
Part 3 of our 3 part series was originally published in the spring
2002 issue of "Old House Chronicles" website
© 2001 Nina Stine

It was really hard waiting for the floor to harden up enough to walk on
but about three weeks before Christmas it was finally time to start moving
in our furniture. Saturday morning I was up very early ready to start,
but Tom was trying to finish the built-in bookcase. I kept pacing around,
bringing in first one thing, then another, trying things out. Now, after
the parlor was finished, we didn't run out to the nearest antique mall
with a trailer and say "fill it up." No, we have a limited budget
and it took a long time and a lot of research to acquire the right kind
of furniture for our parlor.
A
few months after we moved into our new old home a friend gave us a binder
with a lot of old black and white magazines, that led us into searching
out other old house magazines. These show us not only the furnishings in
old homes, but also how these furnishings were used and thus delved into
everyday life of our Victorian ancestors. We also tour vintage homes any
time we get a chance. Some are wonderful country estates like the Biltmore,
but we also enjoy smaller homes. One thing we have found out from all our
research is that Victorians loved clutter and were eclectic.

So
armed with this knowledge, we started our search. It has taken several
years to collect proper furnishings, but the hunt is most of the fun. Even
though the parlor has been the last room we renovated, we had collected
enough pieces to fill it, and are able to mix and match with the living
room furnishings, changing the look from time to time. The items came from
many locations, and were acquired in different ways, but the goal was always
to give the impression that when you step into the formal parlor you are
stepping back in time.

First
we needed lighting for our parlor. When we bought our house the pan chandelier
in the parlor was the only fixture in the house, and being from the thirties
was probably original, but it just wasn't the look we wanted. We decided
to move it to the upstairs men's sitting room, and after looking at different
sorts of lighting we settled on the glass shaded parlor lamp. We never
had gas lighting in this area of the country and electricity didn't come
along until the 1920s so we knew that kerosene lighting was the most popular
lighting for our home in the 1890s. One Christmas morning Tom surprised
me with a lovely floral parlor lamp that he found in an antique store,
and wired for used in our home. To complement it a dear friend gave us
an Aladdin lamp for our 25th anniversary. We were quite surprised with
the generous gift and it has received a place of honor in our parlor.

Of
course when our house was built there was no television or radio, so people
had to provide their own entertainment. A little later most folks had a
Victorola, but most often the ladies of the home learned to play an instrument
to entertain themselves and their guests. We looked at different pianos,
but from research we learned that pump organs were affordable and common
in this area. We started our search in the usual places. We looked at numerous
antique malls and flea markets, and even had a friend who had one in an
old abandoned house on his farm, but the ones we found were in poor condition,
needed repair, and were out of our price range. We found a beautiful organ
at an estate auction, and we watched while one bargain after another was
sold so we had high hopes, but when the organ came up family members were
bidding against each other and us, and alas it went too high for our budget.
Like most of our finds we came upon one in a most unlikely place. While
helping Tom's sister move from New Mexico to Kansas we stopped at an antique
mall just for a little relaxation. There sat a pump organ on consignment.
It had been a prop at a dinner theater at Cow Town in Wichita, KS, so it needed work, but it looked
like most of the pieces were there. Most were walnut, but this one was
oak, so we put in a low bid, and were surprised when several weeks later
we found that we were the high bidders. We brought it home; since it had
been sitting in an outbuilding for several years the finish was damaged.
I was able to refinish the organ and it turned out beautifully. Tom took
apart the inside and repaired it so that it pumps air and sometimes our
son plays it for us. One year for Mothers Day, Tom found a bargain Victorola
in an antique mall, but of course it didn't work. He just said, "I
think I can fix it," so it came home with us. After a few hours, with
grease up to his elbows, he said, "I think it should work now,"
and we can listen to that modern marvel, the recorded voice.
The
next thing we needed to find was seating for our parlor. Our research showed
us that most people in the Victorian era mixed styles and periods in the
same room. If they had a good family piece they felt comfortable putting
it in the same room as their new furniture. On our way to pick up our organ
we stopped by our favorite antique store in Winfield, Kansas, and purchased
a lovely fainting couch, hall tree, and some bedroom furniture. We have
an antique mall close to our home and there we found a cameo back couch.
It was out of our price range so we left our name with the cashier and
the owner later gave us a call. We were able to come to an agreement on
the price and he sold the couch to us directly. Now don't think that antique
stores are the only place we get our furniture. We also go to a lot of
estate auctions. At one Tom was able to purchase a reproduction Victorian
cameo back couch and chairs. At another we bought a beautiful reproduction
marble top center table. Also at one I came home with my most unusual find.
When I brought home what turned out to be a beautiful carved walnut settee
everyone thought I'd lost my mind. It had been in a barn for a very long
time and was a very rough shape, but I purchased it for a song. After I
refinished it and had it reupholstered it has turned out to be one of the
most striking pieces of furniture we own.
We
had the furniture for our parlor, but we did need something for the windows.
I love the look of heavy velvet drapes with fringe and tasseled tie backs
but they were out of our budget for now. I determined that a simple lace
curtain would be appropriate and something we could afford. Off I went
to the outlet mall near our home. I looked at one store and couldn't find
a thing, but at the next store I found the perfect lace curtains. After
searching through the piles, I happened on a pattern with large lilies
on them. Now if you saw the wallpaper you know that it had a pattern of
roses and lilies. I've never seen another set like them, so they were a
serendipitous find.
The one thing we did have for our parlor was a mantel clock that we received
when Tom's paternal grandmother passed away. It had always been on a shelf
in her kitchen, and the familiar chimes are a welcome memory of bygone
times. The clock has the place of honor in the center of the mantel, but
we did need some other decorations for the mantel. The mantel leans down
toward the floor, so I didn't want to put any of my more fragile items
on it but after much thought we decided that our Vienna Art plates would
look nice and I don't have to worry about breakage.
The rest of the décor is taken care of with antique china plates
and bowls, family pictures and other assorted knick-knacks. While our parlor
is not as grand as some we have seen we do think we have achieved the homey
clutter the Victorians so loved. When we moved into our home we never expected
that we could afford so many antiques, but if you take your time and enjoy
the search anyone can have the same results.

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