A little amour for the armoire please

The popularity of the flat-screen TV has left an ocean of orphans in its wake: the once-loved, now-neglected armoire.

Furniture consignment stores are chock full of them; Craigslist is overwhelmed with them.

But I'm here to tell you: Armoires were around a long time before the advent of the bulky need-to-hide-them televisions and computers and there are still plenty of uses for them.

A little history: Cavemen used armoires to store their drawings. Vikings hid the keys to their ships in them. And prairie folk put their Popsicles in them, but that was pretty much a bust until they invented ice.

It's been, in fact, only for the last several hundred years that people have stored televisions and computers in armoires. And now that lots of folks are down-sizing those appliances, it's a good time to buy those cast-off pieces of furniture.

The armoire shown here cost $135 at a consignment shop. It is a solid oak piece that was built as a computer station. Now it houses toys. A few baskets and it tames the toys that were in the family room of one of my clients. The shelf that once held the keyboard now holds puzzles.

Armoires are a handsome way to store office supplies, linens and, of course, clothing.

So, in the words of David Soul: Don't give up on us, baby. We're still worth one more try. (And if you don't know who David Soul is and you don't find out...you are dead to me.)