My husband and I were so fortunate that when we moved into our house, his parents were also in the process of moving. This meant that we “inherited” a bunch of their beautiful, no-way-could-we-afford-this furniture. 

Of the items they gave us, my favorites are the baby grand piano, the mid-century modern sideboard, and the tall, ornate curio cabinet that my mother-in-law refers to as The Piece. 

When NGS wrote about her grandmother-in-law’s curio cabinet, I knew I wanted to write about The Piece.

First of all, I don’t know exactly WHAT category of furniture The Piece falls into. I think it’s maybe a sideboard with hutch, but it also has elements of curio cabinet to it? I am pretty sure it’s not a credenza, but I don’t know that I’ve ever used the word credenza before so I wanted to. 

Secondly, The Piece has been in my mother-in-law’s family for generations. She said it used to live in her grandmother’s home. There is some confusion as to its provenance, though. Perhaps Mexico? Maybe Spain? 

I love it because it’s so unusual looking. Plus, it holds a TON of stuff. Currently, I’m using it to store most of my vases, some porcelain figurines that I inherited from my husband’s grandmother, some crystal that I inherited from my grandmother, and some other various odds and ends.

When my mother- and father-in-law delivered The Piece to us, they were very apologetic because the shelves were missing. “We know it had shelves at one point,” they said. “But they must have been lost during the move.” 

It was charmingly amusing to find the shelves while I was cleaning The Piece. They were simply on the bottom of the opaque-doored area, stacked in such a way that they appeared to be part of the cabinet’s floor.

Because none of us are immune from missing highly obvious things: There is an electric component, which I did not know about until we’d owned The Piece for five or six years. There’s a light in the top portion and you can turn it on and off to showcase your crystal and vases and porcelain birds. 

I love that The Piece is ours, now. Maybe someday Carla will want it in her home, or, if it’s not her style, maybe my niece will cherish it. Having something that’s been in the family for so long feels so precious to me, for reasons I can’t fully articulate.

Do you have any unique or hand-me-down pieces of furniture? Any family “heirlooms” that have been passed around?