Inherited furniture. The old pieces that hold memories of loved ones, milestones, gatherings. I have the drysink my parents set up as a bar for all the holidays. Also the tea cart my favorite aunt had in her foyer, and my grandmothers side board from the dining room in which she celebrated all those birthdays. Somehow, they have found homes in my home and they make me smile.

The dining room wallpaper I put up in the 1990s and still love today.

Artwork

Art for sure every piece we own we both love .

Outside of the fact that I love my house, and it brings me joy to live here, I get such joy from seeing my dad's paintings, and all my family photos.

I keep an open display of gardening coffee table books so I can see the pics inside. I love walking back and forth past these images, a different garden each day.

Not sure this counts as a ‘little’ thing, and was part of our home’s original design— but walking past windows that frame the view of our garden brings me joy every day (of the growing season).

Design details in terms of interior architecture: trimless jambs, recessed baseboards, and the radiused corners and handrails I designed for parts of the house. These are subtle things that not everyone notices.

The messy back "yard" area I turned into a white stucco and bluestone patio with a planting bed that is a summer extension of the LR.

I have a lot of art and furniture and stuff I like, but I usually try to make the places I live look good empty first. If the house is pretty without anything in it, that's a great place to start, in my opinion.

What a wonderful discussion! Thank you for starting it. I've been debating this because it is unusual, asking us to love what we have instead of focusing on wanting what we love. A different perspective indeed.

I would have to agree with those who say artwork. Putting them all together as one works, doesn't it? My artwork includes photographs, paintings, drawings, posters, sculpture; antique, vintage, new; inexpensive and (for a couple) expensive. Some sit on tables, others hang on the walls. The one common factor is that they all sing to my soul every time I see them. They live in all rooms of the home.

I have two gallery walls, one in the living room and a smaller gallery "wall of women" in the bedroom that started with the handpainted top of a vintage hat box and now includes a NYT article I cut out about women, immigrants, who gather on street corners to seek day work despite the dangers they may encounter.

What I love is that my artwork is an intimate reflection of me, all my parts. There is not one generic piece and it has taken years to get it to where it is now. I love it!

Call me crazy but the guy who started this is a decorative tile distributor/manufacturer. He has Spammed us before so I feel it is only a matter of time.

When I had the roof replaced, I added two 2 x 4 skylights to the vaulted LR - which was so dark and gloomy. Now I have great natural light, I can check the weather at a glance and love seeing the tops of my trees in the backyard.

Artwork and the recessed lighting I added to highlight it at night.

Is that your home, Beverly. It is lovely! (Not that I'm surprised.) But my breath was taken away by the way you framed the artwork in the second photograph. It is absolutely gorgeous.

Thanks, Aphaea, that photo was taken in my northern home. I had that piece custom framed with a black linen matt, gold fillet & gold frame. The framing was more than the print.

When I moved to Florida, it didn't work in the Florida house and I ended up placing it on consignment in a shop.

It's hard to tell what the picture is but I am madly in love with your frame design. Too bad we are so far apart; I'd buy it from you.

I love my oak wood staircase installed by a master craftman several years ago.

My furnishings are a backdrop for holiday/celebratory/seasonal decor. I love the changes. I love the pieces as they appear and are put away when they've lost their salience. I get excited to see my collections emerge. I am never sad when their time as waned.

I have always liked custom frames designed to complement the specific art piece. Beverly, your example is stunning. I was going to add a second post saying my artwork makes me smile. Every once in awhile, I move pieces around and love them even more.

I agree, AuntThelma. It's so expensive yet it is worth saving for because it is gorgeous in itself and combined with the artwork that is being framed, it is beyond breathtaking. Plus you will enjoy it for a long time to come.

In my Maine house I love my plate collection. I’ve collected them over a couple years. I remember where I bought each one. Some are family pieces like my grandmothers church in Lynn.

We have some items from DH’s parents that we love, such as this antique carved ivory Chinese fan.

We have some items from DH’s parents we love, such as this antique carved ivory Chinese fan and rocking chair made by DH’s great grandfather.