Table Crazy

Who would have thought the arrival of a dining room table could be so exciting? Well, when we have always had hand-me-downs or put-togethers from Ikea - it can be quite exhilirating to get your first piece of REAL furniture.

We gave my dining room table away when we moved into our house. We have kept the dining room empty for almost a year now, awaiting our future table's arrival. It took us a while to figure out what we both liked and really wanted. We eventually formed a mutual list of criteria - it needed to be a long table to accommodate entertaining, solid wood, rustic (but not country), rectangular, including at least eight ladder-back chairs with wooden seats. We looked at a lot of furniture on a variety of retailer websites, CraigsList and at a variety of stores. We looked and looked and looked. We just weren't finding that "right one." After Christmas, we found it. A retailer was selling furniture from India at a "roadshow" at the Costco Home in Kirkland. I took pictures with my phone and have been pining over it ever since. A secret someone even promised us money toward it if we would just buy it. But, it was a big purchase and it took us a while for both of us (hint, hint) to be ready to pull the trigger.

Just today, on a day that needed cheering, it arrived. It is a gloriously beautiful piece of furniture - built of hefty mango wood, with lots of really cool imperfections and sealed with 12 layers of varnish. Hmmm, I think I'll sleep under it tonight.