Dining In

The centerpiece for any home, especially during the mid-twentieth century, was where the family sat around and enjoyed their meal. There were no 24/7 distractions of the internets, smart phones, around-the-clock news, 100 plus TV channels or what not. It was home from school, play in the yard, maybe watch Daniel Boone on the tube in black and white then eat at the dining room table and then wait your turn in the bathroom to get cleaned up and ready for bed. I suppose industrious kids did homework somewhere in the mix. 

It was the meal that brought the entire family together for at least 30 minutes at the end of each day, and the dining table was the apex of that experience. Many of us that lived through it have formica tops emblazoned into our memories, but others had the typical sleek wood slab that we scooped up our vittles from. We wanted to give our place that touch as well. After scouring the several resale shops in Tulsa that specialize in mid-century furnishings we made our find on Craig's List. I know, I know....CL is full of crazies. I know that as well as anyone, but there are also some regular folks just trying to do some business on there...you know, like maybe 10%. 

The best we could find at a resale shop that fit the bill ran about $500-600 and some of those without chairs and in various states of disrepair. We felt fortunate to find a MCM gem with 6 chairs for $350. We had to glue some of the chair braces as the old glue had just worn out, and we refinished the table and chairs using a product called "restore" after a light sanding. The results were pleasing and you can tell from the pictures that it adds something to our Lortondale hideout. The placemats have a distinctive MCM flair with the type of bird print, but they are actually new from IKEA...a good source of newer stuff to accent any MCM home.