This Charming House

The other night my friend was over and said to me:

"You know almost all the furniture in your house is new."

I freaked out a little because I had never thought about it like that, but she was kinda right.  The fact of the matter is that I needed a lot of new furniture when I moved into my townhouse just because it was so much bigger than my old place.  So I ended up buying some new stuff that I knew I needed and some new stuff that I wanted simply because I was moving into a new house.  Since the move,  I've ended up buying some more new furniture that I hadn't intended on buying, namely the master bedroom stuff and a new sofa and chair for my living room. 

One of the things I love most about interior decorating, is mixing old things with new.  Despite my new purchases I have several pieces that have been given to me by my family or that I have picked up at yard sales, flea markets, whatever.  I think that these odd little pieces give life and character to your home and I also love that they always come with a story.  Who you got it from, where you got it, how many times you got lost looking for the yard sale....

One of my favorite things is this little table that belonged to my Grandmother.  It sat in her bedroom, over by her radiator, and for as long as I can ever remember she had magazines and books piled all over it.  After she died, I took it because nobody else seemed to want it and I figure a little occasional table is always nice.  It was finished in sort of a mahogany stain and had a lot of dings and nicks on the legs.  Grossly, there were a couple of wads of chewing gum stuck underneath it and I wondered which of my father's siblings (or even my Dad) were responsible for such a thing.

After I moved in here, I stripped it and spray painted it semi-gloss black and then added a coat of spray polyurethane.  I'm so pleased with the way it turned out. 

 

Now it sits beside my very mid-century modern chair in the living room.  The little tray top is so cool and I have added the black and white tray that I picked up a couple of years ago in Charleston. It looks so crisp sitting beside by white chair and the contrast of the details on the table against the squareness of the chair just never fails to make me happy.  My mother couldn't believe what it looked like painted and I often wonder what my very proper Grandmother would make of the desecration of her table with black spray paint.  Somehow, I think she'd approve.  She was always a lot cooler than others gave her credit for. 

So keep your eyes peeled for an interesting little table, whether it's at your neighbor's yard sale or your Grandma's basement.  If you love it, I promise it will always find a place in your place.