One of the greatest things we have on this earth and in this life is our family, the bloodline we dropped out of to be a part of the universe. With bloodlines come things like genetics, heartache, personality, and much, much more. But when we really think about our families, many thoughts drift toward the notion of inheritance – what exactly are we inheriting from our parents? In many cases that could be furniture. While some think this is exciting, especially if we’ve been eyeing a piece of furniture at our grandparents’ place, there are many who don’t. After all, who wants that extra clutter? “Those pieces wouldn’t fit it in the milieu of my apartment” is something you might say, but inheriting furniture is a great thing and here’s why, according to The Wall Street Journal.

David A. Keeps writes, “Certainly, not every antique—technically an item at least 100 years old, a designation created in the 1930s by the U.S. Customs Office—holds financial value. New York interior designer Alan Tanks-ley put it bluntly: “Simply because things are old and purchased by people we cherished does not make them good.” For 20th-century American furniture, decorators recommend examining the manufacturer tags usually affixed to the inside of drawers. Hold on to anything labeled Herman Miller, Knoll, Dunbar, Bernhardt Baker, Brown Saltman and Widdicomb, among others, unless you loathe it. It’s well constructed even if it isn’t priceless. Pieces made of bronze, brass, solid walnut, solid maple and marble are also worth finding a home for.”