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Friday, October 10, 2014

Dear Craigslist: We Need A Coffee Table. Now.



Dear North Jersey Craigslist,
We need a coffee table in our Study.  Now.

Our study is our reading room, computer room, television room,
and often it's where we catch a light supper together.
It's full of stuff.  Good stuff, but stuff.  And it needs a sturdy coffee table!

Our last coffee table was a big big architect's chest,
early 20th century, that belongs to our daughter Anne.

The chest, at an estate sale in Philadelphia, a couple of years ago.
No one wanted it so Anne, who had helped out at the sale, got it. Free.
 It now lives happily in her apartment in Washington DC.

The coffee table before that was a Hooker.
(Yes, I know.  I laugh every time.)
Anyway, it was a large, square chow table, made by Hooker Furniture,
and it cost me 99-cents on eBay.
It served us well, and just about the time we donated it to
Goodwill, it came roaring back into the pages of home dec magazines,
Who knew?

Before the Hooker, there was the Bootlegger.
A Craigslist find, this Art Deco table was sleek and held a really neat secret.


If you pushed in those end panels, they rotated, and
presto-chango!  You had a hidden bar, revealed.
[IMG_1661.JPG]
How cool is that?
A bootlegger's dream coffee table.
Sleek and good looking, it was too small for the room.
I think this is at my sister's now.

However - to haul us back to the problem at hand - since the end of August, 
we have not had a coffee table in the Study.  We need one.
My feet are just hanging off the sofa, dangling.

O Great Craigslist Gods ... do your thang!


(A quick look at the North Jersey CL listings yielded these tables,
all cheap enough to make me happy.  Although nothing beats 99 cents. Except free.)


Slate tile top, metal frame.  Dated, but practical.  Good colors for our room.

The new table must be big.  No dainty tea tables need apply.
Big enough to accommodate all the glasses and plates of
the young'uns at parties and holidays, and our feet the rest of the time.


Glass or stone tops work nicely.  No coasters.


I don't mind painting to get the right color.
(The one, above, is crying out for paint to cover its
not-vintage-in-a-good-way 80s Miami Vice frosted color.
I can see it brick red.  Or black. Or almost anything!)

Some really nice burled wood in this table.
Very much like the old credenza our TV lives on, including the fluting.

Below, a glass and steel example from Pottery Barn.
I like the minimalist look; we've got so much stuff in the Study,
this could be a welcome break in all the pattern and color.
(And it's a great price, too!)

Hmm ... Not sure about wanting that lower level.  Dust.  Dog hair.  Dang!
So many tables!  And loads more,
especially when I expand my search to the rest of New Jersey,
or nearby Pennsylvania, or Westchester, or New York City . . . .

Whatcha think?
What would you choose? Any ideas?

What do you look for in a casual, family room coffee table?
Happy Friday, my dears -- Cass

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14 comments:

  1. Oh boy...I cannot wait to see what you finally end up with. Lots of fab choices. This is such a super cute post. I would love it if you would share it at our WIW Linky Party. I hope you can join us.

    Paula
    ivyandelephants.blogspot.com

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  2. I vote for the lightest once since I have to schlep it out of its old home and into our house.

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    Replies
    1. Oh Howard -- how cute.
      You still think you get a vote.
      Love you!

      Delete
  3. Hi Cass!! Oh, so many choices! I know you'll pick the best one and your home will look awesome - as usual! Thanks for popping in to see me.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia :

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, you make me chuckle.

    I really like the second one.

    Have fun!

    M : )

    ReplyDelete
  5. I didn't see Howard's cooment and your reply
    until I posted my comment.
    Way, way, way too funny!

    M :)

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  6. I vote for the burled wood. The Pottery Barn one looks like a toe breaker (picture walking in socks in the middle of the night - next stop ER :)

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  7. Love the architects' chest - looks like a perfect place to store jewelry making supplies and work space. Saw one years ago that was huge and would loved to have had, but the price was out of sight, and not to mention I have no place to put one.
    Hope you find the perfect table.
    Have a great weekend.

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  8. If I got the slate top table I would treat the slate with an oil-stain to freshen it up and spray paint the bottom black. It would be awesome! Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog so I could discover you!

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  9. I totally understand the need for having just the right coffee table. Too big, too small, too short ... reminds me of Goldilocks. The one we have now is long and narrow, perfect height for putting one's feet up, with two drawers to corral our stuff. The right table will come along for you, you just have to accept it when it does. (IMO, I would pass on the glass ones ... I just don't like them. You can get one if you want, though, and I won't think any less of you.)

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  10. Are you kidding?
    That is one thing we (The Honey and Myself) don't agree on...! A coffee table. He doesn't want one...never has wanted one in 31 years we've been married. He built one for me from some plans out of a BH&G magazine once...but we got rid of it the day we moved out of that house.
    I would love a coffee table. He does not...
    Something about walking through the house in the dark... he mutters... ROB PETRIE... and then says... No. We're not getting a coffee table.
    So... pretty much have never had one my married life...except for that short little bit. :/
    Best of luck to you on gettting your NEW TO YOU...coffee table.

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  11. Gass~ come on over and see what's new at my place!
    I too need a coffee table..am using a cedar chest!
    hugs and smiles

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  12. After the burled one, I can't even see the rest :^)...yep, I'm an old wood girl...fortunately married to an amazing woodworker :^)
    Good luck in finding just THE table!
    Blessings,
    J

    ReplyDelete

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