The Garage Sale Table

I've reached my favourite stage in our family room renovations.

The walls are planked, everything has been painted, and almost all of the furnishings are in place. There are still a few details that I need to finish - put out the rug, hang my curtains panels, sew another small curtain for our entertainment unit and hang some art.

I'm so happy with how this room is coming together. It has a cozy, cottage feel to it which is perfect for this space. Toys migrate here from the den, it's where we snuggle up and watch movies together - it really is our family room.

But we'll talk more about that when it's finished.

For now, I wanted to share something I found this weekend.

While out on Saturday morning, I was forced to drive a different way home due to some construction. As I took the scenic way back to the highway, I came across a garage sale. It's a pretty general rule for me that if there's furniture, I stop. So despite the dreary weather, and my warm seat, I pulled in and did a quick tour.

I'm not sure what this little table would have been used for. It's high for an end table, but doesn't show any marks from hardware that would have made it a small kind of cabinet.

I was drawn to it's simplicity, and it's pretty little legs. And I liked the small shelf.

It was $20, but I only had $14.20 on me to offer. He happily took what I had and even loaded the table in my car.

So now it's found it's place in our family room. All of the furniture in this room is quite low, with the exception of two big cabinets on the other side. This dark and slightly tall table adds just the right amount of weight on this end of the room. It also is a convenient place to hide remotes.

If it didn't work here, I planned to use it in our master bathroom. I think it would suit some glass jars on top with soaps and things, and towels stacked on the shelf for easy access. I spent the rest of the drive home imagining ways to make it useful again.

I planned to paint it white, but I'm enjoying the dark wood for now. It's nicely worn and adds some contrast to a very light space.

The beautiful arched window was a salvage find that my dad has had stored away for quite some time. At our Christmas open house last year I leaned it against an old harvest table and added a swag of greens to it. I knew when I was arranging the display that I had to have this window. Finally I told him he couldn't sell it because I wanted it. It's going above the couch.

I'm nearly there.