Calligaris or Crate and Barrel? Neither

It’s probably the worst time to buy anything - especially furniture. When we moved from Capitol Hill to northern Virginia three years ago it was the first time we had a dining room in thirteen years. We had a calligaris table that extended to seat many people, but it didn’t work quite as well in the new space. But we kept it anyway. Under the huge mirror in the dining room we added a distressed white console table to put a bunch of plants on and fill in the space. Lately we have been thinking about getting a sideboard. I really didn’t know what would look good there, but we decided something of a similar color would be best. I’ve been researching options for the last several weeks. So we visited crate and barrel to see what we thought might work. But it ended up looking much too large for the space. So we went back to calligaris for a match. The sideboard was still a bit too wide and long and I didn’t care for the top insert. And the price tag was ridiculous! We didn’t need it that bad. So this week we may check out Room and Board as there is something there that might work and won’t break the bank. I don’t have a lot of hope, and I’m not that interested either. I never thought we would be back in the 80’s with high inflation. My mortgage rate was 13-16% back then! Being on a fixed income doesn’t help either. So the furniture is a nice to have and certainly not an essential. I don’t like this feeling. 

LED Swivel Stool by Connubia Calligaris

Since we moved to our new condo in McLean five weeks ago I’ve been rearranging wall decor and furniture. We had a single bar stool in our Capitol Hill condo that was placed in front of the kitchen window. There was no bar, just a seat to take a load off. Our new place has a considerable peninsula that can easily accommodate three bar stools. I searched to get a companion for the stool we have, but unfortunately when we received it, the piston wouldn’t work so it was returned. Rather than go that route again, the search began for a pair of barstools that would somehow coordinate the dining room with the kitchen. The single stool would be placed on the kitchen side for the cook to use. It took quite a while to finally decide what might work. Nothing looked right to me. All I knew was that the chairs needed to be adjustable counter and seat height, swivel, and not be visible from the front (no or little back). Our dining room set is a dark wood Calligaris piece with a glass “turquoise” top - the same color we have throughout the house. The kitchen has a lot of chrome and is very white. After looking at just about everything from everywhere it finally hit me - chrome swivel stools with “plastic” turquoise low back seats. They would match the chrome of the kitchen and the turquoise of the dining table glass. I didn’t realize that the Connubia brand was connected to Calligaris so was even more pleased with the item - there was actually a connection. I found the bar stools on three sites and went with Smart Home because of the discount. The stools arrived much sooner than expected in four boxes. They were a cinch to assemble and the little pop of color was exactly what the space needed. We prefer to use the dining room table for meals but having the stools is a great option - especially when we need an extra two seats when the table is extended to double the length. The stools can be lowered to regular chair height. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what works. The chairs also match the turquoise chandelier above too. Now I need to soften all the chrome, metal and glass with some plants. That’s the next project. 

Calligaris Enterprise Glass Extension Table and Philadelphia Chairs for the Living, Dining, Sleeping, and Exercise Room

For the last year or more, we have been trying to reconfigure our studio condo to better meet the needs of the room. After all, it is a bedroom, living room, dining room, and exercise room all in one. It is also the space where our visitors stay, and we then retreat to the "other side." We finally got rid of the king size sofa bed that took up the entire room. It was a monster to deal with and was replaced with a wall bed. That new configuration dictated the size of the much smaller sofa that would replace it, but also the dining table that was very worn and space occupying. What we needed was an extension table for occasional use, and a good size for every day. After countless hours of hunting on line and around town, we finally found the perfect solution in the Calligaris Glass extension table. I contacted the Calligaris store in Georgetown to see if they could locate one, along with the preferred Chicago chairs. They located a table in Italy with a solid glass top, but we had to go with the Philadelphia chairs instead. It took about six weeks for the furniture to arrive, and I was glad we requested that they deliver and assemble the pieces. We haven't used the extension feature yet, but we are quite pleased with the look and space the table takes. Now I think and hope we are about done redoing the studio apartment. Now we can start to finally enjoy it - and it all coincided with my retirement!