101 things I hate to love...

My Facebook friend James Swan has a Facebook page entitled 101 Things I Hate About Your House.  This is a particularly fun page because of the photos and discussions that are posted.  While I am not about to list 101 things I hate to love, his site prompted me to think about the things we grew up with and thought were the bomb.  Things that, as designers, we would rather not admit even liking!  The thing is, there are certain home furnishings, that elicit such strong childhood memories that we can't help having a fond spot in our hearts for things that James Swan would hate!  My dad, for instance, had a recliner that would've given the tv character Frazier's dad's chair a run for it's money.  My mom replaced it once with a smaller, more attractive chair and his big frame tipped it backwards on the first recline!  While I avoid oversized recliners now, when I see one I secretly smile. 

Another thing that I hate to love is my grandmother's tatting.  Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, and other decorative pieces.  Tatted doilies topped her tables and rested on the back of some of her chairs.  While these are not used in this manner in today's interiors, I must admit that framed, they make wonderful textile art pieces.  Personally, I would love to be able to go back in time and rest my head against her tatting covered chair!

The last thing on today's list is outrageous cookie jars. My best friend's mom had the most amazingly ugly cookie jars you have ever seen. The thing was; they were all filled with goodies. Some had cookies, some had marshmellows, other had candies, it was a veritable smorgasbord for kids. Knowing those cookie jars sat on that countertop waiting for us at the end of our play, was like the cherry on top of the sundae.  Let's hear it for ugly cookie jars!