This 1940s Gem Is the Statement Piece You Need in Your Living Room Now
I love a curated antique shop. Make it easy for me to find the good stuff. But there’s also a siren call to a dusty attic or flea market.
One day this past spring, I was strolling through a darling antique shop in rural Virginia when I noticed a staircase in the back. It didn’t appear off-limits, so I wandered upstairs. It was questionable at best whether these items were actually for sale or whether they were perhaps in some sort of secondhand purgatory, awaiting their fate to be determined somewhere between junkyard and glossy furniture flip.
Amidst the rickety doors, busted-out cane chairs, and broken appliances, I spotted a quirky desk meets bench mashup that I had to have.
I gave it a nudge. It appeared to be in solid condition. The paint was mostly intact — nothing a small paint brush and a can of black paint couldn’t fix. The harp detailing across the back was perfection. It called to me. A shelf under the seat — the perfect spot to stash more coffee-table books!
The only part of this piece that seemed in need of a little TLC was the upholstery. Someone had taken a few hastily hammered nailheads and some linen fabric that looked like it’d been cut with a pair of dull shears, and called it a day. Perhaps it was that upholstery job that relegated it to that attic area.
But its near-loss was my gain. I ran down to the checkout counter to ask the price, careful not to show my cards. “$70?” they asked. “Great, I think I’ll take it.”
What Is a Telephone Bench?
I’ve since learned this statement piece is actually a telephone bench, or a gossip bench — the moniker I, not surprisingly, prefer. These charming seats were common from the 1920s through the 1950s, when they were often used in hallways or other public spaces where you would have a telephone on the table and a telephone book under the seat.
Gossip benches’ popularity coincided with the rise of the landline in most American homes, and the styling typically had just enough surface space for a small lamp and a notepad, ready to jot down doodles and secrets. As it became more common to have more than one phone in the house, the telephone bench began to wane in prominence.
Why I Love My Telephone Bench
Looking at the silhouette, I can imagine this bench sitting proudly in the center of a home, serving as the spot where teenagers phoned their first crushes and 1950s moms caught up on the neighborhood tea. Today, my telephone bench sits in my Victorian rowhome’s back “parlor” living room — a fancy way of saying the part of the living room that’s sectioned off with pocket doors. It’s hidden just out of sight enough to feel like maybe it’s still a gossip bench, still ushering in secrets into its next century.
I love that my telephone bench (and most others) is compact in footprint — and still manages to pack a tiny tabletop surface and a bit of extra storage underneath and next to its seat. It really earns that spot that I’ve placed it in, and I think it’s a smart small-space solution for anyone who has limited floor space.
Anyone who sees this bench always asks what it is, making it a fun conversation piece in my home. In that way, too, it manages to stay connected in some part to its original use. And for that reason, I also love it and think one would be great in your home, too.
Further Reading
I Tried the 90/90 Rule and My Closet Is Now Fully Decluttered
We Tested (and Rated!) Every Sofa at West Elm — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
I Just Discovered the Smartest Way to Store Paper Towels in Your Kitchen (It’s a Game-Changer!)
