Upcoming Furniture Trends
I have a knack for these things....predicting upcoming trends. You see, I get an idea of exactly what I want, then go out to find it. This is a blessing and a curse. It makes trips through stores incredibly quick, but also incredibly frustrating because I so rarely find something that matches the picture in my head.
When I was a young teen (before I went "goth"), it was clothes. I'd get an idea for what I thought was a cool outfit, then try to find it in a store. I never found it. I hadn't the skills nor resources to actually make things myself. Was it a case of bad taste or was I just ahead of my time? I'll never tell, but I _can_ track back to at least two trends I did actually start.
Anyway, now that I am all home-obsessed, the distinct ideas I get revolve around home-related things....light fixtures, paint colors, fabric, furniture, etc. Until I start to design and build these things myself, distinct ideas are very bad. I won't even BEGIN to tell you how many light fixtures I've looked at (and rejected) for the hallway. It's embarrassing. For the past few weeks, I have been searching mainly for two things in the furniture realm:
1) Round or oval table, 18"-ish inches tall and 24 - 30"-ish in diameter, in a dark wood tone with clean lines and (in a perfect world) some sort of storage potential
Nada. Zip. Zilch. I found a gorgeous, near perfect match at a consignment shop I frequent, but it is nearly 40" in diameter. I tried to stretch the living room layout to get it to fit, but no can do. A few weeks ago I found one at a flea market that was just about perfect, but it had no storage. I passed it up because I wasn't ready to settle. When I was ready, I went back and (of course) it was gone. It was the best table they had in their stinky furniture basement, so I really didn't expect it to be there. I finally settled late last week and got another table at the consignment shop -- correct size, but I'm not wild about the finish, there's no storage, and the lines could be cleaner. It will do....for now anyway.
2) Round, pedestal dining table, with one or more leaves, in a dark wood finish with clean lines. (Can you tell I like round. And sometimes dark wood. And sometimes clean lines. I'm usually so much more eccentric in my preferences. )
This one has also been much more difficult than I expected. Why is a round dining table such an odd thing? Don't people understand that it allows you to cram more bodies around the table in less space? And where am I gonna play Texas Hold 'Em if I don't have a round table? But what's the point if there are legs all in the way? This one is pretty close, but it doesn't have a leaf and as-is it's a little large for the space. (But I'm sooo drooling over that pedestal.) Then there are all the nice, shiny, affordable mahogany ones at the antique malls, but I want ROUND dammit!
Since I've basically given up on this one as well (and ready to settle), I headed out to the evil den of drive-thru furniture shopping today after I finished priming the hall and all 7, yes SEVEN, door casings. Remember what I said about being able to get through a store quickly when you know what you want? I cruised that ENTIRE store in less than an hour and a half looking for lamps, dining sets, a better living room table, fancy TVs, rugs, etc., etc. Seriously, look at it. It's huge. And nearly every parking space was full since it was a Sunday afternoon and they have a financing deal going on. I got through the whole thing whilst weaving around Sunday-afternoon-walkers. Ugh.
Was it worth it? Well, I settled on a dining set, so I guess it was. It's not round, but the corners are sorta rounded. It's kind of a pedestal - with built-in cat shelf. It is dark with clean lines, but not entirely wood (I'm sure it's at least partially veneers over MDF.) It's main selling points were the cat shelf and low, low price. I didn't get the matching cabinet thingy. I wasn't impressed with the drawer/door function (to be expected at this price point, I guess). Plus, I'd rather have something that isn't so tall....more like a standard sideboard. I'm vacillating on this one though. I wonder that if I don't get it, I will be doomed to be encircled in the sideboard search that will never end. I just know I will make an attempt to mix my two favorite furniture styles (clean lined (including modern) and 20's era/cottagey) that will end in massive failure. If I get this one now, it could probably be delivered with the table and I'd get more bang for my buck on the delivery charge. What to do, what to do.....
And so, to the point. Since I have settled on both tables, I'm sure the "perfect" thing will start popping up all over, just to spite me. I predict that very soon there will be a resurgence in popularity of round, pedestal dining tables and round occasional tables at cocktail table height, with end table diameter.
(While I'm here blogging about furniture....what's the deal with IKEA? I don't get it. Maybe it's just because I've never lived in a city that had a store.)
When I was a young teen (before I went "goth"), it was clothes. I'd get an idea for what I thought was a cool outfit, then try to find it in a store. I never found it. I hadn't the skills nor resources to actually make things myself. Was it a case of bad taste or was I just ahead of my time? I'll never tell, but I _can_ track back to at least two trends I did actually start.
Anyway, now that I am all home-obsessed, the distinct ideas I get revolve around home-related things....light fixtures, paint colors, fabric, furniture, etc. Until I start to design and build these things myself, distinct ideas are very bad. I won't even BEGIN to tell you how many light fixtures I've looked at (and rejected) for the hallway. It's embarrassing. For the past few weeks, I have been searching mainly for two things in the furniture realm:
1) Round or oval table, 18"-ish inches tall and 24 - 30"-ish in diameter, in a dark wood tone with clean lines and (in a perfect world) some sort of storage potential
Nada. Zip. Zilch. I found a gorgeous, near perfect match at a consignment shop I frequent, but it is nearly 40" in diameter. I tried to stretch the living room layout to get it to fit, but no can do. A few weeks ago I found one at a flea market that was just about perfect, but it had no storage. I passed it up because I wasn't ready to settle. When I was ready, I went back and (of course) it was gone. It was the best table they had in their stinky furniture basement, so I really didn't expect it to be there. I finally settled late last week and got another table at the consignment shop -- correct size, but I'm not wild about the finish, there's no storage, and the lines could be cleaner. It will do....for now anyway.
2) Round, pedestal dining table, with one or more leaves, in a dark wood finish with clean lines. (Can you tell I like round. And sometimes dark wood. And sometimes clean lines. I'm usually so much more eccentric in my preferences. )
This one has also been much more difficult than I expected. Why is a round dining table such an odd thing? Don't people understand that it allows you to cram more bodies around the table in less space? And where am I gonna play Texas Hold 'Em if I don't have a round table? But what's the point if there are legs all in the way? This one is pretty close, but it doesn't have a leaf and as-is it's a little large for the space. (But I'm sooo drooling over that pedestal.) Then there are all the nice, shiny, affordable mahogany ones at the antique malls, but I want ROUND dammit!
Since I've basically given up on this one as well (and ready to settle), I headed out to the evil den of drive-thru furniture shopping today after I finished priming the hall and all 7, yes SEVEN, door casings. Remember what I said about being able to get through a store quickly when you know what you want? I cruised that ENTIRE store in less than an hour and a half looking for lamps, dining sets, a better living room table, fancy TVs, rugs, etc., etc. Seriously, look at it. It's huge. And nearly every parking space was full since it was a Sunday afternoon and they have a financing deal going on. I got through the whole thing whilst weaving around Sunday-afternoon-walkers. Ugh.
Was it worth it? Well, I settled on a dining set, so I guess it was. It's not round, but the corners are sorta rounded. It's kind of a pedestal - with built-in cat shelf. It is dark with clean lines, but not entirely wood (I'm sure it's at least partially veneers over MDF.) It's main selling points were the cat shelf and low, low price. I didn't get the matching cabinet thingy. I wasn't impressed with the drawer/door function (to be expected at this price point, I guess). Plus, I'd rather have something that isn't so tall....more like a standard sideboard. I'm vacillating on this one though. I wonder that if I don't get it, I will be doomed to be encircled in the sideboard search that will never end. I just know I will make an attempt to mix my two favorite furniture styles (clean lined (including modern) and 20's era/cottagey) that will end in massive failure. If I get this one now, it could probably be delivered with the table and I'd get more bang for my buck on the delivery charge. What to do, what to do.....
And so, to the point. Since I have settled on both tables, I'm sure the "perfect" thing will start popping up all over, just to spite me. I predict that very soon there will be a resurgence in popularity of round, pedestal dining tables and round occasional tables at cocktail table height, with end table diameter.
(While I'm here blogging about furniture....what's the deal with IKEA? I don't get it. Maybe it's just because I've never lived in a city that had a store.)
posted by SmilingJudy at
11:52 PM
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1 comments
