Shortly after Josh (my then fiance) and I moved in together, I embarked on a seemingly endless search for our dream coffee table that would compliment his gray L-shaped leather sectional.
I found a beautiful pine coffee table at Crate & Barrel that was the right size, style and within our $700 budget (I see that the price is now $849, yikes!). I hesitated purchasing the coffee table for months and months. It just didn’t feel right.
A coffee table comparable in style at Restoration Hardware with a $1,495 price tag, far exceeded our budget. Something concerning worth noting is that the “made in” location is not specified anywhere on the product page of the Restoration Hardware table (more on that another time).
Feeling uninspired by the online selections, I decided to wait a few more months until the Round Top Antique Show and hunt for an antique coffee table there. Anything 50 to 100 years old is vintage and over 100 years old is antique.
I was equipped with a uHaul truck, my wishlist and expert tips from Round Top veterans. I’ve only heard whisperings of what the Round Top Antique Fair was like and it turned out to be a delightful medley of what I expected and my wildest decor-furniture dreams come true. One thing I did not expect was to speak more French than English (which undoubtedly helped charm the French shop owners to lower their prices for a fellow Francophile). Pro tip: bring a friend who speaks French if you don’t!
We must have been in our 10th or 12th store at Essex II in Round Top when under an eclectic assortment of items for sale, I spotted “the one” — a solid oak, French, antique coffee table that was handmade in the early 1900’s. I was shook to my core that I easily acquired something so special made of quality material for just $650.
The next time you’re in need of furniture, I challenge you to consider this:
1. Value of Investment
I bought a quality artisan antique table that’s around 100 years old. I’m not a gambling gal but I’d bet the tables I was considering wouldn’t last 20 years. If properly cared for, the antique coffee table should last another 100 years and retain its value. Let’s not forget that I did save $50 (7% savings is more than most interest rates on a savings account).
2. Support Local Economy
I won’t have to purchase a new coffee table for decades. My money also went into the pocket of an antique dealer that lives in Texas. He might use a portion of the coffee table sale money to take his significant other out to dinner at a local restaurant. Those dollars hen going into the hands of a waiter who might use the tips to support another local business. On the contrary, if I would have gone with the Crate & Barrel table, that money would have gone to a corporation and an overseas factory in India.
3. You Are What You Surround Yourself With
A wooden antique bedroom set was gifted to me by my grandparents when I was young. I was unknowingly fortunate to grow up around a lot of furniture with a story and soul. Such as a mahogany dining table handmade in Guatemala and chairs made in the Netherlands. I realized that there’s a distinct feeling between old versus new furniture. Old furniture inherits a soul. There’s also a major quality difference when something is made by a passionate craftsman versus a mass-producing factory.
Even though I unknowingly knew the vast difference between old versus new furniture from a young age, I simply … forgot. I, like many people, feel like the constant target of social media and AD’s that persuade us to buy new.
This charming coffee table will be the focal point of our living room and conversation piece for years to come.