The object I decided to discuss is a bar that was handed down to me from my parents. Literally, it’s a sort of wooden cabinet, but it had been marketed as a bar (a place to store liquor), and had only ever been used as such. My parents bought it when I was about 2 or 3 years old from a furniture store that is no longer in business. They acquired it as one of their first of many beloved pieces of furniture when they bought their first home.

The bar stands at about 32 inches high, and a few millimeters shy of 40 inches wide. It stands on four short legs, each about 4 inches tall and resembling a gourd. The bar consists of 3 storage spaces. The center one is the largest and the two on either side are smaller and identical in size.

The two side storage spaces are semi-cylindrical cabinets that open with metal knobs that have an almost trapezoidal shape. These cabinets each have two shelves. Each shelf has a metal gate about 3 inches high on the outer perimeter for keeping the contents secured inside. The side cabinets each have what appear to be a hand-painted design. The design consists of two geometric images. The outermost is a thin golden rectangular line with small golden details in the corners, which consist of delicate tendril-like curls in either direction. The innermost image, about an inch or so from the other, is a 1-inch-thick black rectangular border with a golden three-pronged flower pattern within. The black border is rimmed on the inside and outside with a gentle line of gold.

The cabinet in the center has the same interior layout as the two smaller ones but on a much larger scale and is a full cylindrical shape. It too consists of two shelves each enclosed by 3-inch-high metal gates. It opens and closes like a Lazy Susan; you push the door and it swivels around 360 degrees to reveal the interior. The hand-painted design on the center has the same two geometric images as on the smaller cabinets but on a larger scale. They are both in the shape of a square rather than a rectangle. Inside the innermost square, there is a beautiful design featuring a vase of flowers, circled with a round border of thick tendril-like curls. These curls are like the ones in the corners but thicker and more pronounced. The colors of this image consist of light browns and muted greens, blues, and reds, which all fit in with the rustic, antique style of the piece.

On the center compartment there is attached a latch. My father installed it when I was in high school and prone to mischief so he could put a lock on it. The latch still remains although the lock no longer does. There are chips on the top of the wood in the form of perfect circles, likely where my brothers and I would place our drinks without coasters, despite my parents attempts to prevent that. There are other various scuffs and marks from all sorts of childhood hijinks.

After almost two decades, my parents decided it was time to part with one of their first pieces of furniture, a wooden structure that represented a milestone in their lives and which had witnessed their family grow. It retains the character to prove it. Now it sits in the living room of my first college home, which I share with three friends. It still serves as a bar, and also as our TV stand which was only supposed to be temporary. But once we got used to looking at it every day, it didn’t seem right to make anything else the centerpiece of our living room.

And it retained even more character in its new home. There is a red paint drip mark at the bottom of it from one of the many crafts my housemates and I have gotten into. I think specifically it was from the bloody hand print tapestry we made one Halloween.

This piece of furniture, while visually and physically unique, holds stories that can be realized through its physical characteristics. I plan to hold onto this piece of furniture that has watched me grow up, for a very long time. I hope for it to develop more character over the years and expand its little collection of tales.