May 103 min read

Table Hunt

In my last post, Terracotta Office, I shared the transformation of my client’s home office from sad to sunny. Now on to Part 2. The table that was once her dining room table was poached for her office. The size and shape work better there than in the dining room. It was a good move.

Dining table turned desk.

The hunt for a new dining room table had begun. The criteria were the following: 1. round pedestal table 2. leaves to expand for dinner parties 3. had to fit the style of their historic Mt. Washington house. Pretty quickly I found a promising listing for an Arts and Crafts/Craftsman style table in Bolton Hill, a historic neighborhood in Baltimore. The table was perfect. Dark brown finish, unique legs, in great shape with the finish rubbed off around the edges just enough so that it didn't feel too precious.

Photo from November 2020 mined from my phone.

The homeowners were moving to England and needed to get rid of all their furniture asap. We instantly fell in love with the table but sat there scratching our heads because we didn't have the tools to disassemble it or the manpower to move it into a truck that we didn't have. Let's blame the Pandemic for that one. So, we left to see what we could figure out. Imagine our dismay when we learned a few days later that the table was gone. Sold to some college boys.

Over the next few months, we looked everywhere for something similar. There is no shortage of pedestal tables, but the more time we spent looking the more we realized how unique that particular table was. If I were to say there were nights that I would lay awake staring into the darkness thinking about that table, it would not be an exaggeration.

On the hunt for other options...

After 4 months we started to lose hope. We thought maybe we should consider buying something new and not antique. Indeed, the downside of antiquing is its unpredictability. Then one day my client saw a listing pop up for something that looked similar.

She went to visit and guess what, folks? Lo and behold, it was the same exact table. Yes, that is why there is a whole separate post about this table and favorite story for guests. The college boys who bought the Bolton Hill table decided they wanted some square IKEA table instead.

She brought it home and now it sits looking regal in their dining room. The perfect color, style, shape - everything. It's been a few years and has since doubled as an art table for her daughter who is now 10. The top has gold glitter and paint on it from her projects, but somehow it doesn’t look bad. The table is solid wood. The advantage being that you can sand it down and restore it to brand new at any time.

I have the same situation with my dining room table. It has a track etched into the varnish all the way around from my sons racing their matchbox cars. Something tells me that by the time they are older I won’t want to refinish it anymore. The scratches just add to the character and history. That’s why I like to call them "happy scratches."