When my two sisters bought their tent, around 2009, they had some work done to update the WC and the stairs, and then set about decorating it with a combination of vintage pieces and modern ones. Each year they do something a little different and I always enjoy seeing the changes.
They have two full floors, two porches and a balcony, so plenty of seating is available which is a good thing as we have a large extended family and lots of friends who come visit. Of great necessity is a long table to seat everyone at mealtime. And the mismatched kitchen chairs are mismatched on purpose.
Over the years, necessity has also warranted the inclusion of a crib and baby swing for grandkids, shelves full of games (YES! Absolutely necessities!), electric fans, and various doodads for pest control, including flip-flop fly-flaps.
I admit, we all kinda enjoy getting a peak into other people’s tents to see how they decorate. There’s one tent that always has lots of red, white & blue, and another that has sports team motifs. We’ve seen some that have tons of photographs plastered on the walls, and others that are pretty bare and just a place to store folding chairs and coolers. Each to the owners’ approval.
What we notice most of all is that the décor is part of the tradition. That family’s tradition – whether it’s Victorian or mid-century modern or a dash of this and that. It’s the items they bring year after year. The items that spend the other 50 weeks of the year languishing in a garage, perhaps, but which are dusted off and carted over for camp meeting. The old benches or chairs that are welcomed like favorite relatives who come to visit. Grandma’s bedstead or Aunt Mary’s rocking chair or the nightstand Dad built.
They’re things that matter. Camp meeting wouldn’t be the same without them.
What’s the one piece of furniture or décor that YOU wouldn’t be without at camp meeting?