One of decorating styles that we have come to love and embrace is along the lines of Mid-Century Modern/Art Deco. Clean lines, fun shapes and colors. We always look around at the furniture stores for modern versions of these styles, as period pieces are hard to find, but things go too far to the modern or into the cheesy 80’s “futuristic” style. Not something we really wanted. So I scour Craigslist every once and a while, hoping to find something useful from the 40’s to early 60’s. Usually, the furniture section is filled with dealers trying to unload stuff, and people putting links to auctions on ebay. But this week I finally scored!!
Xiris had to practically drive to the other side of the state after a long day at work to get this beauty, and I’m so glad he did! What is it, you ask? Why, it’s a coffee table swank bar, of course!
Just look at that shape! So cool! Unique, for sure! We had a design dilemma when it came to coffee tables because we have a HUGE (and I mean massive!) sectional couch. It’s deep, comfy and LONG, so we had a need for a substantial coffee table to fit the space. Our current solution worked fine while the kids were less mobile, but it was simply four IKEA end tables pushed together into a square. The tables rarely stay where they should be, being scooted all over the house for use as stools, forts, trains, whatever else little toddler minds decide they are.
So why did I call it a bar? Well… LOOK!
The top swings open, and a nice little platform can be lifted up to serve drinks from. I know what you are thinking… “what about the kids?” and “not the best idea with the Chaos Twins around!” Well… probably not – but I don’t have to put liquor in it. I already have an English antique liquor cabinet that I just love. I think we’ll use this to store all the Wii gear, or something along those lines. The top can be locked to prevent swiveling because there is a door that opens on the far side (I think you can see the hinge swings on the picture above). 
It needs a good cleaning with some Murphy’s Oil Soap (my favorite wood cleaner EVER) – and a little repair job to the veneer where the previous owner dropped it during a move. Until that repair is done we’re not going to move it into the house for fear of the Chaos Twins causing further damage, but I will be sure to post a picture of the family room once it’s in. Even with this damage it was a STEAL, as I just did a quick search on ebay for these and they are going for close to $2000 in worse shape than this. The guy getting rid of it was young, didn’t really care that it was a collectible. Aside from the small area that needs fixed, and the lack of a key for the lock, it’s in GREAT shape – it’s not scratched and all of the hardware works great!
Finally, here’s a funny picture of Xiris tinkering with the lock from the inside. He couldn’t even wait to change out of his work clothes, he was that excited! It’s really cute.
I follow the sweet Reese Dixon, and she is always posting all of the AWESOME MCM stuff she scores off of Craigslist and I get so stinkin’ jealous that she can find this stuff! Now I have one score on my side! WOOOOOO!