Sell it all on ebay!Use the funds to replace the beautiful but tainted things, with functional things that you'll fill with good memories and really enjoy using, or invest the money you make off the loot in something earth friendly like Whole Foods stock, your money will grow and nothing will take up any cherished space and you won't be reminded of anything painful when they're gone,and hopefully Whole Foods will become a bigger chain and we'll all get to shop there.

I'll take the Baccarat. Whoo hoo!

Seriously, if you don't use it, don't want it, don't have kids who want it, don't have room for it, why not consign it and see what you can get? Someone would love to buy it- you won't get retail for it, but could possibly net more than you paid for the crystal.

IMHO, this stuff should be USED.

I think if it reminds you of an unpleasant time in your life, then you should sell it, consign it, re-home it. But if you can still appreciate the beauty of these objects (even though they are not something you would buy at this point in your life), maybe you can still use them. My own preference is eclectic - I like to mix and match different styles in a table setting, for example. I have contemporary simple dinnerware. However, it's fun to introduce something fancy or super-ornate to complement this very simple style. Maybe you can integrate the Baccarat and Wedgwood into your current style.

To me the key point is these things "just doesn't do it for you anymore". So why have them around? Art, china, etc. can be risky investments if you don't love the pieces for themselves.

So is the monetary appreciation really an excuse to keep from letting go of stuff that doesn't fit who you are now?

Naya (who's working on letting stuff go, too)

Oh Fly - I should post a disclaimer that I am a fiendish packrat. So fiendish in fact that I am not above garbage picking (okay I really just take a glance from my car) on bulk pick-up day to see if I can find a treasure.

I watch that PBS show and What's in your attic? and lament the fact that my mother threw everything away! So I am going to try and enable you to save it for future generations!!!

Unfortunately, DH is of the same ilk. Just last week I put a bunch of old coats in a large trash bag for the salvation army and told him to please drop it off. Well, what do I find in the den closet just yesterday - his "members only" jacket and a camouflauge coat (he doesn't hunt).

OR.....you could just break free from the wedgewood that binds you and sell it all!!!!! (not the Baccarat though)

Wow, thanks for all the responses...((((Liberty)))), good to see you! Thanks for your encouragement to put the funds to more karmically-positive use. Makes very good sense.

pecanpie, you know I haven't even shown it to my daughter, who's 8 - I have no idea if she'll want it but she's too young to say no to anything bright and shiny, iykwim...then I'd have that weighing on me...

jerzee, I get what you're saying...the Wedgwood, I just don't see it (it's Chinese Flowers, I think 10 5 -pc. place settings and serving dishes), but the Baccarat (Capri Optic), maybe...but I mean, we don't even drink wine anymore! Much less champagne...oh o.k., maybe I'll keep a couple of those :) You know, that might be a good idea, to keep a couple of the champagne glasses and sell the rest of them.

NayaSabrina, You got it, that they just don't do it for me, and in terms of potential appreciation, you're right, it doesn't make sense.

Maggie, when I was in NYC I was a relentless sidewalk shopper ;) Got some very nice Danish Modern pieces that way (left them with friends in NYC, though). My father sent way too much of my mother's things (I got a few items, but not the things that really meant a lot to me!) to Goodwill...but these aren't things that mean a lot to my family as it is now, it's purely from a past life and stays up in the attic...so the emotional aspect is *not* there.

I think I'll breathe in a good cleansing breath and DECLUTTER these items somehow. I really appreciate the forum about them -- I've been going back and forth about this for months, can you believe it? Then I post it here and somehow it all gets put into perspective for me....(((BIG GROUP HUG)))

p.s. I just can't bring myself get rid of my vintage coat collection even though I can barely button them around me anymore, though...some mid-century masterpieces there :)

You go girl - declutter and cleanse the soul. OH, and let me know what day you have pick up because I might drive by ;D....okay your on the other coast AND these things woudn't end up at the curb....but I can dream.

I'd better listen to you all (and myself) and sell that Noritake Affection service for eight, since it hasn't done anything for me for a long, long, time.

Here's to keeping only the things that work for the positive in our lives.

I could get rid of stuff from a long-gone relationship, but unfortunately, I have china and crystal and silver from my DH's grandmother and things from my Mother. That is when it gets tricky. But just thinking about it strengthens my resolve to get rid of some other things. I recently sent my 38-yr old son and his wife all the silver serving dishes that I have had since before he was born. They think it's wonderful. Maybe I can ship off some more things!

Drool....Baccarat....uh, what? Oh yeah, what to do with it. Well, hmmm, as a packrat my instincts all scream SAVE IT!! But I understand your dilemma. In some respects, these items stand as symbols to a prior relationship that perhaps is best left in the attic with the Baccarat. You say you don't really care for them now, don't anticipate ever using them, and can't think of any reason to keep them except that they are such "fine" things. On the surface, that all sounds like you should sell the stuff and get those cobwebs out of your life. A word or two of caution, though. First, those things may represent NOT your old relationship but a younger you, a you that may still be found deep inside, a you that still sees something in these things that stirs her. If you think you will always attach the relationship to the items, then get rid of them. If you feel that the items had personal significance to you outside of the relationship, then reconsider.

Second, your daughter may well wish she had those things someday. They are beautiful, valuable, and heirlooms of a sort - the kind of stuff that's perfect to leave to kids. If she doesn't want them when the time comes, it will be a nice nest egg for her.

Third, tastes change. That's why you don't like them now. But they keep changing and one day you may find yourself thinking what a shame it was that you got rid of those things because you know, they really WERE beautiful and you could see yourself using them now. My mom has said this so many times I have lost count. She got rid of crystal and sterling because it wasn't her, only to wish a decade later that she had the crystal and sterling. And so on and so on. I think I got my packratness from her, because she was the opposite and so often regretted divesting herself of things as she tired of them. I live with a minimalist so we tend to balance each other somewhat, which is good because I used to hang onto EVERYTHING. I've learned to clean out my attic a bit but you know what? I'm once again displaying the blue Fostoria crystal I got (and loved) in the '70s and then considered too hideous for words until fairly recently :) Now it's kind of cool to me again and I don't think TOO much about the first marriage to which it is sort of linked. I even unearthed the crystal-swans-with-their-necks-arched-together-to-form-a-heart wedding cake topper from that same era. I decided to remove the grime and it's now sitting in my china hutch on the chance that one of my two eldest will wish to use it one of these days. I did ditch the china with blue flowers and lime-green leaves. THAT was youthful ignorance.

Sorry; most of that was superfluous yammering!! I get loquacious after the kids are in bed.

Declutter. Let new life in.

I don't keep things that don't have good history. At least not on purpose!

There's nothing "to pass on" to a child in possessions that don't have sentiment for you or history on their own.

Personally I don't return again to things or taste I've left behind. After half a century I think it's safe for me to say that. Things can be a burden, I don't want to pass a burden on.

Ebay, sharing with friends and family, donations to charities are good starts.

I think you already know the answer. If they remind you of a past that is SO over, why hold on to them? The monetary value should not be an issue in my opinion.

seeking, stop it! :) You make a lot of sense and so you're making me question my resolve!...actually now I'm thinking I'll keep the Baccarat, since it's more adaptable than the Wedgwood, and get rid of everything else.

Athome, that's what I feel about the things--"passing them on" is kind of weird in this case...one of the things I *did* get from my mother's family was a really scary creepy pencil drawing of a lunging cougar, closeup so you can see all its teeth--it's not a literal "white elephant",it's a "pencil cougar", but still it should be one of those rotating presents that goes around every year among family members! Talk about things being a burden...it's thoroughly "documented" on the back as to the ancient family member's amazing drawing talent, etc...OY. Don't think that would go very far on eBay LOL

Naya, yes, we'll get rid of our old stuff together :) And Fairegold, I have some of that kind of stuff too (from family) that I just will never use. *That* I'm keeping, and it's good for you to bring up the comparison because it makes it clear what unused items are clutter and what are heirlooms and why.

Flyleft, as a former antique dealer, I had so much stuff going through my life I had to develop some guidelines so I could determine what to keep. I still like that old William Morris standby quote, "If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

If that old Baccarat is no longer beautiful to you, upgrade to something that is. When I decide to declutter, I look at it as an opportunity to get rid of many things that I once liked, and own one or two items that I really love. Since the Baccarat has gone up so much in value, keeping it this long should make you feel good about the real estate you've given it up to this point. I say, give up the room for your authentic self to shine, and love what you're living with.

As far as your vintage clothes goes, your daughter just might appreciate them when she gets older. It seems like great Vintage clothes are getting impossible to find...

Didn't read all the answers above, but in fact I did sell my china from my first marriage on ebay. I never used it and wasn't ever going to use it and it was taking up space. It's gone. I put the money toward my kitchen remodel. NO REGRETS. You're ready to move on, go ahead and move on, and reap the profits now, while you can enjoy them!

I'm with the "sell it" crowd. All of it. Buy something beautiful with it that you can enjoy now and pass along to your daughter with the inherent good memories, instead of the bad. Matter of fact, buy yourself that Womb Chair!!!

As a daughter myself, I don't think I would put the same stock in things my mother left me from a previous relationship that she didn't even like in the end.

My mother received some lovely monogrammed silver when she was engaged to another man before breaking it off and meeting my dad. She kept it because it couldn't really be returned. My mother gave me the silver since those monograms have the correct letter for my married name -- but I'm uncomfortable using the silver since I know its history.

Sell the stuff! Even your daughter may not use it...

Claire, yep, useful/beautiful are good criteria...and re the coats? When she gets interested in wearing them I think she'll be WAY tall for them -- she's going to be much taller than her mommy :)

lowspark, cool. NO REGRETS. I will do this.

Oh my gosh, Paige...I'd never put that particular 2 and 2 together...Oh wow. That's brilliant. And it would definitely be an investment piece, too...you *really* may have something there...oy I'm getting excited...time for a trip to DWR to inspire me :)

Sweeby, how strange is it that those are your initials now! But yeah, it would definitely feel strange to use it. If you'd *found* it by chance in a shop, that would be different and kind of "meant to be", but knowing its provenance it's strange.

Although sometimes those things are kind of cool, giving us insight into our moms as young women. Not exactly the same, but I was always fascinated by the Christmas card my mother would get from Greece every year...from a "friend"...I found out later was a near-miss she met in medical school. I instinctively *knew* what the situation was before she told me, by the way she'd say "friend" when I was younger!

I am a packrat, and DH is worse. We have some great stuff for those piles on the side of the road. I ended up with my motherÂs silver (that I wanted), crystal (that I donÂt mind, but donÂt use) and china (little pink flowers and I donÂt mix). But itÂs all of great sentimental value to me, so I keep it. If I were you, the Wedgwood would already be out the door. I might sit on the crystal, though, just to see if it will continue to appreciate. Think of each piece of stemware as a share of stock thatÂs performing well.

Fly, I forgot to mention (hard to believe I left anything out) that I have gotten rid of tons of family stuff that has been passed along to me. Some I gave as gifts but most I gave to charity. It's funny, because my mom in her later years began to cling to every family article and would give a lot of them to me with the solemn declaration that "this belonged to so-and-so (usually her mom) and was very special so don't ever get rid of it." After dh's mom passed away and we got a whole new ton of similar stuff, I finally came to the realization that it was unfair of our relatives to burden us with the stuff of the dead ones, who likely didn't care one way or the other :) I decided that I didn't want to think of my grandkids having to hang onto some stupid picture that hung on my wall for 30 years because I was too lazy to change it and forgot it was there. Anyway, I'm adding that because while I believe that really great stuff is a wonderful thing to pass along or consider keeping for yourself, it should never feel like a burden. If something feels like a burden, get rid of it! In a few cases (like your white elephant), that's not really going to happen, though.

BTW, I have a horrid horrid picture I'm stuck with, too. My dh's brother was a writer who lived in SF. His writing talent was phenomenal but his artistic talent much less so. However, he died at a youngish age and suddenly his artwork was infused with new value, at least to his family. My dh and his sister have several of his paintings and a few framed photographs. I endured the paintings for a couple of years but eventually told my dh that I did not want to look at a tempura copy of a Grateful Dead album cover in my living room nor a Mickey Mouse (with lopsided head and psychedelic background) hanging on dd's wall. (I never told dh, but I repainted parts of the Mickey Mouse so he didn't look so deformed - couldn't stand it hanging in its original form in my 3-year-old's room). I know it's terrible, sigh. But there was this photo that I especially hated. It lived in our bedroom so I put up with it since it was away from the eyes of most people and hanging where I didn't have to see it much myself (alcove next to bathroom). It showed two pitbulls on the street in SF, lunging and snarling while their owner attempting to hold onto their leashes. Now WHY anyone would want that picture is beyond me. Well, after the most recent pit bull attacks in SF I told dh that the photo was outta there. He didn't mind at all. It has been replaced with a nice collage of pics of our recently departed German Shorthair. The paintings now hang in places of honor in the garage, along with some of dh's "art" from his bachelor days. The pit bulls are under the bed.

Hmmm...guess I can't blame this blathering on the kids being in bed.

scotland, I agree--cut your losers and let your winners run, right? ;)

And seeking, LOL on the bad family art! I really feel like a sitcom character every time I look at that cougar. I keep hoping it's gotten better and I was just wrong the first dozen times I looked at it. A pitbull picture sounds full of the same strangely bad energy...WHY is right. And the MIckey with the lopsided head and the Dead cover...I laughed out loud :)

I think some people love to hold on the stuff. Not sure why. I've seen that in some friends. They'll hoard all sorts of stuff from way back to their college years, and would even park the car outside because the garage is filled to capacity. I go through my things every year and give away to anyone who wants the sentimental things, and the rest goes to charity.

Fly, let.....it...all....go.

You really do know it's just stuff with a current high market value, but it has no value for you. Let it go and give space in your energy life for something better and more fitting to come in. I think of these things lika a child in 3rd grade who has a beautiful outfit. Loves it. Goes to 4th grade and the outfit no longer fits. It isn't worn out, stained etc but it no longer fits.

The child in all of us regrets letting go of something we once liked and valued but when it's outgrown, it's outgrown. And should someone in your family reeeeeaaallly want it in the future, you can buy as well as sell on Ebay.

I am in a fit of giggles over seeking's bad family art! MIL has begun painting at an advanced age, and we wonder if we should take some of it to a psychologist to have it analyzed! She gave framed oils to the 11yo GDDs one year- one looked like a rabid animal (dog?) with purple eyes and the other looked like a Peruvian child in possibly native dress. The child asked who it was and the reply was, "It's you, dear, can't you tell?" (This is a tow-headed green-eyed Swede of a child)

Needless to say, they are, as my SIL will say "Appreciating in value in a very safe place." (under her bed)

I haven't read the above yet, but I'm surprised at how easy this one is for me! Usually, I agonize over everything. But for me, since these are not family heirlooms, or have no other sentimental value for you, I'd sell them. Use the money to for another wonderful use of your choice, including buying crystal or china that you DO enjoy.

I dunno, for me, material things have only three values: sentimental (which can lead to enormous packratting and which I am trying to learn to curb), functional, and just makes your heart sing beautiful. In the case of china and crystal, sure it's functional, but you gotta love it too, I think. It has to make you tingle when you put the glass to your lips. It has to make you sing when you're setting the table.

Okay, WAAAAY to much caffeine this morning. But seriously, I mean it.

Ivette

Fly - I vote to get rid of all of it - inlcuding the Baccarat, and DH and I have been antique collectors for over 25 years now.

I would get rid of all of these items that have bad memories associated with them, and use at least part of the money to purchase something wonderful for myself that I truly loved, and would not have bought otherwise. Think of how nice it would be to see a lovely new piece of art or furniture or whatever in your life every day that you love, vs. all that other stuff that you don't love just sitting in the attic.
Life is too short to save things that have bad memories associated with them just because they are valuable, and may be more so in years to come. I think it's important to do that soon too, and then your daughter will have a history with the piece as well, and would rather inherit that cherished piece of art or furniture from you in the future too, because it was part of your lives together. People get sentimental about things that they remember with fondness as children...a friend has a rocker that she loves because her Grandmother always used it, and she has fond memories of sitting in the rocker with Grandma reading a book whenever she went there.

A few years ago, I unearthed a lovely pearl and gold ring that had been given to me many years earlier. As an antique jewelry collector, I could appreciate the ring, but it had seriously bad, painful memories attached to it for me, and although I had hung onto it for all those years, I couldn't bring myself to wear it, as it never "felt good on me" if you know what I mean. I decided that it was time to remove it from my life completely, and because I had received it from someone who never had an ounce of compassion in her life for anyone, I donated it to a charity auction. It felt good to get rid of it, benefit a worthwile charity and move it on to someone new.
Life is funny that way..beautiful things are only beautiful if you love them. If you don't, they need to go on to somewhere else.

OK people, join me in a chant:

Womb chair womb chair womb chair

C'mon Fly, you know you would never buy it otherwise but you've coveted it for so long. It would make you smile every day. And whatever you do with the money you get for these things, it should be spent on *you*, imo. Resist the temptation to buy something great for the rest of the family. ;-) Although you may decide to let them sit in your chair on occasion (except that drat cat who claws furniture!).

OK, I'll stop now.

I must say I wish I knew how some of you can part with family things. I can easily throw out other "stuff" but I get really stuck on anything from family. It isn't sentimental either - if another family member wants anything I can give it to them easily. Some stuff to good to throw out, no one else interested and there is no way I can SELL something that meant something to our families. Just my hang-up that I wish I could get beyond.

I'll join Paige in her chant...Womb chair womb chair womb chair!

(Just what is a womb chair?) It sounds like something Flyleft shouldn't be without!

Here it is, for inquiring minds:

Here is a link that might be useful: womb chair

Womb chair womb chair womb chair!!!!

eandhl,
As someone who literally has several hundred antique/ancient items in her home, I can tell you that despite the fact that we personally love it all, neither myself or my DH expect the kids to hold onto it after we are gone.

If there are items that are of sentimental value to them and they keep a few, then that's nice and I'm flattered, but beyond that, I expect that the vast majority of what we own will be liquidated. If the kids truly want to honor our memory, then the best things that they could do would be to sell what they don't want to keep and use the money to do things like:
- Pay off their homes and secure their futures.
- Contribute to our grandchidren's college funds and help secure their future.
- Put some in savings for a rainy day.
- Use a small portion of the money to buy something that they will love and cherish for years to come, such as a piece of art or furniture that they love.

It would truly make me happy if they thought enough about the estate that my DH and I have built over the years to regard the money from it with a little degree of respect and spend it on things that will have a permanant positive impact on their lives. I have told my DS that if he spends the money on jet skis and vacations to Cabos I will come back and haunt him.

OH paige, you crazy girl...I can feel the energy coming already from you and Claire and Meskauskas :)

meskauskas, I LOVE your point that honoring the energy of the thing is really to make the best use of the money. Not that these items need honoring.

MsAzadi, I like your point too--that if suddenly my DD's taste runs to Wedgwood (I don't see it, but let's just say--and you know, I never really thought about it before and she just won't be the type, when she's old enough to choose, to choose that), we can buy it back later on.

Wedgwood is out the door.

Baccarat is somewhat close to the door, but I need more womb chair energy to get it past the screen ;)

Seriously, thanks you all. It's bizarre that it is such a hard thing, but packratism has never been a rational thing in the first place. Just so you all know, I'm *nowhere* near as bad as that mom whose son documented her on the web--can't find the address but you all probably know it. It's not a diagnosable case like that, just a mild tendency to hold onto things...

A mild tendency isn't a bad thing unless it starts to look like my basement...

Sell the Baccarat now, while you know it's worth money.

Womb chair, womb chair......

you don' tlike it, you don't use it, and it ain't worth any money UNTIL YOU SELL IT.

So, do it now, BEFORE YOU BREAK IT ACCIDENTALLY SOMEHOW!!!

Talley Sue, you're scarin' me you FUD spreader, you :)

Claire, LOL!

I found some other things to sell too. Feels good to get the attic a bit uncluttered. Long way to go yet.

WOW! funny coincidence that I should read this post after spending the weekend trying to clear a space in my over-loaded attic. DH was installing can lights and had to remove the attic flooring to do so, which meant he needed to move the boxes of "stuff" to take up the plywood. What a fiasco! At one point he came downstairs and asked "what the crap is in all those boxes marked "antiques"? The frustrating thing was that all the boxes he moved just got piled up in another area of the attic for me to have to go thru (literally) in order to get to the Christmas decorations. The entire weekend I spent saying to myself - this stuff has got to go!

well some of it anyway......

Well, I'm sitting here looking at some 1969 Fostoria crystal (service for 18) that I actually do use but it really does represent a different time/different life/different me. Its redeeming value is that it's pretty and the wine glasses are 4 oz (yes! the smallest wine glasses in the world!) but are perfect for Manschevitz -- if you know what I mean. I was shopping the other day for some gifts and bumped into some venician glass opal water goblets -- and I bought them!!!! Aye yi yi -- but they were singing my name. After reading this, I'm thinking about selling the Fostoria on Ebay and getting a whole set of the glass. This forum is a dangerous place.

I do have some advice on the womb chair: It's the best thing in the world. Just don't buy it from DWR where it's overpriced and you are limited to their fabrics. And absolutely you must have the ottoman. Doesn't that help? :-) womb chair womb chair womb chair . . . . . .

Sandy's Garden, LOL at the last line of your post! OH so true...hey, maybe we should trade our stuff...

And Molly, I didnt' think anything was perfect for Manischewitz, if you know what I mean! ;) Those goblets sound beautiful.

And *where* did you get the womb chair you have? (I'm assuming) Source, please!!!

Ah . . . the womb chair. See it in the corner there? I spent the whole day in it today grading (ugh) papers. I got it from Knoll Studio through my decorater, who passes on her discount to me. BUT, I found it in a couple of places for nearly the same price. Unicahome? I searched and searched the internet obsessively looking for bargains. Truth is, I rolled it into a home improvement loan when I fixed up my house to sell it. It was my treat to myself for having moved on. It replaced everything that was circa 1969, if you know what I mean. ;-) (just think Wedgewood and Baccarat).

Here is a link that might be useful: Molly's womb chair at home

I'll join in the chant-

"Womb chair womb chair womb chair.."

but tell me- is the attraction that it's the most comfortable chair in the world?

Also, are men allowed to sit in it?

FlyLeft,

Are you the type of person who can consider those items as the spoils of having survived an unpleasant situation, and every time you look at them you feel good with yourself and the happy place you have now created in your life? Or do the bad "vibes" make you uncomfortable every time you look at or handle the items?

And what color fabric were you considering for the new womb chair? :)

Wow, Molly, I can say that's the first time I've ever seen it right next to a wingchair with a blanket over it... :) UnicaHome's price is exactly the same as DWR's right now...so I guess I need to find a design pro who can get me a discount somehow...

pecanpie, it *is* the most comfortable chair in the world, IMO. When folks say that everything modern is uncomfortable (the Eames Lounge chair/ottoman is not included in that either, and is notably less expensive--that was an object of desire for me for a long time too, but you can't curl up in that one), they mean like the Barcelona chairs, the Eames Chaise (yikes, that's just painful to look at!), etc...they're really not all that good for the back and such. But the womb chair has all the right angles, and relationship to the ottoman, and moveable cushions for lumbar support, doesn't push a short person's head forward, is wide enough to have different seating positions in--all my requirements :). And seriously, you feel like you're tucked into a safe place when you're in it. It was designed by a man for a woman, actually (wasn't called the Womb until people saw how it came out, as I understand it); we still have to get my DH into DWR to sit in one. He's looking forward to it--hope I haven't overhyped it, but I don't think I have.

demicent, I can't consider them spoils etc. because I don't use them, actually...they're just up in the attic taking up space. So it's not like I'd be giving up something I use a lot or anything. And color? Gee, I'm stil trying to convince myself that we can get it at all, since it's got fabric on the back...the Eames lounge/ottoman would seem to be a safer bet, cat-wise, since it's wood on the back and leather on the front...there's a leather version of the womb chair that would answer some of these issues, although scratched up leather would just break my heart...but they really aren't scratching much up recently, so maybe I'm worrying over nothing.

And on a different topic--could you please just send me one more e-mail, even empty, so I can find those amazing epistles and finally get around to responding to them? They're somewhere and I can't find them! (it's not just your things, it's a lot of things--brain fog, don't you know...)

Yes, I think the womb chair is the most comfortable chair in the world, too. And can men sit in it? that's a trick question.

If you look in the picture of my (eclectic) living room, you'll see the Henry Bertoia wing chair schooched off to the left of the womb. This chair is amazingly comfortable -- I went to "try out" some Breuer Wassily chairs (which were decidedly not comfortable) and the folks had a Bertoia, too, that I couldn't believe how comfy it was. And that's how I came to own one.

Flyleft -- you need to pay attention to tax and shipping -- that can add a bundle and some of these places don't charge.

Molly, OH DEAR...we went and sat in the womb chair today and it's actually big enough for DH! I swear they shrank those Eames lounges since I last sat in one...it was SO tiny!

AND, what's worse is that we finally found the sofa of our dreams. It's ultimately adaptable for taller and shorter people (always our bane when looking for sofas), it's *slipcovered* although you'd never know it, so if the cats rip through the cover we can simply *get a new one*!!! It's eerily *everything* we would design into a sofa if we could do it ourselves. I'm a complete freak for adaptability--and this one you can configure so many different ways...wow. I'll link it below. I have to figure out whom to mug to get this money, though...so we're now dreaming not only of a Womb Chair but also of a Freja Couch. In Brown, in case anyone's planning on surprising us :) The womb chair we haven't decided on color yet, though. We may actually be dumb enough to do that one in leather...

Here is a link that might be useful: and you can buy a great ,useful tray that sits on the nice flat arms

Fly: I was dipping into the discussions thread and found you were sick. So sorry. Hope you continue to feel better.

And had to laugh that your first venture out was to DWR to sit in the chair. Yes -- it's a huge chair. I was sure a DH of any size could fit in the chair, but I thought what Pecan meant was would any DH of any size be permitted to sit in the chair. I can't answer that, having rewarded myself with the chair after having divested myself of that exact problem.

The sofa is really fab. I looked at a zillion fabrics for the womb and ended up with the black boucle. I was just at a friend's house who has it in the orange boucle and it's stunning. She also has some low slung Eames, I think one in black and one in red. I just love this stuff.