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French Armoire: This oak armoire, made in the upper Normandy town of Fécamp in the early 19th century, would have been unpainted originally. Its front is carved with images of birds, plants, musical instruments, and tools. Armoires of this type were usually made as wedding gifts, and their carvings symbolized family, love, abundance, and prosperity. As part of the restoration of Mrs. Mills's bedroom to its 1890s appearance, conservators stripped away an outer layer of white latex paint from the armoire to reveal two different shades of yellow, believed to have been added when the armoire's mirrors were installed in the 1880s. The armoire is one of the few antique pieces of furniture chosen for Mrs. Mills's Allard et Fils-designed bedroom. It may have been added to the room by Stanford White, the architect of the mansion's expansion.