My Favorite Vintage Item In Our Home
I teamed up with three of my good blogging buddies Kyla, Chloe, and Susan (you probably know them from their blogs House of Hipsters, Boxwood Avenue, and House of Brinson), to share our most coveted vintage piece found in our homes. Welllll- you should know I had trouble choosing a single favorite… because that’s like asking me to choose which one of my dogs is my favorite fur child. It’s impossible! I have way too many beloved vintage items throughout our home to pick just one. I love all of them for different reasons, and they each have a story. Instead, I thought it might be fun to share YOUR favorite vintage piece found within our home. The one item that is most commented on, messaged about, and complimented is my wooden vintage hand. Click through to read the story behind it… how & where I found it, why I love it, why I think many of you are into it, and I even found some similar options, for those of you who have requested links.
I’ll start with the story. It was a cold, rainy day in Dayton, Ohio (back when we were living in our Ohio bungalow), and I had planned a shopping day with Jacquline (I SO miss her RFT blog posts). Despite the crummy weather, we were having the best girls day, just hanging out and supporting local businesses. We got coffee, we popped into a few favorite stores, and near the middle of our shopping trip- we ducked into Heart Mercantile in Dayton’s Oregon District. They had just opened and were well known for carrying kitschy, clever new items and plants at that point in time. To my surprise, I wandered into the back corner of the store to find a few vintage pieces. There was some vintage glassware, vintage jewelry, and this massive vintage wooden hand.
I actually wasn’t sure about it at first. I picked it up, and asked Jackie if “it was too weird?” To which she replied, “I think it’s your kind of weird.” Obviously I took that as a good thing and for $30, decided it was a fun buy! We wrapped up our shopping day, parted ways, I arrived home, dumped my goodies on the kitchen counter, and went to put on my comfy pants. Haha! It’s a real thing… nothing feels quite as liberating as putting on lounge pants and ripping off your bra, right?! I digress, I walked back into our kitchen to Emmett commenting on how cool the wood hand was. Super score! We moved from Dayton to Salt Lake City six months after. That hand has lived in all of our homes with us, has made a cross country move, is super functional, interesting, and reminds me of a wonderful day spent with a best friend.
The cool thing about the hand is it acts like a bowl, tray, or catchall. It’s the perfect size to “hold” (so clever!), mail, car keys, a wallet, a plant, crystals or stones, beads, … lots of things. It has lived in the entry of our home for many years- so much so, that our friends and family know to drop their keys there. It’s kind of our “Gibson statement piece” that is welcoming, weird, and an awesome conversation starter. Of course, it would also be beautiful styled on a coffee table- I did that briefly, but prefer it at our entry.
While I’ve found similar options, I have yet to find an exact match to my wooden hand! It’s the largest one I’ve seen. I’ve also come to realize these are often called a praise, gratitude, and offering bowl. I’m actually trying to find a talented artist or wood worker who can replicate my hand and make some for my shop. I think that would be really special! I used to work with a woodworker, who has since stopped working in that medium. I’ve had some test pieces made, but none have been to my liking. If you know of anyone, please let me know! In the meantime, I’m linking some other wooden hand options for you below because I get hundreds of messages asking about the source…
Curious what Kyla, Chloe, and Susan’s favorite vintage item is in their gorgeous homes? You’re going to want to see those because Kyla is queen of modern thrifting, Chloe has one of the best styled homes I’ve seen, and Susan finds the very best stuff. I’m guessing their items will be TOTALLY different from one another. Should I make predictions? Ok, ok… I will (I swear I haven’t read their posts yet)– I’m guessing Kyla’s will be a modern piece of furniture (maybe chairs, an ottoman, nightstands, etc), and I’m guessing Chloe’s will be something that looks very vintage French (a coffee table or chest, a side table, something more rustic). As for Susan, I think hers might be something smaller, that is perhaps bar or kitchen related? Maybe glassware? Alright, I’m going to click over and see how I did. I’ll link their posts below!
Kyla’s Favorite Vintage Piece… find out on → House of Hipsters ←
Chloe’s Favorite Vintage Piece… find out on → Boxwood Avenue ←
Susan’s Favorite Vintage Piece… find out on → House of Brinson ←
Did you like this post? It was a fun one for me! Maybe I should team up with friends more often or tell the stories behind more of my favorite items found in our home.. Let me know what you think! I hope you all have a lovely week.