I have no idea why it's taken me this long to share this update. I am sooo in love with our new kitchen table setup. The fact that I can see it from where ever I stand in our house makes me smile that much more because I just can't get enough of looking at it.
when we moved into hillcrest, Russ + Terrie had left everything but their clothes. this was awesome to be able to have everything we needed to live comfortably plus a lot more. one of the things they were intentional about was having seating for lots of company. the original kitchen table was seating for four plus it an extension insert and two more chairs. great for hosting lake friends - cramped for daily living in a small space.
I was about to say the kitchen table was next to a main pathway in our home, but honestly everything is part of a main spot when the place is this small. needless to say my focus is to find as much space in this small home as possible and the kitchen table was a high priority for both me and bob...imagine that...we were on the same page for once.
like most purchases for our new place and especially foundational ones like a kitchen table, I based it on my four parameters of design
functionally we needed something that we could walk around with more ease. we needed chairs that pushed in fully when not in use. we needed something stable since bumping into it is bound to happen and our pup is a wild man. although we have friends stop by our focus was not hosting people with this one. we figured most of our hosting will be during warmer months when we will be hanging at the lake and being outside; which we have plenty of space/seats for. we decided seating for two would be first focus and then we could adjust for extra seating if needed in the future.
aesthetically I wanted a pedestal shape to keep the visual clutter and weight to minimal in this small space. I wanted a lighter color on top to keep things light as I know I'm going to want a lot of dark and moody else where in our home.
sustainability wise I wanted to find something that would last a long time, built well with minimal materials. maybe I'm making this up but I feel like the less number of materials involved can typically result in higher grade of the ones that are used ?? kind of like food, more whole foods = less ingredients, less processed. some materials I was leaning towards were stone, metals and solid wood.
ergonomically I wanted something we could move around with ease when not using, so round became higher priority for this. that way we didn't have to manage sharp corners. I was also very conscious of looking at the measurements combos between chairs and tables so that we wouldn't be hunched over to eat or dangling our feet or reaching our arms up to rest on the table.
I did a little pinteresting and came up with this vision. the original chairs I went looking for were the green cantilevers chairs.
and my love for reusing and earth first mindset got me to searching Facebook marketplace to see what was out there. that's when I stumbled across these beauties!!
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. they weren't what I had originally envisioned but the cane backing and linen seats and dark moody frame had me drooling all over my phone. the aesthetics were so lux. yet still casual and so me. these chairs, brand new, would have normally been out of my current price range for chairs and even used they were still a bit high for what I'm used to paying. and I knew we had to have them for our space. everything about them, especially the measurements, fit what I was looking for.
I drove an hour and half one way to pick them up. I made a little day date out of it and took myself to lunch and stopped in a few local art shops that I wouldn't normally have experienced. and then, get this, I had to keep them in my car for almost a week until our new kitchen table arrived. we didn't have the space to put them in our home with the current kitchen table. so that was such a tease to get these drool worthy chairs and not be able to use them right away. spoiler alert, I survived.
I'm getting better about planning and had also been chatting with my friend and interior decorator, Bre. together we sourced the table I was envisioning and it was one that I didn't have to wait four months to get. it arrived about 10-15 days after ordering and I was so pumped to put it together. I did have to wait for Bob to help me on this one because it weighs a ton!
the assembly was super simple since the base is cast iron it required no work. we only had to position the marble top over the pedestal base and attach it with a few screws. that was it. then it was time to bring in the chairs and boom. a fresh kitchen update that checked all four preferences and felt like it added space to our small home while also bringing cozy, welcoming vibes.
sitting in these chairs on the daily I can now say my price range for chairs has been expanded a bit. I can feel the difference between the cheaper chairs and these not so cheap. I've always leaned towards quality over quantity and this is another nudge in that direction. not all things are made equal and I will save up and pay for quality made things that will bring me joy over headaches. besides the dollars, there is a very different energy that well made pieces have and I'm becoming more particular about what kind of energy I choose to have in our small home.
the French esque bistro table says minimal, super functional, direct and classic beauty. and the chairs say boho, relax with confidence, fun textures and put together. these pieces, and vibes, smashed together make it one of my absolute favorite updates so far. and it makes me uber excited to get the flooring updated, decide on some rugs and commit to the couch to feel how all of those vibes come together in our home.