Vintage Furniture

My latest indulgence -- an oak Hoosier cabinet -- came from an historic home built in 1901 in Stem, NC by the Granville County sheriff. (The home was fabulous!) The owner bought the cabinet in Kansas when her daughters were young and initially used it as a diaper changing table. It has served many purposes over the years, particularly related to her sewing hobby, but now she is headed to the mission field and is reluctantly parting with it.


The history of the piece is unknown, but I like to think it was the centerpiece in the kitchen of an industrious country wife in the early 20th century. As servants and cook-houses gave way to the modern kitchen, women used baker cabinets such as these until they were replaced by built-in cabinets and countertops. I imagine many pies and baked goods were prepared on the porcelain pull-out shelf and cooled on the rack shelves of the lower cabinet. The original casters (to keep ants from crawling up the legs), spice rack and tin-lined bread storage drawer remain. I don’t know if it ever had a flour bin/sifter or roll doors common to many cupboards, but I like the open shelves in the middle. It measures 6 feet high, 3.5 feet wide and 2 feet deep, nice and large, but I have already filled it to capacity with my soap making supplies.