Mirror, Mirror…Who is the Fairest Cat of Them All?

I have a confession to make. Of all the pieces of furniture designed to make our lives easy, efficient and more organized, the bedroom vanity is the one I understand the least. I know they are specifically designed to organize cosmetics, beauty supplies, jewelry and other small accessories, while being comfortably seated in front of the mirror. However, to my way of thinking, a dresser with a mirror (in conjunction with a corner of the bed to sit on) serves exactly the same purpose. It seems redundant to have a piece of furniture solely for looking at yourself taking up valuable floor space.

I took a trip back home last month to help my sister sort through what my father would and would not take with him when he moved into a smaller place, after selling the house. Since my mother was quite a collector of furniture, china and other curiosities, my father didn't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater. So, my sister and I decided to call in an antiques and collectibles appraiser for a consultation to help us separate good stuff from garage sale stuff. Before the appraiser was to arrive, my father asked if we planned to show him the vanity.

What vanity? My father said that I had already seen it because it was in the closet of the bedroom I used when I visited. Apparently, on one of their weekend day trips out of the city, my mother and father stopped for lunch in a near-by town and ended up perusing the treasures of an outdoors antiques fair. Mother spotted it in the back corner of one of the booths and immediately fell in love with it. When I opened the closet door, it became quite clear why I hadn't really noticed it. It was buried beneath a pile of miscellaneous items. But, after my sister and I cleared everything off and pulled it out into the center of the room, I could see immediately why my mother wanted to bring this bedroom vanity home with her.

Made of walnut, it had a drop front with a full length mirror in the center. The mirror had an arched top; the drawers on either side had delicate bail handles; but the thing that fascinated me the most about the vanity was the two, freestanding barley twist oval side mirrors. Intended to stand on either side of the center mirror, they could be moved around into a "tri-fold" position so that a person sitting at the vanity could see the back of their hair. Tucking conveniently underneath the middle section, a square vanity bench with a cane seat completed the look.

We had swung it around and pushed it up against the foot of the bed. Even still, there was barely enough room to move around. But, after the appraiser had left, I didn't have the heart to push this beautiful piece of furniture back into the closet. The next morning, I found myself carefully perched on the cane vanity bench applying face cream, brushing my hair and taking time to just admire the vanity…okay I'll admit it, admire myself in the mirror. Completely seduced, I gave in to the vanity's charms and arranged my small collection of beauty products on its two tabletops.

Later on that afternoon, I dashed into the bedroom to freshen my makeup before going out. I discovered my Dad's cat, Joe, sitting in front of the left oval mirror tilting his head slowly to one side. Then, he slowly tilted his head to the other side. I thought that, upon sitting down, Joe would vacate his pride of place. No such luck. He slowly tilted his head back to the left side oblivious to whatever it was I had in mind. He was still, for want of a better expression, admiring himself by the time I was ready to leave. For the remainder of my visit, the odds of stepping into the bedroom to find Joe in front of one of the oval mirrors were good. He never varied his routine-he slowly dipped to the left then to the right then back again.

The whole experience has me reassessing my opinion of this "vain" piece of furniture. I am seriously considering purchasing one: sitting at my mother's dressing table getting ready for the day gave me a feeling of confidence that perched on the edge of the mattress leaning into the dresser mirror while applying lipstick did not. And, since it seems that they like primping too, maybe I should get a cat to match my new bedroom vanity.