A few months ago I got a good deal on a set of four Eames DKX chairs and immediately put them around the dining table, thinking that four chairs should really be enough for two people (this from a person with at least two dozen “extra” chairs scattered around the house and hiding in the basement). The table is quite long, though, and four chairs just didn’t look quite right. I half-heartedly looked for two more DKX chairs, but couldn’t turn up a bargain. I also thought it would be nice to have something different at the ends, and I considered using a couple of Eames shell armchairs, but that didn’t seem quite right.
Then I remembered the Bertoia chairs I got for a steal back in March. I had been storing them in the basement thinking I’d eventually use them in the garden, but the longer my garden remains a dirt rectangle with two dying rhododendrons and a pile of gravel bags, the more I think it would be nice to try them out INSIDE the house. And what do you know? I actually think they look quite nice together, these two alike-but-different wire chairs. It’s a nice contrast while still being in the same family.
Speaking of Bertoia chairs, look what I found last weekend! Yes, another one, reduced to $50 ($50!) because of some rust. I’ll take it! I’ll take it! I don’t need it, but I’ll take it! (This is how you wind up with a chair “accenting” every free bit of wall space in your house.)
While I’m on the subject of the dining room, I have to give props to the table, which is awesome. We bought it four years ago (about a year before we bought this house), and subsequently our home search was dependent on finding a house with a big enough dining room to accommodate this table. It’s the NORDEN dining table in solid birch from IKEA, and it’s 105″ long with the leaf in (87″ without). Enormous! It can seat 10 people easily, 12 if you really like each other.
And after all that, we usually just eat dinner in front of the TV.
46 Comments
Looks great Anna, I’m loving the mix of the two chairs, and also the pretty splash of pink flowers in the middle.
And congrats on being runner-up in the Homies. It was controversial, but I guess in the end the numbers proved the nasty people really had no idea what they were waffling on about.
me too! after ALL that we eat in front of the tv, too. :)
I have a chair accenting every wall as well… it’s an illness.
Great find on that chair. I only own one wire chair, so you’re 2 up on me. :)
Loooove the Ikea table! And the chairs look great together. I also have about 5 million random chairs in our house… while many have migrated to the patio, I am still banned by the hubby from buying any more.
BTW, $50 for a Bertoia chair???? You are some kind of a talented shopper!
I just got the Norden and absolutely love it! Huge and sturdy, it can handle anything.
Ha! We end up in front of the tv too!!
another dinner in front of TV eater here:
clearly, we need to throw more dinner parties!
erin: The DWR Annex is amazing!! We’ve found so many great deals there, including the three heavily-discounted Bertoia chairs. I realize Secaucus, NJ isn’t really around the corner from you, though…
your dining room looks so inviting. i really like the artwork in the white frame leaning up against the wall in the second photo, too!
Just curious – do you have a secret Newburgh fresh flower provider, or are you importing? I’ve been snipping frozen berries and it’s getting bleak.
the dining room looks great. it was your smiths poster that brought me to your blog after i spotted it in your AT house tour last year. i figured anyone who loves the smiths must be worth reading and you haven’t disappointed!
Heather, I usually buy my flowers at Grand Central on my way home. I will ask my mother where she gets her flowers, though!
It all looks good – and still so so jealous of the Smiths poster!
I am such a fan of the mixed dining room chairs look since Elle Decor showed Sarah Jessica Parker’s black-painted flea market chairs around a glossy white table: http://tinyurl.com/94nmly
Personally I think that one can never have too many chairs, but then again storage space is cheap here in Texas.
I think the chairs look smashing together — inspired! And I have the Norden table too, only it’s downstairs in my basement (the surroundings of which don’t do it justice) and I use it as my art table because with the leaf in it I can almost spread out every item I might possibly ever need while in the midst of creating… It’s the best table EVER!!
Hooray for the big long table! We scored a mid-mod teak table with chairs at a flea market right after getting married, and it’s this size. I honestly could NOT function without it. Regarding the chairs….count me in on group sessions for chaddicts (that would be ‘chair addicts’).
Anna, it looks great. Question for you, how’d you get the rust off of your last great find?
Shashi, I didn’t! Click on the photo and look closely — you’ll see the rust! Eventually I’ll get around to cleaning what I can off with Barkeeper’s Friend. If it’s still bad and I can’t live with it, I’ll consider getting it sandblasted and powdercoated…but most likely, I’ll just forget the rust is there and be OK with it as-is. :)
It looks really good. All the white on white inspires me. And do you organize your books by colour? Because I think I love that.
I think I love it too, thank you!
i noticed how you also “color-arranged” your books in the dining room, i’m obsessed about that too! nice! oh and nice chairs.
The Bertoia chairs are perfect at the table- the two chairs compliment each other wonderfully! And, I had to laugh because we usually eat dinner in front of the tv too. Now, if only I could be so lucky as to stumble upon such a chair for $50…
You are so very, very lucky. Very hard to find stuff like that in Marrakech.
I feel like a huge nerd asking, but do you know where your mouse wheel was purchased? My boyfriend and I rescued two mice recently, and their cage is such an eyesore.
what a perfect, credit crunch solution… use what you already have!! your dining room looks fantastic. I read a comment your recent sofa post, i think, and agree that you have a way with making Ikea items look a million dollars!
Yes, the dining room looks great but how can any of those chairs be comfortable to sit in for any length of time? Seriously, I’m asking. How are you going to have a long leisurely dinner party where people can linger at the table when your guests are going to be squirming uncomfortably after a half-hour with ruts in their butts? I’d invest in some chair cushions myself.
I love how the chairs look with the table! We have been waiting on buying a dining room table until we buy a house (hopefully this year!). And this table fits our requirements if we can find a space big enough for it. I am definitely bookmarking the table for reference in the future. Love your blog!
I love those chairs on the ends, I think it makes a nice contrast to the others! I have a huge dining room table and a breakfast table and I still mostly eat in front of the tv in the living room as well.
Maryam: Yes, but you can get that amazing Majorelle Blue paint in Marrakech! Don’t think we don’t envy that color worldwide! :)
Danielle: Not nerdy at all! The mice have a Wodent Wheel Jr. It’s extremely safe, completely silent, and will last forever (they sell spare parts if you need them, too). Wodent Wheels are the only wheels I recommend for small pets! And yes, you can soak the label off. :) By the way, ASKER containers from IKEA (they’re in the kitchen dept) make beautiful mouse-houses when turned on their sides. You can get a better view of the inside of the mouse cage here. Good luck with your rescue mousies!
Faith: I’ve sat at the table in these chairs for extended periods of time, and have never felt that they are uncomfortable, honestly. I’m not too worried! If anyone is suffering, the living room is only 10 feet away. I think everyone can manage. ;)
How is your house not featured in a magazine yet? Or is it and I missed it?!
I love all of the wire together – I have a chair thing too but no where to keep them all. It’s really out of control and I’m going (to try) to have a storage unit clear out next month. I’m sure more will accumulate eventually…
I’ve only been reading your blog for a month or so… love your aesthetic. And I added the Kiehl’s Imperiale to my ritual (ha, and thanks for blogging about other stuff regularly). Congrats on being featured on Remodelista (http://www.remodelista.com/). Loved seeing the exterior of your home, for a change.
Oh, and the dining chairs look great. The Smiths poster is a nice touch, too.
the dining room looks wonderful- as does the rest of your home! i love the norden and those chairs!
i scored the large ikea bjursta in a oak-ish looking veneer along with 4 henriksdal (parsons) chairs for only $200 (craigslist) so i couldnt pass it up. i thought i’d need something large… in case we have company over. its a little large for our place now and my hubby and i joke all the time when we look for houses next summer its all going to depend on what fits that damn $200 table! lol.
but i love how big it is… great for laundry folding, learning to sew… and the occasional meal.
i only wish i had the same luck with finding chairs. the parsons chairs are fine- and i might sew some covers for them to make the set a little less boring- but i’d some some wire chairs!
i hope when we go to buy a house i can find something with a little character as well! i love your home!
Hi, I love these photos. Where did you get that great Elvis poster and the white cabinets with the drawers?
Jan’s camera: The “Elvis poster” is actually a vintage poster for the band The Smiths — it’s the cover from their ’87 single Shoplifters of the World Unite. I bought it when I was in high school.
The cabinets are 3- and 6-drawer MALM dressers from IKEA. They’re great for storing CDs, DVDs, etc. :)
The chairs look awesome in the dining room :) look really nice and airy.
great room! I would have voted for you in Apartment Therapy Contest if I had been
aware of you, then. Your personal style blog is so much better than bloggers who just clip stuff from other sources. Please tell me your japanese maple tree did not
succumb like the rhododendrons. I just saw your backyard posting a few days ago
and thought it was charming. Your front yard is also great. I was absolutely staggered to see the book (Jannson) about the hippo trolls. I had made many little stuffed hippo dolls out of fabric printed with the hippos for one of my daughters
parties many years ago. I always felt the hippos had tremendous charisma. My kids are older than you,
YOUR PLACE IS SOO PRETTY..Lucky you TO LIVE OUT THERE!
i USED to live not far from your area… : )
Anyhow…That table is great.I may buy it for my home as well..thanks for the INSPIRATION!
Hey would love to link up, let me know… : )
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Jen Ramos
‘Cards & Prints You’ll Love…’
http://www.madebygirl.com
madebygirl.blogspot.com
Very nice Smiths poster. Happy to see that one.
We have the Ikea table too- and love it. It became our default office with my hubby on one end with his laptop and me on the other with mine. Still plenty of room to set table and eat in between. Hosting holiday parties forced us finish remodeling our real office and clean off the table. There’s nothing like a big clean dining table.
I really like your dining room. If I ever have a real dining room (as opposed to a 5×5 area I call the dining room!) I’m going to be stealing some ideas.
Ans DWR needs to open an Annex on the West Coast!
What’s in the aqarium?
By the way, I love your blog and I admire you taking a stand against the keyboard bullying that often takes place behind the safety of a computer monitor.
Ha! Love the books done by color. It really pops with the white flanking it. Your own personal color wheel in the dining room :)
mk: There are two wee mice in the aquarium — Flossie and Maude. :)
Question for you, what kind of flower plant is that on your kitchen table? I usually have this love/hate relationship with Ikea but we have a dining table from there too and I actually really like it. All our other things from there are falling apart.
Aele: The plants on the dining table are Kalanchoes — they’re flowering succulents.
I don’t really think about price when I’m at IKEA. I try to use the same eye for quality of construction when choosing furniture there as I would anywhere else, and IKEA often comes out on top. I choose pieces carefully, and after many years I have not had any issues with durability.
I like your chairs and your pendant, but I LOVE the books organized by color. One day, when I get around to it, I may rip that off.
this looks amazing! i would love to live here or hang out in your home.
although, i personally like the living room better with a rug. maybe that is not the right rug, but it looks much warmer and unified with it.
not sure what happened with the homies, but don’t let it get you down. do you ever read the blog ‘dooce’? she sometimes has hilarious rebuttals with her worst critics. check her out.
We have the same table and we love it. There are six of us and we fit perfectly without the leaf but the leaf stays in most of the time because there’s always room to add a chair for company and we do love company!
Hi Anna.
I’m so happy I found your blog. I am in love with your sense of style and your beautiful home in Newburgh. I live in Queens currently, but used to live in New Paltz and then in Poughkeepsie. There are some really amazing homes in the Hudson Valley.
I work on an ambulance and one of the things I love about my job (besides helpin’ folks) is that I can walk pretty much into homes all day, everyday. I see such amazing things. So, finding your blog’s been an adventure. Thanks for sharing. I’m gonna keep visiting.
Julianne