Thonet; The Chair who Stole my Heart

People keep coming over to my apartment and asking me why I don’t have any chairs at my kitchen table.  I try and distract them by all the other amazing things I’ve done with the place but they only seem to want to talk about that lonely table.

“You really should get some chairs to go with your bistro table! How unfortunate that it’s just sitting around your apartment, all sad and alone.”

First, it’s a table…..Second, I did find some chairs, great chairs; the timing was just way off.

There was an old furniture store by my house in New York. I would pass by it “everyday” (2-3 times a week) on my way to the gym. The main floor was lined with expensive antiques, but the basement was filled to the brim with old rusty furniture; it was a diamond in the rough kind of place. You really had to scour through some mess to find the gems. Scour I did, until I landed my eyes on a pair of original Thonet bentwood side chairs.

They were great; Worn in just the right amount, yet still fresh and modern. Not to mention the price, I mean they were a steal. No one finds chairs like that for such a bargain.

I guess that’s where I made my mistake. I decided to think it over for a few days and if I still wanted them by the end of the week, I would buy them.  By the time Friday rolled around I knew for sure that I had to go back.  After work, I marched down to the store, straight to the basement where I found them. There they were.  I couldn’t wait to get them home. I had already started rearranging my apartment in my head.

Just then, I was shoved back into reality (literally) by a man who looked to be the store owner. As I was about to tell him to write me a ticket, he slapped a sold sign on not one, but BOTH of my chairs. How dare he! Didn’t he know that I was on my way!?!?

The nerve. 

I stood in disbelief for a good ten minutes before admitting defeat. The chairs weren’t mine. They belonged to someone else. I just hope that they look as good in their apartment as they would have in mine.

Every now and then I look for a suitable alternative, but substitutes just aren’t enough. Until I find something that can compare to those chairs, my bistro table is destined to be alone.

“Is that a good enough reason?”

All images found via Pintrest