Don't Tell My Husband.

I've always loved Welsh dressers.  I had one in a former life, but that was then and this is now. I've been looking for another one ever since.

Welsh dressers have been around for hundreds of years in the U.K.  Primarily used in the kitchen for purely utilitarian purposes, Welsh dressers stored food and housed crockery.  

But gradually the function of the dresser changed.  It became a perfect place to display the best dinnerware, and it moved from the kitchen to the dining room. 

Old Welsh dressers have been imported from the U.K. to the States for many, many years.  (I honestly don't know how there are any left over there.)  Found in the priciest of antique stores, oak dressers are highly prized for their distinctive style and beautiful patina:

When my husband and I bought our house a few years ago, the previous owners had remodeled the kitchen.  This cupboard (below) was built to resemble a Welsh dresser.  (Please excuse Bitsy; she was looking for her duck.) 

As you can see, this is a great place to display my blue and white porcelains, family photos, books, etc.  We had a little dinner party on the Fourth, and the flowers are still hanging on.  Thank goodness for grocery store flowers! 

So today I had to show up for jury duty.  After waiting for two and a half hours, we were told that we could go home.  After all of the trauma of getting to the courthouse in downtown Dallas at the crack of dawn and then sitting for HOURS, I decided I needed a little retail therapy.  

There are a bunch of old warehouses and storefronts near downtown, close to the trickle of water that is the Trinity River.  I never know what I'll find there.  (I'll have to do another post about my shopping experiences there.)

ANYWAYS (as my daughter used to say), guess what I happened upon in the back of an old building?

I can't tell you how excited I was!  It's 19th century and I think it has lots of character.  It definitely needs a little work.  For example, the knobs aren't the original and will have to be replaced.  The finish is pretty banged up but nothing a little wax can't fix.  All in all, I think it's a great find.

I have absolutely no place in my house to put it.  But that's okay, because I can always find a place for something I really like.  After I bought it, the shop owner agreed to keep it at the shop and do a few repairs.  That will give me time to figure out how to break the news to my sweet, long-suffering husband that we have yet another piece of furniture for which we have no room.

In the meantime, don't tell him.