Friends are considering an opportunity on the other side of the world. Lots of late night discussions with us and others and decisions to be made based on hope and a promise. Having done this several times over the years, it isn’t easy. As we talked we both realised that we have lost some courage in doing this as each time has a sense of adventure but also a price to pay. After making such a decision, the practicality kicks in with logistics, removals and the dreaded bureaucracy of anywhere new. There is also what you are prepared to take and what to leave behind. We consider it as our traveling furniture. Ask yourself, what would you take with you for a big move? We have carried a bit of every place we have lived in and they have gradually merged in to what we won’t give up. Each piece holds memories that have become so important with changing walls and spaces. The furniture, art work and even wine glasses, have created a foundation and stability for each new place.
Australia
Ironically, we had bought a Chinese golden elm money chest years ago which is more like a bureau. It was before the fashion of reproduction Asian furniture caught on and we love its peg and wood joints, strange middle panel and drawers. It is often admired and has been used in the dining room to hold crockery. There are also two Spanish glass flutes given by dear friends and we often say cheers to them with a gin cocktail.
Penang
Sadly, most of the Malaysian furniture had to be sold due to moving to a small apartment in Geneva three years later. There is an A-frame reproduction Chinese cupboard that has held shoes, linen, crockery and is now repainted in a soft green for the bathroom. Artwork hangs in our dining room and the decor is Asian in memory of that time. Good luck camphor wood symbols are on the wall – the phoenix, deer, bat and another bird, representing ancient tales of wealth and prosperity.
Switzerland & France
Living mainly over the border from Geneva, people could pick up furniture for a song. Revamping them often cost more than the original price! Two Louis XVI chairs re-covered and combined with Voltaire prints as cameos over a Swiss table, add an elegant space in our current living room merging with the soft old stone of the apartment. A French fruit wood farm table serves as office space and for dining. It has seen many a dinner and discussion.
New York & Berlin
A smart New York white TV cupboard and a retro Art Deco glass coffee table all bring a chic style reminiscent of a bygone age to a tiny but elegant living room. Berlin provided smart and well designed wardrobes that are sleek, offering practical elegance to a grey and white bedroom.
These are full of memories and challenges, some wonderful, some poignant and some a life learning lesson. Have a look at what is dear to you and what would be packed up to move to another place. Then there are always the minimalists such as Albert Einstein who said that, ‘a table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin, what else does a man need to be happy?’
