French Trunk Console

Long before it was a console, this held a farmhouse's grain, a lidded chest where the year's harvest was kept dry under a heavy plank top. Found in Normandy and dating to the early 20th century, it runs long and low, a paneled front below a hinged lid that lifts to a deep open box within, all on square block legs. The French called it a coffre à grain, a grain chest built heavy and tight to keep the flour dry and the mice out, one of the most useful things a farm kitchen owned. Sylvie stands it behind a sofa or along a hall as a console, the deep box inside swallowing blankets and everything a room would rather not show.