We all have that piece of furniture in our homes that is our absolute favorite. Many of you have pieces of Hey-Wake that most likely is your favorite piece of furniture. While I have a beautiful Hey-Wake bedroom set that I do love, it isn't my favorite. My favorite is my little drop-leaf Duncan-Phyfe style dining table and chairs.
While most mid-century lovers go crazy over blonde furniture, I have filled my house with dark wooden furniture. Mahogany is my absolute favorite. That love of dark wood furniture combined with my love of having my home be a little more formal in appearance makes my Duncan-Phyfe style dining set a natural choice. It took a while to find the right piece. The dining room in the Shack is 8' by 8' approximately; not exactly the kind of space to hold a large dining set.
The set that I finally purchased for $125 is a small set that fits perfectly in the space. The home it came out of was a 1950s ranch with a similar sized dining room, and it was perfect in there. I purchased it from the lady who accidentally bought it at the estate auction (don't ever raise your hand to wave at someone while there is bidding going on - it can be costly!).
I love the formality of the legs on the table, and the fact that it is a drop-leaf. When you need to seat large numbers of people, you can. When you just need a place for one or two, leave it folded up and push it over to the wall, giving a small space a larger feel.
While I like the lyre-back style chairs most frequently associated with this style of table, I like that this set has a little bit of a modern feel. Since it is from the 1950s, the chairs have a much more simple shaped back. Perfect for my taste. The dark reddish-brown fabric on the chairs is original. I'd say that the original owner hardly ever used this set.
Finally here is a little more of a view of the dining room. Please ignore the boxes stored in the corner on the left. I always bring my personal posessions home from school for the summer so that they don't accidentally disappear, and this corner was the only place I had to put them.
What's your favorite piece of furniture in your home?
I love that table and chairs! Drop leaf tables are my favorite and I have one that belonged to a family member. I also have a blond 'bar' that belonged to my parents. It means a lot to me as it is one of the few pieces of furniture from them that I have.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, ( in the late '70's, ) I purchased a drop leaf table just like yours for the then high price of $8.00 at a yard sale! It was 'antiqued' green which was a very popular style/phase for re-doing furniture in the late 1960's. I striped and re-stained it and I kept it until many years later when my daughter asked for it. Eventually the table found it's way to the curb. ( With my permission, as she asked me if I wanted it back. ) Needless to say, this curb side gem was picked up immediately. We laughed about how happy someone would be to find such a thing on the side of the road. I hope that table is a favorite for it's owner now, as it was for each of us for so long, so long ago
ReplyDeleteWe once had a drop-leaf table, but it was a pain because you couldn't push chairs up under it at the ends. Nutty. Yours is a better design.
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