the new kid...

I've been remiss in not showing you the new table in the reading room that we found this summer!
 As with most things in the house, everything has a story and this is no exception.  

While I love a good skirted table, like the one that was previously in this spot here,  I had been looking for a replacement for a while.  A long while.  I wanted an antique table that fit the character of the room and held its own as a statement since it is the focal point of the room.  I looked, and looked... for several years.  I never found anything I liked better than the skirted table, so it stayed.

Then... one day this past summer Dan and I decided, late in the afternoon, that we should go to Concord, Massachusetts to antique.  It is a gorgeous New England town brimming with history (think: Revolutionary War/ Paul Revere/ Ralph Waldo Emerson/ Henry David Thoreau/Waldon Pond, just to name a tiny bit of its history) with beautiful antique homes and several good antique shops.  We usually drive a particular road that has amazing houses, but since we were running late, and barely making it to town before the shops closed,  we used the navigation system in the car and found a shorter route.  We initially passed the turn we were supposed to make for the shorter route and had to turn around, and thank goodness we did!
  It was beautiful winding, rolling road dotted with houses tucked into the trees.  We had not been on this road prior to this day and along our drive we crested a hill and as we drove by a house there was a man placing an antique table on the side of the road, with a sign.... "FREE"!  The man saw us craning our necks looking at the table and we could see him smiling at us. We drove a couple hundred feet more asking each other "Did that sign say free?" and, then turned the car around and went back to check out the table.  Turns out this man was an antiques dealer and this table had been in his garage for several years.  He and his wife purchased it at flea market in Brooklyn, and it was their kitchen table as their children grew up.  His wife had informed him that that day - 4 p.m. on a Sunday was the day she wanted it out of the garage! Knowing that the table had sentimental value I only wanted to take the table if I was sure it would work in the reading room.  I had measurements with me of the ideal table size to replace the skirted table, and though it was larger than what I had noted I thought it would still work.   I hemmed and hawed trying to decide if I wanted to take the free table until the man chuckled and said, "If it doesn't work for you, you could just put it out at your curb!"  I then realized his sentimental attachment to the table was over and decided to take it to try.  We were in my car (a small SUV) and we weren't sure it would fit.  But, the man told us that the top came off, so with some maneuvering and poor Ella stuck in her bed in a tight little space (trust me she's used to this;) the table was in the car!

I really had no preconceived idea of what I wanted the table to look like for this space.  I thought it would be easier if I was open and just let the table come to me.  But, and here's the funny part,  if I had seen this table for sale at an antiques shop I would have walked right by it.  Even if it had had a price tag of $50, I would have probably walked right by.   But, I liked the look and style of the table "in theory", and "free" was hard to beat, and I loved that it came with a good story!  I think in the end it was just supposed to be our table, because after getting it home and placing it in the room I fell for it!  The table, with its large scale (it's much larger than the skirted table that was previously in this spot) and those massive feet provide a "library feel" to the room; and I love having the larger diameter top so I can open books, or set a drink.
We never did make it to Concord that day!

When we got it home we walked it into the reading room and put it in the center of the room.  I told Dan that while I loved it, it was just a little bit too short and we might need to raise it on casters.  He then told me that when he carried the base into the room (which he did by himself) he heard some rattling in the base of the table.  Could it be???!  Could the original casters be in the hollow table base?  I ran to get a screw driver to take off a piece of wood that covered the top of the pedestal, and sure enough there they were in all their glory... the original casters that brought the table up to the perfect height!

The top has some major issues (chips, paints, etc.)  and I plan on painting the top ONLY a mat black, then simply waxing the base.   The top looks much better in this photo than it does in real life, but as yet the project hasn't' made it to the top of the "to do" list.  (For you eagle-eye readers who will wonder... the winnowing basket is now in the barn room on the worktable holding the liquor bottles!)

 

The detailed banding on the table is unusual for a pedestal table, and is my favorite part. 

  The lion paw feet are massive and fit the room so well.  Months have gone by, guests have visited and we still haven't waxed the base... .

Another new find is the antique pencil drawing of the bust with the original gilt, ebony and horn picture frame.  I've always wanted a bust, but it doesn't really seem to fit my house, so I thought this would be a perfect substitute.

Thanks to Ronald, a reader from  Edinburgh, I now know that my drawing is one of Sir Walter Scott.

 Here

 A blog-friend, Betty in Washington, wrote me recently stating, "you have a direct line to unbelievable happenstance."

I truly get that it looks like we just happen upon things, hence the above post;)  and even my much older sister, Susan, and brother-in-law, Doug, have told me they call us the antique whisperers... ha!
But, while I realize we make it look easy, we do kiss a lot of toads and come home from antiquing trips without a single purchase.  That's okay too, it's just part of the game.  After years of antiquing, (remember we've been antiquing and honing our eye for 25 years together;)  I do think finding things you love has a lot to do with the power of the universe and putting your energy towards something and you then attract it.
For example:
  the kitchen dining chandelier,
  the finials on the barn room lamps,
the buffet base for the master bath vanity
the sink for the barn half bath
the barn room chandelier
the horns on the master bedroom mantel... etc.!

I think it's always good to remember when antiquing, and in life in general;), to be open to something you might not have expected to find, ya know- like a free antique table on the side of road!

p.s.  Betty, we are on the lookout for Peter's cane ;);)