Erin, of Apartment 34 has one. So did Morgan, of The Brick House. My dream coffee table.
See it there, behind Erin? Here’s another shot of it, from Morgan.
That’s the one I’ve been searching for, with no luck. The original coffee table that we had (Thomas O’Brien for Target, circa 2005) was fine, but it was getting a little wobbly, and for safety’s sake, we thought it was time to find something new. (Actually, Brandon suggested it, and who am I to argue?)
I kept checking at all the usual places (west elm, CB2, Crate & Barrel, and so on), and I trolled Craigslist and eBay. Every trip to a thrift store had me searching for something that would work, and I wasn’t finding anything I liked well enough. But then I found a lovely long, wooden coffee table at The Renegade Craft Fair that I thought would be good.
Great lines, interesting details, in decent shape. Perfect! I pondered painting the top, but though I like the idea of lightening it up, paint wasn’t going to give me the look I wanted. Too slick. Replacing the top with stone would have been gorgeous, but I don’t think the table would have supported the weight.
Resigned to keeping the top wood (not that it would have been a terrible fate), I started to get used to the look of it, as-is. And I liked it! Not as much as I would with a different top, but it was growing on me. The size, however, was not. It’s about a foot too long, and in a living room that’s only 12’x12′, a foot too long really starts to bother you.
The other day, I noticed that one of the coffee tables I had initially spotted and considered, the Bel-Air, had gone on sale. I had a gift card and some store credit that brought the price down even further, so I bought it. I wasn’t 100% sure, but I figured I’d buy it and try it in the living room to see how I liked it.
Uh huh, I like it. Although I still wonder about getting a travertine top. This one is strong enough to handle it, and it gives it the look of the one I covet so. I made a mockup. What do you think?
