This Week Only
Sometimes I am not a big fan of this time of year even though it is usually my favorite time of the year. It seems like all the stores start pushing Christmas earlier and earlier each year. I saw Christmas stuff before Halloween was even over. I get tired of all the hype, especially the furniture sales. Ads like "This Week Only," Order now for delivery by Thanksgiving" and "A whole dining room full of furniture for only $500."
How many people buy furniture they don't really need, want, or love because they panic or are trying to impress? During this panic phase, you can buy furniture that is the wrong size for the room or that you can't even get into the house because you forgot to measure. This is a recipe for stress instead of a recipe for the perfect holiday celebration.
When you consciously select your furniture, one piece at a time you create the perfect home for you. You can create a home with furniture that will last a lifetime. A sustainable home or as I call it a "patient home" is one that is built slowly over time and filled with things you love, things that you actually use, and things that will last; not with things that are just there for show.
The interior of a room can be successfully built around a few anchor pieces. A dining room (if you still have one) is best built around a functional and well-built table. If you plan on staying in your current residence for some time you can choose a table that is right-sized for your existing room. For a long narrow room you may want narrow trestle table with benches. A round table requires a little more space but is more intimate and cozy dining experience. If you need more flexibility from a dining table you should pick one that can be reduced and expanded such as a table with drop leaves.
Or maybe your family uses the dining room for fun and it houses a pool table or ping pong table. These fun tables can easily be converted for dining by covering them with plywood and a tablecloth. No one will ever know or care as long as the food is good.
My "dining" table is an antique picnic table that works perfectly in my casual home. But don't expect everyone to appreciate your choices in furniture. When my Mom saw the table she declared, "That is the ugliest dining table I have ever seen." Clearly she would never have selected such a table for her home.
If you are still looking for that perfect dining table that is made in America, there are several options. But you might have to wait until next year to use it because these gorgeous dining tables are hand-crafted and made to outlast you.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Moser
Want something a little less formal, the Fern Trestle Table might be it. This organic table looks like something straight from the forest and might just have a little bit of woodland magic in it.
Photo courtesy of Fern