For the most part, when we moved into our current apartment two years ago, we already had all the same furniture we do now. The exception was our dining table and chairs, as we had never before lived in an apartment with a real dining room. This was one of the things we loved when we saw this apartment because eating at a counter or the tiny breakfast honeymoon style table we had before was just not as enjoyable as having a full-sized table and chairs. The struggle with furnishing our dining room was the budget and urgency we had when we moved in.
I like to plan to have some kind of housewarming party within a week or two of moving in to a new place to force us to get all the boxes unpacked and pictures hung. That might sound a little extra but I just hate not having my living space set up exactly how I want it. Axel and I both enjoy hosting and get into a little frenzy cleaning and getting set up whenever we’re having guests over so it’s a great way to motivate ourselves to finish the job.
I had about a week’s notice that we would be moving into this place and so in that time I set myself to the task of finding a dining set that would fit in our budget and would match the aesthetic I was going for. Both tulip tables and wishbone chairs were very trendy at this point (Spring 2022) and I liked the look of them and thought they would fit in with the rest of our midcentury vibe furniture. There are a few different brands that make these pieces- Ikea makes a popular version of the table and Wayfair and those kinds of “fast furniture” shops make metal versions of the chairs- but I really wanted to try and find relatively high quality renditions. After doing some research, I decided on the tulip table from Rove Concepts and the wishbone chairs from Poly and Bark, both of which were made out of wood and seemed more durable than the cheaper versions.
I almost never buy furniture brand new since I am a thrifty grad student currently so I set upon Facebook Marketplace with my usual fervor. Since I was on it so frequently looking for these items, my “for you” page knew just what to suggest whenever I went on the app. By a stroke of luck, I happened to see a listing for four Poly and Bark wishbone chairs that were in fantastic condition just a few minutes after it was posted. I remember that I was out with Axel having coffee at the time. Poor guy thought he was just taking me to get a quick latte but, as usual, he was down to go on one of my urgent errands and was not too thrown when I said we needed to get over to East LA asap.
The table was a little trickier. We had moved in and time was ticking until our housewarming party. I was about to give up and buy an Ikea tulip table as a placeholder (since obviously I couldn’t host a housewarming without a table! never mind that it wasn’t a dinner party), when I found exactly what I was looking for- a Rove Concept table that was just a bit of a distance away in Torrance! The price was a little high, but it came with two Poly and Bark wishbone chairs, exactly the same as what I had already bought but in worse condition, so I figured I could sell those to recoup my cost. All in, I spent around $650 for the set, which is a bit higher than I am used to, but the full retail price would have been over $2000 so I think that still counts as thrifty.
I also felt like the room needed a rug to tie it together. I was browsing for inspiration and came across this photo:
Since we already have a lot of Western influences in our decor, a cowhide seemed like the perfect option. Once again, I turned to my trusty Facebook Marketplace and found this Rugs USA option. Gray with silver paint splatter would probably not have been my first option if I was shopping from a store of cowhides, but I actually ended up really liking it. The shimmer is very subtle and the gray is a nice warm-toned color that brings some coziness to the room.
Other than the table, chair, and rugs, everything else in the dining room we already owned (or have acquired since moving in). The main aesthetic credit goes to the beautiful woodwork of our 1910s Craftsman apartment. Growing up in Phoenix, this type of house was very uncommon so Axel and I absolutely love the uniqueness and craftsmanship of this apartment. Everything is original and the built-in serves as a bookshelf and bar area, with lots of storage inside and underneath. The big windows bring in lots of natural light for all the plants we have in this room. The kitties’ favorite spot is either sitting on top of their cat tree, looking at the birds outside, or curled up in the gray armchair (an IKEA as-is section find). The pink bird art on the wall is from my favorite antique store in Phoenix, Everything Goes, and is actually an old branded bar mirror.
This turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be, considering that I only wrote about one room, but I truly love home design and enjoy finding ways to achieve my desired look without breaking the bank. All the furniture has held up very well over the years and I have no regrets about spending a little extra to invest in higher quality pieces. One day, when we have a permanent home, I would like to find an authentic mid-century dining set, but I think these will definitely do the trick until then.
