This week our guest blogger, Susanna Salk has a dilemma to which I can really relate, since I’ve been struggling with a similar search for my own home for close to 4 years. She’s trying to help her parents find a coffee table.



Dating a Coffee Table
From Open House by Susanna Salk

So we finally found the right piece to the puzzle and JUST when we were reaching the end of our rope. The oh-so-important coffee table was like the finger in the dam. Without the correct shape, material, size, the rest of my parents’ sitting room would just not flow. We looked at leather, (too masculine) glass, (too sharp), circular from India (close, but my father thought the tin material would be too noisy when he went to rest his feet on it) and tufted, (too precious). It was like those dating events where you meet someone for 10 minutes and then move on to the next guy, hoping sparks will fly with one of the 100 bachelors before the allotted time.

So each table courted us with its possibilities and capabilities, ("you can put a tray on me", "I’m one-of-kiiiiind", "my fabric is super-resistant"), but I could tell from my parents’ lulled expressions they weren’t biting. When their eyes started to glaze over, I knew I was in trouble.

See how Susanna paired her parents with the perfect table.