dining & design

Four years ago we moved in our our 1927 home and I dove head first into the world of shabby chic. I bought anything I could find that was worn, dingy, scrappy, rusty and of course shabby. I remember looking at our fancy mahogany 1940's dining set and realizing that it would look awful in our new home. I sold it on Craigslist for $1200 and turned around and bought this table at a yard sale.

 

The children could spill to their hearts delight with this stained and blemished table without worry. If guest were coming I could throw a tablecloth on it and hid away the ugliness of it. The chairs were purchased 2nd hand and together it pretty much fit into my shabby chic style.

Then I found my teak & orange leather sofa and it changed my entire home style. I slowly pulled most of the shabby chic decor and packed it away in boxes for my next yard sale. Since we found the sofa I had been looking for a better dining room table. Usually the best ones were in Seattle and I wasn't able to get a ferry across or the dining tables were too expensive. Tuesday evening, I did a search for "Teak" and our general area I came across this Danish table.

The photo on CL made it hard to see the table clearly. I emailed the seller asking questions about the age, whether it was stained and where it was purchased. She wrote back quickly and gave me the details. It is from 1993, was purchased in Hawaii from a Scandinavian type furniture store and it had a few water stains. I asked to look at it on Wednesday and we arranged a time to meet.

It took me mere seconds to realize how beautifully handcrafted this table was. It did have a few water stains but that didn't worry me since I knew how to remove them. I fell in love with the softness of the wood, the design of the chairs and the fact that it expands to a very long table. I didn't like the upholstery at all but the seller told me that she had already changed it a few times and that it was quite simple to do.

Anyone want to guess the price that I paid for the table? The closest in price (no facebook friend guesses since I mentioned the price there :-) will get a little something in the mail from me.

As my taste are evolving into Mid Century Modern, I also realize that this look is very fitting into the architecture and style of Waldorf. I picked up this book recently at a used book store and discovered a few artist that use techniques very similar to Waldorf. Arthur Espenet Carpenter led me to Wharton Esherick whose style I was immediately drawn to. The photos on his site do not do him justice. I adore these kitchen cabinets and now want to replicate this in my next home. And I adore this bookshelf. Because his work reminded me so much of Waldorf I did a google search for his name and Rudolf Steiner and there is actually a connection on his wiki page. 

My arms were covered in goosebumps at this point. This style just hits my soul with so much emotion. I don't know what it is or why, but it has that "coming home" feel to it. I felt something similar when I discovered Waldorf education for the first time.

My goal in our next home is to create a sort of Mid Century Waldorf style. They seem to go hand in hand. I'm picturing Lazured walls, lots of mid century modern furniture, waldorf watercolor paintings mixed in with 60's art, lots of natural fibers such as wool & silk and of course a general feeling of warmth. This style represents my heart and soul and I want to display this in our home. While my scanner personality immediately wanted me to become a woodworker and buy a band saw and all the woodworking tools, my realistic side said to start small. Yesterday I bought a few already existing wood items that I hope to mid century waldorf them.

Here is a link to some buildings Steiner designed and built. I'm really looking forward to our next home even if we just have a very small one. We wish to buy land that we can grow our own food on and raise chickens. This is our priority and next will be the home. My ideal home is something from the 70's with arched ceilings made of wood. I think this MCW style will fit perfectly into a house like this. But even if we find a home the size of a large shed, we'll still make it beautiful and create a loving home.

Comments

[Renee]

I'll go ahead and guess 100.00 :)

[Stacey Ball]

I'm going to guess $40.

[Angel]

I'm guessing $20... and I love all of them.

[Eve]

Does that teak table have tow seperate pull out leaves, ie pulling out the lower layers? If so it is identical to the table my parents had. Bought in 1957 when they bought their first house. Btw I grew up in denmark.

[Susan Binzel]

$75?

[kristen]

$125 - for table and chairs. It's GORGEOUS!

[Kim]

Hmmm....$125. And it's beautiful!

[Vicki K.]

Well, I'm guessing $200. So have you sold your 'shabby' set? Seems like you have done some very good thrifting!

[Heidi Jo the Artist]

I'm going to guess $250, it looks like a nice set!

Heidi Jo the Artist

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[Jeannine]

I'll guess $150. Beautiful table!

[Nancy]

$80?? If that's correct then I'm way jealous!

[Lisa Martin]

$120.52 (in case of a tie!)

[Lushpad]

Great find! I love it when that happens.

[Monica]

I love your dining room set! It looks like a set my grandparents had. You would have loved how my grandma decorated their apartment. :)

[Queen of Fifty Cents]

Dang, woman, you've got my dining table! I mean I have its near twin--one of the few things in my house that I actually bought in a store. Does yours have Dutch leaves that pull out? Ours is shorter than yours, but also came from a Scandihoovian store (as we call them!) and we love it. I'm guessing fifty bucks.

[Katherine]

Great find! It's a beautiful table. As for my guess I'll go low and guess $1. Way too cheap I think but you never know. :)

[e. lindsey hornkohl]

My guess is $200.

Oh, and how do you remove water stains?

Good find by the way. I can't wait to see the new upholstery.

[Meredith from Merchant Ships]

Lovely. When I first saw it, the gentle curves reminded me of many of our handmade Waldorf-style toys.

If I were doing my home again, I would definitely lean closer to this style, too. I love the simplicity and natural feel.

[missy]

Was it free??? Great table!!

Hugs
-missy-

[DeeAnn]

I am going to say around $50. It is a beautiful table. I am of Danish/Russian descent. I love Danish furniture but I don't use it in my home. I live in the Mid-South so I must decorate Cottage by the Sea style, ROFL! You know since I live right smack dab in the middle of the hills I have no oceans around me. :)

I hope you find your dream home. I am thinking a 70's home in California should be easy to find since that was a huge style back then. I bet you two to one your style will change when you move. :) You know that is the most fun when you move is decorating. :)

I am crossing my fingers you will sale soon. DH wants to move to Washington but not right now. I told him if we were moving I knew of the perfect house. :)

I do feel for you & the Catch-22 your going through. You can't sale your home but right now with the market you can buy one cheap. It will work out perfectly & you will find much happiness. Don't let it get you down.

[Sarah]

Fun post. Our home is a mix of Mission and old New England antiques--whatever that means! We just don't have the yard sales that you have. And Value Village? I can only imagine. I guess $150

[Christine]

I'd say you paid $175 for the set. I totally agree about the upholstery, it's very ugly. I love the shape of the chairs, but are they comfortable?
I like your ideas for the new house. If there's one thing those anthroposophical folks are right about, it's all the round shapes. My husband used to work in a building that was designed in that style, there were no straight edges or corners to be found anywhere. It was beautiful, and he told me it was the best building he worked in. It's definitely a feeling of soothing and homeliness, I know what you mean. I've also felt it in the Waldorf school we wanted to send our daughter to and the daycare she went to when I still worked outside the home.

[Donnelly]

My guess is $75.00. The table is beautiful!
Have a great day.

[Antonella]

I'd say 25$ for the whole set.

anyway it's a great score!

[Emma]

$90! And I'm in the bay area so when you get yourself down here there's a crafting group in SF waiting...