Vintage Homes: My Parents' House

As I was brought up in the 90s as the youngest of four children, I often forget that my Mum and Dad were cool young teens during my favourite historical period.  Mum and Dad met in 1970 when they were both students at the University of Dundee and got married 5 months later in 1971.

As neither of them had any money (my Dad spent his first year of university living on cereal, pears, and beer) their first flat was pretty basic.  It had no kitchen and no bathroom, and one of the only pieces of furniture they had was a record player with only one record.  Being the cool kids they were, Mum and Dad decided to buy a ton of stylish 70s home accessories instead of boring things like beds and sofas.  Although today they live in a fully furnished house in Aberdeen, most of their possessions from their very first home are still proudly on display!

One of Mum and Dad's oldest possessions is this clock, called Petal.  Another of my parents' earliest purchases, Dill the dog, is also making an appearance in the background of this photo.  Dill only lived till I was two years old but I'm told that his name was my first word!

These fantastic blue mugs and saucers were given to my parents as an engagement present.

I love this perpetual calendar!  My Mum tells me that her and Dad bought it from a gift shop called Pandora's in 1970.

This piggy bank was a wedding present from my Mum's friend, it has the best colour scheme!

These jars were also wedding presents, they are so stylish!  Also worth noting are my Mum's collection of old romance novels in the background such as 'Gay Intruder.'

This little bakelite napkin ring is actually from the 50s but he was too cute not to include!  His name is Dickie and he was one of my Mum's childhood toys.

This bakelite frame is from around the same time period as Dickie, but it was actually quite a recent acquisition for Mum and Dad as it was a present from my sister Mairi a couple of years ago.  Mairi is in the picture along with her partner Carrie.

Returning to wedding gifts, this beautiful daisy crockery set came from a fancy department store called Justice and was a present from my Mum's sister.  It's hard for me to see the plates and bowls as anything special any more, as while I lived at home, I used these every day of my life.  No special occasion china for my family!

This green porcelain rabbit was handed down to my Mum and Dad from my Gran.  According to this article, he dates back to the 1930s (if you click the link, check out that fantastic blue dog!).

Finally, this plush elephant called Horace was a gift from my Dad to my Mum on their first christmas together.

I hope you've enjoyed looking at some of my parents' pretty things, I think that they have had a big part to play in my love of vintage!

Faye

xxx