Friday, August 16, 2013

A Worthwhile Acquisition

I got myself a new (old) table. A month ago, my friend Summer sent me a text/picture of a coffee table that she had picked up in Durant, Oklahoma for $10. It was a Lane table and the bottom part pivoted out to whatever angle you wanted. It wouldn't work for their new house and so she wanted to know if I wanted to take it off of her hands for the same $10. For $10 I was intrigued.


After weeks of missing each other, or forgetting entirely, we finally struck the exchange (although I still have to give her the cash on Sunday) in our church parking lot moving the table between our mom-mobiles. I was intrigued but wasn't sure if I could make it work yet. I already have a coffee table I love for the living room from Ballard and had bought a round one off of Craigslist last summer for $35 (a Pottery Barn piece actually) for our bonus room/future library. So the only other space I really needed a coffee table for was our sitting room attached to our master bedroom.


I had Paul haul it upstairs and for the time being, tuck it in the corner to hold my two plants but it will have to get shifted around. It also needs some pivoting and staging to get set up right. I'm worried it is just slightly too big for the long narrow room.

Addison thinks it's the perfect place for a nap and has twice slid right up on top and pretended to sleep.




I am now determined to make this bad boy work. Why? Because my mom looked it up on eBay the morning after I had posted a picture of it on Instagram. These tables are going for the $500-700 range in just as good condition as the one I now have sitting in my house. My mouth still might be open. Summer knew she could sell it for more money but didn't want to go to the hassle of listing it and dealing with weirdos (my words, not hers). I don't know if she knew she could have gotten that much for it though. It is a 1959 Lane pivoting table from their Acclaim collection and apparently, if you ever find anything in that collection for a messily $10 then you've scored big time. The pivoting tables are relatively rare and even the static single level coffee tables in that collection are selling for $300. I asked Summer if she wanted more money for it but we struck a deal that if I keep it, it only costs me $10 but if I sell it I promised to give her half the money from the sale. Either way I have an awesome table or I just made $250-$300 bucks. The lady that sold it to Summer was practically going to give it to her for free.  She wanted $15 for it and when Summer started to go ask her husband if he thought it would work the lady immediately dropped the price to $10. I think if Summer had walked away she would have gotten it for $5 and the lady would have loaded it for her.  I feel a little guilty for the lady in Durant but I mean, you win some you lose some right?


I was perusing CraigsList earlier today (because I am a glutton for punishment) and saw this:

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/atq/3965526717.html


Somebody buy this table. Now. I would, but remember, I have three coffee tables in my possession right now. And while Victoria has a primordial-mirror-troll living in her head, I have a primordial-coffee table-troll screaming at me to buy this thing. I would buy this. Gladly and then it would sit somewhere because I have no more room for tables to sit in front of couches. Want to know how many couches we have? One. One couch and three coffee tables. It's a sickness folks.