Book Crush: Heirloom Modern

"Porter and I incorporate vintage and junk store shopping into our daily rituals the way others work in coffee runs, gas refueling, or trips to the grocery store." ~ Hollister Hovey

Written by sisters Hollister and Porter Hovey, Heirloom Modern:  Homes Filled with Objects Bought, Bequeathed, Beloved and Worth Handing Down is a mouth-watering coffee table book published by Rizzoli that features their family treasures and flea-market finds.  The sisters describe their parents and grandparents' through family photographs and the souvenirs brought home to New York City and Omaha from travels around the world.  The first chapter features these heirlooms which now decorate the home shared by the Hovey sisters.  The following chapters walk through the houses and apartments of their friends, curated with equally gifted eyes and a full appreciation of family history.

I look around at the treasures in my home, some gifts, some found, some bought, all cherished. Reading Heirloom Modern makes me want to display my heirloom pieces better...it also makes me want to check out some estate sales and see what's been dropped by Goodwill today.

I have a romantic silhouette of a couple kissing over an elegant breakfast spread called "The First Breakfast" which I picked up when Christian and I first got married.  It hangs in our kitchen because it makes me so happy, and the bonus is I only paid $8 for it at a furniture consignment shop.  Other pieces are more valuable, like the chandelier my Aunt Cindy gave me one birthday and the Kashan rugs my Uncle Manny imports.  All the inscribed books I've been given as gifts over the years are priceless along with the mementos I've picked up on my travels, like the landscape painting from Vietnam and a wool scarf from Port Lockroy, Antarctica.  My grandmother's hatpin is cushioned in a jewelry box and my father's "flea weight" baby boxing robe hangs in my son's closet.   I have a dozen favorite family photographs in vintage frames, and more awaiting the right frame I have yet to find.

What are the stories behind your heirlooms?  Do you know how or why they came to your family?  If not, do you have a relative you can ask?  Do you display your heirlooms or are they locked away in boxes?  Do you use them or are they too precious?  How will you pass along the details of provenance to your children?  What special pieces have you found that you hope to pass along?  Heirloom Modern will prompt you to dust off your heirlooms and it might even inspire you to go treasure-hunting.