Tuesday, June 21, 2016

A Vintage Thomasville Coffee Table

I love when my client's have vision. In fact, sometimes they astound me with the amount of vision they can have for a piece that I had initially thought was a bit underwhelming.
        This client in question I've worked closely with over the last eighteen months, he's a darling and a damned good designer in his own right. So I should be surprised that he rocked my world with his plans for this coffee table. It's nowhere near the first time he's blown my mind with his furniture design dreams.
        The coffee table in question started in the humblest of settings, cast off on the side of Rt. 66 in Hebron. I was on my way up to Manchester when I spotted it, but even free I wasn't sure how into it I was, so I drove on, figuring if it was still there on my way back I'd hop out and grab it. And clearly other drivers shared my ambivalence, because lo and behold it was still awaiting its fate two hours later. So I grabbed it. I was pleased to see it was in damn nice condition considering its curbside banishment. The top was ugly as sin, but not badly scratched or gouged. The frame was sturdy as a rock, and the whole thing was actually pretty clean too. But so ugly, fugly really.
          Then I posted a picture of it and my client spotted it and saw at first blush the potential I'd failed to recognize. And trust me, I'm only telling you how ugly this poor coffee table was because it is stupid ridiculously over the top gorgeous now. I want to like run around and yell and flail my arms, that's how smitten with it I am. We went with a dark stain for the stunningly figured mahogany top, and Essex blue for the frame. Aqua in the interior of the cupboard provides a pop of whimsical color. I swapped the pulls out for chunky handsome nautical pulls colored to match the original brass casters, and the client suggested sanding and staining the surrounds of the paneled center cupboard doors. Great idea, Sooooooo pretty!
This is one of my favorite before and afters in a long long time. I really need to get an "I brake for furniture" bumper sticker for the yellow pickup.









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