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Sunday, August 21, 2011

"New and Improved"?


Originally posted August, 2009



I recently scored an absolutely amazing vintage china cabinet
at a local flea market...to say I got it for a song would be a gross understatement.
It was such a steal that I even felt a momentary twinge of guilt
as I loaded up my treasure, knowing full well that what I got for a mere $85(!)
was going for upwards of $600 just a few blocks away at the chi-chi antique stores in town.

Upon getting it home and placing it in the kitchen corner,
I began to fill my newfound gem with wedding china and household wares
procured two years ago, but heretofore unpacked.

Hooray, I thought!
At last, a fitting showcase for my shiny, new Calphalon,
my glistening Corningware, my sparkling ivory Mikasa.
The new juxtaposed against the old,
the timeless contrasting sharply with the transient.


Would my designer label china have looked any more elegant
displayed in a modern, new Ethan Allen piece?
Some might say yes.

But like so many of you, the inherent beauty in what others
might perceive as junk is this:
my chippy, peeling, flea-market find has lived a life.
Not to anthropomorphize, but it has tales to tell.

Each chip, each dent, each coffee-stain ring speaks to an existence
foreign to my own, yet strangely similar.
Utilitarian practicality is now sharing the stage with stylistic functionality,
but to us junkers, the beauty has always been evident,
even if Farmer Jones and the Missus might not have fully
recognized it before relegating it to the storage shed.


Yes, my pristine Mikasa serving pieces
have a resplendence all their own,
but they have yet to live a life.

They still have much to learn from the wisened old veteran
which provides them harborage.
I'm hoping they will confer, as we would all be wise to do
in our own small corners of the world, be they kitchen or otherwise.





*** this is a re-post from August 2009***



14 comments:

Vintage Market Place said...

How simple and chic.
it is beautiful
I am sure it will be decorated so lovely to when the holidays come round. Flickering candles and fir garlands. ooh to die.
Amy

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

it is gorgeous!!!

Gayle said...

Money well spent...........

Blondie's Journal said...

Oh, Anne! It is just gorgeous! You are giving it a wonderful home and the most elegant of inhabitants!! Hooray for you!

XO,
Jane

savvycityfarmer said...

I'm thinking you already KNOW my take on this steal er find ....


love love love reposred archives ... been my mainstay for a busy summer

Unknown said...

Anne, how wonderful and what a great find! I think your china looks just beautiful in it. You lucky girl! Don't you wish you knew the history of each piece you find? And wouldn't that make a wonderful book? Pictures of treasures and the stories of each?

Linda @ A La Carte said...

A lovely cabinet with shiny new china, a perfect pairing!

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

Lovely, Anne...and I'll bet your lovely dishes are starting to tell a story now, too!

Tricia said...

Looks beautiful :)

Mona Kay Gorman said...

That is one very gorgeous cabinet!! Love the white-on-white of your dishes...

Beatnheart said...

just stopping by to say. nothing much clever to say. all the best to you.

Katherines Corner said...

so perfect. I love all white dishes, and that pitcher is similar to the one I've been looking for.
Big Hugs!

aimee said...

i think its gorgeous i love it you found a great bargain xxx

clustres said...

Beautifully written!


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