It is difficult to appreciate vintage fashion without also developing a love and penchant for fine antiques. I guess having Art History as a high school favourite subject and spending a whole day at The Louvre cramming Napoleon’s loot in my visual library has helped me to develop a refined taste in antiques, including furniture.

I stumbled across this beautiful antique bath tub on an auction site. It brought nostalgic memories of the marble sculptures such as the famed Winged Victory of Samothrace, the lovely Cupid and Psyche, and the armless Venus de Milo.

It is solid marble, beautifully sculpted with a Roman feel and way out of my price range.  The bath tub’s centrepiece is the lion head – symbol of grandeur and status, that of a ruler, a king. The lion’s  face looks fierce and worried at the same time – guarding the precious nonfoliated metamorphic rock tub for centuries. This bath tub is fit for a queen.

This may sound strange, but I recently had a ‘craving’ for drop-front desks. It all started a month or so ago at my local op-shop. I saw a wooden drop-front desk, not in mahogany or anything grand, it opened at the top and had 2 ‘arms’ which came outwards to support the desk ‘front’. It had a cabinet beneath it with a shelf inside.  I immediately fell in love with it- I mean, what a great place to hide my junk! I started my research on good old Ebay and found myself falling in love all over again…  I realised that I had a problem: drop-front-desk-deficiency. The antique ‘Secretaire’ below is a lust-have. It appears to belong to a duck-lover.

Despite my enthusiastic bidding efforts, some desks were just not meant to be. When God closes one door, He opens another. A few weeks later, I stumbled across an antique shop and saw my dream desk. It was in rich chocolate wood, had elaborate handles and Queen Anne style legs. The selling feature of this desk is that when you open the door, you do not need to bring out the side panels/arms separately. This desk is ‘automatic’! The arms come out obediently when you open the front door! There are a few scracthes on the surface, but that only added to its worn appeal, I like anything and everything vintage. On top,  there are a pair of kissing Chihuahua salt’n’pepper shakers (more to ‘season’ my blogs than to spice up my meals), a wedding photo (which I look more like a ghost in this image) and a ceramic Burmese named Basil.

Investing in fine furniture certainly has its advantages. Antiques are easy on the eye, well-made and will last many generations. French-born American writer Anais Nin once said: ‘My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living.’ I do not disagree. However the comfort and luxury my new desk provides has encouraged me, an internet blogger, to read and write more. Furthermore, now that I have my ‘Secretaire’,  I have an even better excuse to frock up as a sweet secretary.