My cocktail table has a long and storied past: it came to me from my Grandmother when she downsized into an apartment. I had always loved it, so it was one of the things I wanted from her house. Like most of her furniture, it is a solid piece of American Colonial style, it a dark honey stain. It had move with her from West Texas to Oklahoma, and with me to Kansas, Texas, Indiana and Back to West Texas and been repaired and refinished more than once by my dad. As a child, I often sat at it to draw, color and make art. The point is that it is huge--almost 40 inches in diameter--so incomparable to most pieces on the market.
As I looked at other tables, tables that were more my style and would probably fit more neatly in our space filled with a mix of collected and inherited pieces of furniture, everything seemed too small. Perhaps they would be perfect in a small first apartment, but they were all downright diminutive compared to my grandmother's table.
And then one day, I was out perusing the thrift stores and I spied this gigantic monster of a table. At first, I wasn't sure if it was hideous or fabulous as it appeared to be two tables stacked one top of one another. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was indeed trés magnIfique and the two pieces (one clear, one smoke) were screwed together to form one, two-tiered table that is over 50 inches across. Not only was huge and amazing, but also unique--the clerk at the store said the woman who donated it had commissioned it from an artist, probably in the early 70s?
I must say it was a challenge to merchandise, with its expansive top and shelf, but after several trials and a consultation or two, it was all worked out. We used a combination of multiples: small stacks of art books; Georges Briard trays; and numerous vintage tins placed on the lower level for a collage effect. Add to that a small reproduction of th Nike of Samothrace from the Louvre and a convex class paperweight and....c'est fini.
The table strikes just the right note in the room, bringing the blue provencial sofa with its traditional cuves to...Paris, 1977 in my imagination. Soon--a complete reveal of the entire front room. And also soon, a cocktail party with all manner of delicacies laid out on my unbelievable new table.