Hello New Craigslist Coffee Table: Get To Work!

For the past month, I've posted every Friday about
our Craigslist search for a coffee table for our study.

This past Friday ... we found it!

Yay!

Here it is, in its Craigslist ad.

I liked its sturdy bigness.  And the chubby legs.

I mean, really . . . chubby legs!  How cute.

So on yesterday's glorious Sunday afternoon,

Howard and I went to Lake Mohawk,

a short drive up Route 15 from us . . . .

And after keeping my husband from wandering off

to look at the boats, we found the sellers' house,

and Mr Coffee was loaded into the back of the minivan.

:-) 

And it came home to That Old House!

There are no good pictures today; I am laid up with a bum knee,

and there's an extra chair in the study for me to use, and this table

is just tucked in where it would fit.  It's not set in place yet.

The table is lovely, and nicely "distressed" -- restrained.

But ... white isn't right in this room.

So we are choosing another color.  Or, colors.

Howard and most of you are leaning toward green.

Me?  I am kind of leaning toward red, but that's because 

I love red.

Like this red, below, on that strip of fabric on the table.

It's the fabric for the dining room draperies, and

I have paint in that exact color.  All ready to go!

Or maybe ... red legs and base, and green top?

Or a top painted in a gold, green, red plaid?

Or a top decoupaged in paper or fabric?

While the white finish is very nice, it is not

right in this book-lined, rather dark jumble of a room.

Next Craigslist search:  More dining room chairs,

and also chairs for the round oak table in the sunroom.

Oh yes.  I've got some on the hook already.

Have a lovely Monday! -- Cass

Help Me Paint A Thrifty Craigslist Table

Howard and I are Sunday-driving to a
charming lakeside village, where we're going
to take a gander at this table, below.

And I think it's a pretty safe bet that this table, below,

will be coming home to That Old House in the back of the minivan.

For the past month, I've been assiduously cruising Craigslist

for a cheap bargain coffee table, big and sturdy, for our study.

Which has been without coffee table convenience

since Anne moved out, and took hers with her.

Anne's architect chest, AKA coffee table.

No luck with the coffee table search until Friday, when lightning struck, and that

cute, cottage-y, kitschy, scallop-y, chunky coffee table stood up and said, "Pick me!"

So we did.

 Now, what color should we paint it? 

The sturdy study upholstery is a very printed cotton tapestry,

furniture we bought in 2001 for its dog-and-teenager-proof qualities.

And it has stood up to dogs, kids, and grownups very well over the years.

Loads of colors.  Gold, brown, black, red, other red, rust,

pale green, dark green, weird blue, and a bit of a purplish color,

but I don't know what you'd call it.

Then there's the rug.  Similar colors, only paler.

"Stop looking at me!

You think I want to wear this stupid dress?"

I initially was thinking dark red (mostly because I

already have some dark red paint), but then I thought,

No, let's make it green to blend in 

with the room, which also has green walls.

And I already have green paint.

Howard, in the study in his favorite spot ... and I have leftover wall paint in a Sherwin Williams
green that I cannot remember the name of and will have to find the can and hope the label is still
legible ... because the wall color may make a nice table color, too, with a poly finish over it.

So, whatcha think?

Green?  Red?  Gold?  Plaid?

No, seriously -- what do you think would be a good color for this table?

(It's kind of a dark room.)

And ... should I decoupage the top because -- yes -- I already have some Mod Podge?

Have a gorgeous Sunday, my friends.

It is crazy, crazy windy here, and a few loose shutters keep

scaring the life out of me by banging on the house.

I'm glad it's not Halloween tonight!

The leaves are flying off the trees.  Goodbye, chlorophyll!

-- Cass

Craigslist, You Are On Thin Ice

Dear Craigslist,
While your on-the-job performance has heretofore been quite 
satisfactory, recently you are not performing up to ability.

The lastest contestants in our 3-week search for a

previously-owned-large-decent-condition-and-under-a-hundred-bucks 

coffee table are as follows:

#1:  Square (our first choice of shape), sizeable, and cheap.

I might want to paint its little bottom.

  

#2:  Same size as above but simple lines.  Kind of a wallflower,

but an easier keeper -- no carving to dust.

#3:  Not square but long enough to hold all the stuff that inevitably collects on a

family room coffee table.  Scuffed, but that's why God made paint, or Olde English.

#4:  From Ethan Allen -- a pine piece with a past.

Also scuffed, and I don't much like lower shelves... things get lost & dusty down there.

#5:  Another square.  Good condition, cheap, but there's that lower shelf....

#6:  A dark horse in the race!  Certainly not square, but l-o-n-g enough for any amount

of party wineglasses and plates of half-eaten nibbles.

#7:  Another contestant in the "Love Me I'm Square" category.

But -- lower shelf.  Not sure if that's a deal breaker or not.  It's from West Elm.  Looks heavy.

#8:  Remember these?  Almost square, and with a drawer.

Books might work.  We've got a lot of them in the study (below).

(That chow table went to Goodwill year before last,

but that's how we know we want a big square table.)

Do you like any of them, or think they are right for our room?

Help me out -- tell me which one!

C'mon, Craigslist.

Empty space does not hold magazines, catalogs, a scented candle,

television remotes, books, pens, and boxes of tissues. 

If all else fails, this beauty is still available for a piddling thousand bucks.

All we need is the Adirondack lodge to go with it.

#9:

Have a spectacular weekend!

I am having a very rare weekend with both of my daughters.

At the same time.  Such fun! -- Cass

Link Parties

Miss Mustard Seed has Furniture Feature Friday -- Click here!

At My Romantic Home, it's Show And Tell Friday.  Click here!

Feathered Nest Friday makes its home at French Country Cottage.  Click here!

The Charm of Home features Home Sweet Home on Fridays.  Click here!

Dear Craigslist: You're (Almost) Fired!

Last weekend, I inflicted a batch of Craigslist
coffee tables upon you, that might or might not
be right for our coffee-table-deprived study.

Oh poor, poor That Old House.  There is no coffee table in its study!

Craigslist pretty much always comes through for us.

But ... not yet.  And I've checked every day.  

I know, such a chore.

A new old coffee table, big and feet friendly,
will be put into harness in this room, currently coffee-table-less:

For the ebay bargain of the decade, this table, click here.

So, time for the next batch of likely suspects.
Do any strike your fancy?

This one, by Councill Craftsman, is high-end, and has storage,
and loads of park-your-wineglass space.

And a glass topper.   A little stodgy, maybe.

Don't know the origins of this rather Plain Jane fella, but it's got nice curves.

Hmm ... those lower shelves?  Dust catchers.  I know myself....

Should we try going edgy and industrial?
A wood pallet on rusty iron legs.

Interesting, if probably a passing fad, and no worries about rings from wet glasses.

Also, a great reminder to get a tetanus booster.

This dainty number intrigues me.  Large, wide pine plank top, with nicely shaped spindly legs.

But the back legs don't have feet.  Really.  Clearly a cobbled-together piece,

but I kind of like it.  The legs would get new paint.  I like that it is not much of a presence.
There's already a lot of stuff in that room.

This one is ... interesting.  Nice big squarish top, sturdy, all that metal scrollwork...

... and then it hits me: I have two long-haired dogs.  Metal scrollwork and fuzzy dogs?

No.  I can't imagine how hard it is to clean the bottom of this thing - all 4 sides are covered in grille!

Yeah. These guys could lay down some serious fuzz on those metal swirls.

Dylan DiPoochy, left, and Gilda Von Tease.

So, I guess I can't help myself.

More metal scrollwork, but the ends of this table are open.

Easier to get that vacuum hose inside, to suck up dust and fuzz-wuzzies.

(The envelope, please!)

The Oscar for Best Hilariously

Goofball Coffee Table, goes to this one:

Yes, chickens, it is made of two artifacts described in the listing as "Eskimo snowshoes."

The asking price is a thousand dollars, but it says offers are considered.

Gee, I hope I can resist ....

By the way, that nice burled wood coffee table from last Friday?

Gone.  Gone.  Gone.  Sigh.

When Craigslist tosses up A Good Thing, pounce. -- Cass

Linky Parties for Friday

It's Feathered Nest Friday at the French Country Cottage.  Click here!

Miss Mustard Seed is gathering Furniture Friday posts.  Click here!

My Romantic Home is home to Show And Tell Friday.  Click here!

At The Charm of Home, it's Home Sweet Home Friday.  Click here!

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.

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

Friday Link Parties!

It's Feathered Nest Friday at the French Country Cottage.  Click here!

Miss Mustard Seed is gathering Furniture Friday posts.  Click here!

My Romantic Home is home to Show And Tell Friday.  Click here!

At The Charm of Home, it's Home Sweet Home Friday.  Click here!

And at Ivy and Elephants, I'm joining What's It Wednesday.  Click here!

Thank you, ladies, for hosting the blog parties.
I know it's time consuming, but ... thanks!