Hearts Galore!

Over the last few years I’ve really gotten into collecting vintage Valentine’s Day cards and chocolate boxes, and I feel like I’ve reached the point where I truly decorate for Valentine’s Day. What’s so funny is that I still really don’t care much for the holiday itself, but I love the vintage ephemera that results from the holiday, and sending little cards to friends to remind them they are loved. The boys even got in on it with their Tunnel of Love that they play in.

Overview shot of part of our living room, against the wall rests a red coconut chair, a table with a lamp on it, and a white Saarinen chair. Colonel Whiskers sits nearby his Tunnel of Love.

Close-up of two valentines in the shadow box, on is of a blonde cowgirl holding a kitten, the other is of a cowboy kitten.

A built in room divider that is partially open separates our hallway from the living room, and inside its shelves are vintage cameras, vintage heart shaped chocolate boxes, and a mini laundry line with vintage valentines hanging from mini clothes pins.

Houdini, our little black cat, rests inside a cat tunnel that features a felt heart at the front of it, and in white text above it reads "Tunnel of Love"

Overall view of the dining room, along the back wall is a large wooden shelf piece that features various vintage valentines, heart shaped chocolate boxes, and vases with flowers in them. Across the valance of a window is a mini laundry line with vintage valentines hanging from it.

Close-up of one of the room divider nooks, along the top, hanging from a string, are various vintage valentines hanging from tiny clothes pins, resting on the shelf below are two vintage cameras, two vintage heart shaped chocolate boxes, and a vintage souvenir photo folder from a Andy Wong's Shangri-La.

Overview of a built in bookcase on the right, which has two shelves full of vintage valentines, vintage heart shaped chocolate boxes, and vintage cameras. On the left, a fireplace, with a shadow box hanging above also with vintage valentines in it.

Close-up of a record sleeve featuring a handsome mustached man holding papers, text reads "David Niven reads the 'world's most famous love letters'" to the right is a heart shaped chocolate box, and nearby is a pair of pink birds with large blue eyes.

Various valentines rest atop a table, along with a vintage comic titled "Love Stores" and features multiple couples kissing.

Tighter look at the shelf unit of the dining room that features multiple heart shaped chocolate boxes, valentines, a few vintage cameras, a record sleeve, and a pair of golden coyote statues.

A vintage valentine of a little boy with a camera reads "You click with me valentine. Hope this will develop into something good" and rests on top of a vintage camera.

Tighter shot of the shadow box above the fireplace, which holds several vintage valentines, a vintage souvenir photo folder, and some vintage cameras.

Close-up of a shelf, which features a mini heart shaped shelf, that holds some vintage valentines and a vintage camera, other items around it are two vintage heart shaped chocolate boxes, and a vintage comic book reading "Falling in Love" and features a couple kissing.

A small heart shaped vase also features a figure of a boy in a tux, holding a top hat, to the right is a souvenir folder from the Hollywood Palladium featuring a well dressed couple dancing.

A small collection of vintage valentines hang like laundry on the line from the valance above the sliding glass door.

Close-up of another valentine in the shadow box, this one of a girl usher at a movie theater, text reads "A glamorous gal's got 'something' that makes her a movie queen"

Close-up of a vintage pop-up Valentine's Day display that rests on the dining room table, and features a couple resting under a gazebo.

Close-up of a small box featuring the silhouette of a couple and reads "To My Sweetheart" in pink script, next to it is a small vintage valentine of a girl in a green can-can dress and the text reads "Be your valentine? I 'can-can' You be mine?" And next to it is a souvenir photo folder for "Frank Senne's Moulin Rouge 'Showplace of the World' Hollywood" and has an illustration of the Eiffel Tower on it.

Our large, fluffy grey cat, Colonel Whiskers, rests inside a cat tunnel that has a large red heart shaped opening at the front and above it reads "Tunnel of Love"

Unlike Halloween or Christmas, Valentine’s Day does not fill every nook and cranny of our home, but I find a lot of joy in the multitude of hearts and cheery little cards that are full of puns. I already have my eye on a few pieces I want to buy to expand and fill up more of the space, so maybe next year it will overflow elsewhere.

A few years ago I shared some of my vintage valentines here on the blog, and I do plan to do that again, finally, as my collection has grown quite a lot! Mostly thanks to my dad who always keeps an eye out for me. He’s an antique dealer, and recently bought multiple large bundles of cards and chocolate boxes that he sent my way.

Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day? And if so, with what?

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