http://www.care2.com/greenliving/heirloom-at-home.html
Heirloom At Home
Are we replacing old items too often? Our culture has made it easier for companies to create disposable goods–or items designed to have a short life–that it’s hard to separate what we need, from what we want, from what will last. Then there are changing styles and trends. Can stuff be designed and built to be durable, beautiful and affordable enough to last generations?
This is where the term “heirloom design” comes in. This has been a huge challenge in the design world. Products should be well made, attractive and affordable. Period. We only have to look at electronic technology and the automotive industry to know that this challenge has not been met. How many computers, cell phones and cars have you had in the last 20 years?
Earlier this year, I attended the Greener Gadgets conference, where I first heard the term “heirloom design” discussed. Saul Griffith proposed the concept, which he describes as design that is intended to last for generations. He’s putting the challenge to the test. This World Changing article explains, “Griffith said he’s planning to give his soon-to-be-born son a Rolex and Mont Blanc pen … and then tell him that these would be the only watch and pen he could use for the next 100 years.”
Think he sounds a little out-of-touch by suggesting Rolex and Mont Blanc are green? “[Y]ou have to design things and experiences that will last a very long time that have been thoughtfully designed and are very beautiful,” defends Griffith in the World Changing article.
The article also makes an interesting note that World Wildlife Fund gave the world’s largest luxury companies terrible sustainability ratings. Griffith’s examples involve large initial investments of cash, and may limit heirloom-quality products to people who can afford it. Can we make beautiful heirloom products that are also affordable to everyone?
I decided to bring the issue home. I walked around my house to see if I had some items that where either passed down or acquired, that could pass as heirloom quality and that I could hand down to the kids. This was harder than I thought, so I asked my kids (24 and 20) what they considered heirlooms in our home. Here is our combined list:
– A 1960s chair and couch - While the chair I found is not quite as sturdy as the one I grew up with, it should last the test of time with some ongoing repairs. The low curved couch was dragged out of a friend’s pool house.
– The cast iron and All-Clad pots and pans - Some of the cast iron pots are already 100 years old.
– Waffle-maker - My husband’s grandmother used this in the 1800s. It is so sturdy that is should be cranking out waffles for my children’s grandkids.
– An Artwork collection handed down from my mom - Particularly, we all enjoy the Bjorn Wiinblad posters. They make my 80 year-old mom, me and my kids smile.
– Dishes my husband’s grandmother painted - They are beautiful and can’t be put in the dishwasher, so they’ve already lasted 100 years.
– The amazing tables and furniture made from fallen trees on our property that my husband crafted.
– Musical instruments — We have a piano, guitars, flute, clarinet, and drums.
We all have stuff and we all want a more sustainable future. As my little home-research discovered, our goods don’t have to be Rolex or Mont Blanc to qualify as heirloom, but they do have to be taken care of. And perhaps this might be a challenge to many of us who are accustomed to our throw-away culture.
What items do you consider heirloom-quality in your home?
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16 comments
add your comment »What a neat way of thinking about the reasons for buying sturdy, useful things. I'd remind people too that nephews and nieces or cousin's children can be worthy recipients of durable goods to pass down.
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I treasure our families heirloom items such as: our 1903 piano brought to the US prior to WW2 from Germany, Cocktail tables that my grandmother purchased at an antique store over 50 years ago etc. These items connect our family to past generations and are a part of who we are today.
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Hi,
This is pure genius! I’m amazed that you could keep this in so long. Thanks for sharing this beautiful article.
nahrungsergänzungsmittel
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Well you can always find heirloom furniture through Craigslist. Most often people don't see the value in what they have, which goes along with the saying that one man's trash is another man's treasure:)
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As I read this article I was sad to think that I didn't have any "heirloom" articles in my house; however after reading the comments I realized that I do. I have the rocking chair my parents bought me shortly before my oldest child (who is now 28) was born, the cradle that my aunt used for my cousins and all four of my kids slept in as tiny infants, and the my grandmother's dresser. Oh, and I have a Madame Alexander doll that I got when I was around 10, I'm now 47. We have nice furniture but it's newer and/or it was inexpensive so it wouldn't be considered "heirloom"; but it's comforting to know that I do have a few things really worth passing down to my kids and grandkids.
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One of my 'heirloom' items -- my record collection!! I'm sad because I know my kids don't want them, but I know they are worth keeping.
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Megan, that’s an interesting question. Here’s an official definition of heirloom:
heir·loom (ârlm) n.
1. A valued possession passed down in a family through succeeding generations.
2. An article of personal property included in an inherited estate.
3. A cultivar of a vegetable or fruit that is open-pollinated and is not grown widely for commercial purposes. An heirloom often exhibits a distinctive characteristic such as superior flavor or unusual coloration.
One of the designers from the article gives her definition of heirloom: “…objects that she believes will be valuable in the future, once they are no longer in production.”
What is “valuable” seems to be subjective to the person defining the object. How would you describe heirloom? I’ve read that an item is considered an antique after 25 years. What do you think?
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ha, we don't have "heirlooms" just second hand crap.
I always considered heirlooms to be worth something. My stuff is just crap other people were gonna throw out by I fixed it up and kept it for myself.
An interesting question though, when does second hand technically become heirloom?
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We definitely have "heirloom" items in our family. The dresser that is currently in my 2 1/2-year-old daughter's room is one that her big sister used as a baby, and in fact my kids are the third generation to use it in our family! My older daughter's bed came courtesy of my maternal grandmother (I inherited it after she moved from her apartment in the retirement community to the nursing home proper), so that's another third-generation item. The two dressers in my older daughter's room (one for clothes, one for sheets and blankets) belonged to me and my sister when we were kids, and I've got baby clothes, blankets, and quilts that have been passed down for several generations as well. In fact, at my daughters' naming ceremonies they wore a christening gown that has been used since my maternal grandfather wore it for his christening-that makes four generations and counting!).
Miss Info, I know what you mean about estate sales-that's where I found our dining room table, the six chairs that came with it, and the matching hutch that currently stores the antique glassware and vases I've found at various yard sales and flea markets throughout the years. All it cost me was $300 and the use of my dad's truck to haul them the four blocks home! I agree about the particle-board crap (we have three video cabinets made of the junk)-we also plan to replace ours with real wood items as time goes by and finances warrant!
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We have a local furniture store that makes 'real' furniture. They had a sign up once, "Family heirlooms are rarely made of particle board."
When I married I filled my house with cheap particle board because that's what we could afford. I wish I had known about estate sales then! Now that I'm full up with cheap stuff, I find beautiful dressers and desks and everything else for dirt cheap, but have nowhere to put them. I think I will make a new rule: as the particle board breaks, it will only be replaced with second-hand 'real' stuff!
My other favorite sign is, "Grandma had it, Mom threw it out, and I bought it back." True in our family of a treadle sewing machine. My mom threw hers out when electric machines became affordable, because it was 'old'. My whole childhood she moaned about wanting it back. "It's worth something now!" I found one for cheap and bought it, but nobody still makes the needles that fit it. I sold it on to someone else.
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