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Thursday, April 5, 2012

A Hutch Too Far?


I sometimes wonder if that phrase describes our house – a hutch too far.  It’s like a bridge too far, only with furniture.  In case your World War II history is a little rusty, British Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning (commander of the British airborne forces and – this is really cool – the husband of Daphne du Maurier; Rebecca, I love that novel) coined the phrase.  During the planning for Operation Market Garden, he reportedly said, “I think we may be going a bridge too far” when discussing how long his troops could hold a bridge in the Netherlands.

Whether it’s overreaching to have three hutches in one house, I don’t know, but at least our hutches are working successfully, unlike the Allies’ 1944 military operation.  Last month, I shared our dining room hutch with you, the one I call the curiosity cabinet because it contains numerous little tchotchkes and keepsakes in addition to dishes.

Dining room                                                                                            Back porch

 We have another small hutch on our back porch.  It is really more a Hoosier cabinet than a true hutch.  Like our dining room hutch, this cabinet was inherited.  It belonged to my Pennsylvania grandmother.  It has been through a lot.  It was painted several times, its tambour door broke, the original painted glass has been replaced.  When my uncle died, my parents took in the cabinet, but they never used it.  I later rescued it from my parents’ shed.  They were planning to throw it away when I snatched it.  It still needs work.  The drawers don’t open very well, for example, and one door won’t latch, but I love having it on our porch where it holds my compost pail, grill lighters, marshmallow toasting forks, leashes, Armor All, bug repellent, you name it. 

Living room

Our third hutch, the only one we actually purchased, sits in our living room.  And, baby, it is big.  It is a little more than seven feet tall, five feet wide, and nineteen inches deep.  All one piece.  It is murder to move.  We bought it at an antiques store in Walworth, Wisconsin after we moved out of our city condo to a small-town house.  It houses our flow blue china, Fiesta Ware, table linens, candles, and other odds and ends.

A peek inside.  The bottom drawer hold croquet balls and Eiffel Towers.  Hmmm.

If we ever downsize from this old house, no doubt we won’t be able to keep all three of the hutches.  It would be tough to decide which to keep and which to let go.  Not exactly a Sophie’s choice (in keeping with my World War II references), but a hard decision nevertheless.  Do you have a similar problem with too many chairs or tables that you can’t or don't want to get rid of?  



21 comments:

  1. Oh, I don't think you have too many hutches. They make for great storage spaces and are great to look at compared to a closet door.

    It isn't easy to let go of items you have collected over the years. Downsizing was the hardest part for me, but I did keep a couple items that were dear to my heart.

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  2. Loooove your hutches! We don't have one back home, but all our furniture here in the states is hire furniture and we have a hutch.. I wonder how I ever lived without it! It is on my list to buy when we move back! :)

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  3. I love a good hutch and you have quite the collection. Never too many. The more the merrier, in my opinion. Thanks for sharing, liz

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  4. I love your hutches...my favorite though is the back porch one! I also loved looking at your collection of dishes too! That is what I have way too much of and can't stop, dishes love old floral ones....and old linen.

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  5. I love your hutches. So much storage. The last one is my favorite. Don't you wonder about it's history.
    Have a nie holiday week-end.

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  6. You can never be too rich, too skinny, or have too many hutches. Yep. I'm pretty sure that is how the saying should go. I love hutches!!! I have three armoires and feel pretty strongly about them too. I love the one on the back porch! I'm still cracking up about the croquet balls and Eiffel Towers. HA!

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  7. I'm just catching up on my blog reading after a little hiatus - and I have to say that I love the hutches! I'm sort of hunting for one right now that can hold some of the collections that I have growing - namely the 5 or 6 teapots, which are sure to keep accumulating, since I'm inexplicably drawn to them at every thrift store I visit. I also just read the post about the chocolate cake... and I think I might go make it this very instant!! 30 minutes to chocolate? P.S. Your mother-in-law sounds amazing. I'm also lucky to have a terrific one. :-)

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  8. I love all 3 hutches. I never knew that about the phrase and that General was Daphne du Maurier's husband - very interesting. Have you ever seen the "Rebecca" movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock? - it's wonderful!
    Angie

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  9. I love them all, and in my opinion, no one can have too many hutches :)

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  10. Your hutches are very nice. My mom wants one to put in our dining room.

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  11. I love storage pieces of any shape and size. These are great!

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  12. Gosh, you have three great looking and practical storage pieces. I only have one hutch and it's crammed full of dishes, etc. Thanks for sharing your "collection" of hutches. :)
    Hope you have a great Easter,
    Babs

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  13. Your hutches are all fabulous! I must admit when I read the title, I thought you could be talking about rabbit hutches as we tend to call them dressers over here. We have a small one about 6' tall, dark wood about 1930s which we bought from an auction - we wouldn't be able to fit yours into our little cottage as the ceilings are so low! They're so useful though for storage. Ours has open shelves at the top which I display plates, vases etc. I must admit all sorts of stuff gets stored in the bottom and forgotten about! I love your flow blue :) I'm a Rebecca fan too - I might have to dig it out of the bookcase and read it again this year now you've reminded me. Maggie xx

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  14. It is wonderful, I am jealous. I am your newest follower. Thanks for stopping by. Happy Easter. Richard from My Old Historic House.

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  15. I totally have a hutch addiction too!! I only have 2 in my house right now... but I sense there will be more in my future:) I LOVE your back porch hutch.

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  16. You do not have too many hutches! Storage!! And yours are beautiful. I used to be guilty of too many armoires (I "lost" some in my divorce ;-) ) - but they were all well-used and loved.

    An Unrefined Vegan

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  17. A woman can NEVER have too many hutches! I have 3 inside and looking for 2 more to serve as storage and potting benches for my carport. Two of the inside hutches are actually used for china (what a concept!) and one is used for stamping and craft supplies. I love yours. Hope you never have to give them up!

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  18. I love that hutch on your back porch, it's my most favorite! :) I don't have a single hutch anymore which is probably a good thing... I might be tempted to store too many odds and ends. ;) Although one would work beautifully in my studio, just think of all the craft supplies I could get neatly organized in one of those beauties... ;)

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  19. I love your hutches! I'd love the one in the dining room for my dining room! Your bottom is my favorite. All I can think of is hidden craft supplies!

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  20. just watched that movie the other day. the british made me laugh (i can say that as i am british lol), especially michael caine. perfect example of british understatement, but, how do you cope otherwise ...

    love the living room hutch. beautiful colour.

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  21. OK, you are convincing me that we need a hutch!!! That one that you have on the porch is beautiful!

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