It’s been a while since our last blog, which was about our dining room. You may have thought we were preparing to host Thanksgiving, but actually the first big event in our dining room was on December 15th, when ‘Dan and John’ hosted a holiday gift pop-up store organized by our neighbour Suzanne.
Proceeds of the sale benefited The Tibetan Home of Hope, a charity Suzanne is involved with that provides shelter, healthcare, education, and love to Tibetan children in their homeland.
At the centre of our store, performing a key role, was our sturdy dining room table.
With a riser placed along its centre, it provided a great display area for the beautiful store put together by Dan, Suzanne and her daughter Julianna.
Like much of the furniture in our home, our dining table is a rediscovered item. We acquired it in 2001 while living in Cambridge, MA. At the time it was painted bright red. I spotted its upturned legs sticking out of a dumpster at the Cambridge public library. After taking a closer look, I fetched Dan to take a look. We quickly determined it was a good find despite some damage (most likely incurred when it was thrown into the dumpster).
We spent the next hour or so carrying the table half a mile back to our apartment. That may not sound like a big deal — except that this solid oak table weighs a ton; we took frequent rest stops while relocating it.
I managed to repair the table quite easily,
and it worked with our other furnishings.
In 2002, the table made the move to our house in New Jersey, but we decided that the red had to go.
After sanding and filling, I painted the table its current aubergine color…
and increased the height of the table by three quarters of an inch. Up until then it was difficult getting one’s legs under the table. Four wood blocks and four strips of aluminium flashing later… you would never know that the table had a late growth spurt.
In addition to its heft and solidness, Dan and I appreciate this table for its resilience and versatility… from library, to dining, and now sales table.
We got great pleasure from hosting the pop-up store, and seeing our dumpster dive table looking fabulous while supporting a great cause.
And, we were delighted to hear from Suzanne that we raised more than enough money to sponsor a child at the Tibetan Home of Hope for a year.
live. enjoy. repeat.