk: My grandfather bought this decorative wooden trunk from one of his neighbors in the 1960s. It's an old trunk, most likely dating back all the way to the 1800s. I recently learned that curved trunks (like this one) represent wealth. So, whoever originally owned this trunk belonged to a wealthy family. It's little facts like these about antiques that make the items even more interesting. If you decide to decorate your house with an antique trunk, pair it with a quilt for a finishing touch. 

  

  An antique trunk (photo/Kasy Long).

Antique Writing Supplies 

I can't ignore the antique writing supplies I own. Who do you think I am? I love collecting writing supplies that may have been passed down from multiple generations. I love studying how the writers before me crafted their material, as well as comparing those items to how writers work today. If you're a writer, you need to be nostalgic and crave for these antiques. 

Antique writing supplies and tools (photo/Kasy Long).

• Typewriter: Every writer should own at least one typewriter. I actually own three typewriters, but my 1940's Remington typewriter is my favorite. There's just something so special about typewriters. Not only is the "typewriter" font a desirable font for many writers today, but we love the nostalgia behind typewriters. These are the devices writers used to craft their beloved poems and novels. Of course, if they made a mistake, they had to start over, but it's worth it. Writers concentrated more with typewriters. After all, they didn't have the Internet to distract them. They had to be careful not to make mistakes. They focused more on their writing; therefore, procrastination probably wasn't as big of an issue facing writers back in the day. I love typewriters and I proudly display them in my writing office. More and more writers are collecting typewriters. They're making a "comeback" in the 21st century, and I'm so glad about that. After all, at least with a typewriter, you don't have to worry about it "crashing" on you, a virus, or the fear of losing your entire story. 
• Quill and Ink: This is dating back to even before typewriters. Before typewriters, writers had to write everything out by hand. Can you imagine? I can feel my hand cramping up at the thought! A quill and ink was a classic writing tool for jotting down one's thoughts. While I don't use the tool myself, I like to display it in my office for that nostalgic feeling. 
• Letterpress Tray: This was one of the gifts I received from my parents when I graduated college. In recent years, I have shown an interest in letterpress. I'm fascinated by how designers make prints, postcards, etc. with a letterpress. This letterpress tray would contain all of the letters a design would sift through to design a print. 
• Old Books: I think every reader can agree with me that the smell of old books is intoxicating. I love smelling old books, as well as displaying them in my writing office. These books are old--dating back to the early 1900s--and I have to be gentle with the pages. I don't want to rip any of the precious pages. 

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(photo/Pinterest)

Whew, that was a lot and this wasn't even everything I own! If you can believe it, I own way more antiques than what I described in this blog post. My house may be filled with "old things," but they are my things. These antique items describe my family. In order to reflect on the present times and where we may be going in the future, we sometimes have to search through the past. The past can tell us a lot about who we are as individuals, and these antique items definitely tell me about my family. 

More and more people are collecting antiques. The rustic, vintage decor style is very popular right now, so embrace that style. Go antique shopping and show appreciation for these valuable pieces. They may be old, but they still need your love. 

So, don't call me a nerd for collecting so many antiques. I prefer the term "vintage queen." 

-KJL-