Shabby yet Chic: Knees-under-the-table conundrum...

If you are among the lucky few to be invited to my place for dinner, supper, breakfast or just coffee, you are well aware that my kitchen table, although adorable in every way, is only suitable for those of us under the five foot, zero inch stature. It’s an old farm table, salvage from a yard sale and stripped, painted and varnished within an inch of it’s life by my mother and I. Now that I am a grown up, having more than just my gravitationally enhanced friends and small children over to dinner has been starting to look a little bit more attractive. So months ago I started my search for a new table and chairs. Initially I looked at big box stores, quickly realizing that my tastes would not allow for an easy pick up and delivery. There was beautiful stuff but we are talking about a kitchen with a petite, sunny dining nook, blue linoleum floors and faded life-preserver orange counters. So modern was out of the question and a pedestal table seemed like the best option for seating as many people comfortably as possible. For months I have been diligently searching online ( if you have not made friends with kijiji..I highly recommend it) and finally this week , a perfect table appeared for $25 dollars! I only had to pick it up at a random house in a shaddy part of town, go into a basement with a man I did not know (stranger danger people!!) and load it (surprisingly easily) into my little golf and get out of there as quickly as humanly possible.

With the help of my cousin Brogan, Carmel (my paint expert at Home depot), some supplies and three days work, this table along with my old vintage bistro chairs and a hutch (previously purchased from kijiji as well for $60 ) are now a perfectly adorable, shabby yet chic dining area that my friends with in seams longer than 28 inches can enjoy! -m

Before and after: