My Coffee Table Indirect From Japan
With Super Couch (oh, how I love it!) happily ensconced in my living room I needed to find a solution for a coffee table. Previously I had been using a Pottery Barn Chloe Coffee Table that I had picked up six years ago at a Pottery Barn Outlet for $60. Regular price it was $350 so it was quite a steal. Although it was a great coffee table the long narrow shape looked awkward with Super Couch. I needed something square or at least a very wide in order to fill up the space properly and look proportional to the sectional.
As I was contemplating what to do it dawned on me that the low table that I brought back from Japan might just work. I bought the table at a Recycle Center (a Japanese second hand shop for home goods) for ¥1000 (about $10 US at the time). The table is low because it is meant to be sat at with cushions on the floor. I loved how spacious the table top was and decided to set it up in my Japanese apartment as a work table for crafts. It worked out really well and I spent a lot of time working on projects sprawled out over the table.
I shipped the table back to the U.S. when I returned home but since then the table has languished in one of the back rooms of my house that I never really use. I rescued it from oblivion and placed it in front of the sectional. It was just the right size and fills the space nicely.
I love the curvy shape of the table legs and the grain pattern of the wood on the top. It really is a beautiful piece, especially for the great deal I got it for, and I am glad that I finally have a place for it in my home that showcases it better.
Temporarily on top I put a beige Marit table runner from Ikea that I already had. The tray is a hand carved wooden batea meant for tossing corn and rice that I picked up at a market in Panama this past summer. The two vases on the outside I bought in Seto, Japan and the one in the middle I made when I was a kid. I love how it is a little wonky, but not so bad for being in sixth grade, I think.
I plan to replace the items with something a little more colorful in the future, but for now it will do.
I'm really happy that the table works so well in the living room. Seeing it there when I walk in the front door brings back a lot of great memories from Japan and brightens my day. Now I just need to find a new rug and things will really be starting to come together...
Have you recently "shopped your home" and moved a piece of furniture or decor item to another room? What kind of coffee table do you have?
Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 7:10AM | Posted by Lisa | 2 Comments | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article 
Reader Comments (2)
I like the coffee table. Your little pots / vases are a perfect accent, especially your own creation. They remind me of old ink pots. I have several pots I did in ceramics classes that I use for plants. Nice reminders of being creative. Thanks for explaining about the window frames. We had a similar problem with our baseboards and window frames - paint can hide so many things :)
Mary-Lou- Thank you! Your ceramic pots sound lovely. I have several that I have made but they are all little and too small for plants. I think that for now I am going to paint the walls and leave the trim and then see if I still want to paint them or if I can figure out another way to hide the flaws. Ask me tomorrow and I'll probably have another answer yet...