Hope Chests - Hopeless Furnishings Or Still Relevant


by Jennifer Akre - Date: 2006-12-07 - Word Count: 400 Share This!

Beautiful hope chests were once prized possessions of young women who hoped to build a new and wonderful life with the things stored away in these ornate and lavish storage boxes. Often hand-crafted and made from high quality hardwoods, a hope chest was built to stand the test of time which is why many were passed down to future generations. But, all traditions eventually fade and it seemed like the beautiful hope chest was doomed to become a part of history.

Indeed, ornate hope chests started to fade from popularity during the beginning of the women's movement in the early 1960's. Because the traditional use of a trunk was to store away blankets, linens, and any other supplies that a young woman might need after getting married and starting a new home with her husband-the hope chest became a symbol of a past that many women were trying to get away from. As a result, the lavish wooden boxes faded from popularity forcing many to turn to sub-par alternatives like many of the plastic totes so popular today.

However, as the dust settled somewhat after the main battle of the sexes subsided, both women and men began to see many alternative uses for classic hope chests. Children could store away their toys in the mighty pine or cedar chests. As they grew, the trunk could be used as an extra seat when friends came over. Finally, as high school was coming to an end, the ubiquitous hope chest began to take on a more traditional role-as a storage compartment that people could use when moving out on their own.

Instead of being used as the storage container for young women awaiting marriage and the chance to move out on their own with their new husband, the hope chest is now being used by a growing number of college students in dorm rooms and apartments. As a result, the hope chest is once again a very popular furnishing that is being passed down through the generations.

If you want to go shopping for beautiful hope chests, try using the Internet. Although the chest is once again popular, most traditional furniture retailers do not sell them which is why you need to try shopping online for the best prices and styles. Online merchants are the best place to shop for wooden storage chests and they tend to have the best prices due to their low overhead.


Related Tags: bathroom cabinets, hope chest, hope chests, lingerie chest, storage cabinets, chest of drawers

Looking for information on Bar Stools? Jennifer Akre, owner of numerous sites offers the online information on stylish Bar Stools or the perfect kitchen Bar Stool. Complete your home and kitchen decor in style-Visit today: Gourmet Decor Store.com.

Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: