A Dining Table of Our Very Own

In our entire married life, Glenn and I have never owned a true blue dining table. At the condo in Phoenix we had the big giant island that functioned as one, but it was never a proper table. In the Seattle apartment, well that apartment was 450 square feet so our coffee table was our dining table. Now we have this big house in Tacoma that needs some furniture! There is actually a room dedicated to dining, also something we have never had before.

Almost immediately after we put the offer in on our house back in February I began nesting. Yeah, that's right, I was nesting without actually having a house to nest in. I started planning out room designs and decor in my head and bookmarking things online that I thought would be great for our house (that we didn't have yet). The dining room threw me for a bit of a loop though and I didn't quite know what to do.
Over time, Glenn and I have developed a bit of a fondness for antiquing, particularly in the midcentury modern category. Here in Tacoma we have an amazing group of antique shops, two of which specialize in MCM. On our first trip to Midcenturyville we saw a stunning table with 4 chairs and a leaf by Broyhill from the Brasilia collection. Let me share with you a brief history of that collection, because it is part of what endears me so much to the table:

The Brasilia line by Broyhill was created in 1962.

The signature lines and waves of Brasilia furniture were inspired by the distinct architecture of the city of Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.

The city of Brasilia was planned and developed between 1956 and 1960. When viewed from above, the city’s shape resembles a plane or bird, which is mimicked on much of Broyhill’s original fabric and tiles. Most of the city’s architecture was the vision of a man named Oscar Niemeyer. Some of his most notable works are the Palacio de Alvorada and the Cathedral of Brasilia (Pictured). These both feature clean lines and simple, modern design. What stands out most about the architecture is the use of hyperboloid structures, as in the cathedral and it’s parabolic columns, which are said to represent two hands moving upwards towards heaven. This particular building is one of Brasilia’s most recognizable attractions, due to it’s unique design and grand scale.

When viewing the architecture of Brasilia, it is clear to see the inspiration in the design of the Broyhill Brasilia line of furniture. This line was first featured at the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962 representing the city of Brasilia. These unique pieces were created throughout the 1960’s in various forms.

As you can see, that table has some great history. However, we weren't sure that the table was the right one for us, and at the time that we saw it, we still didn't have our house. Since we were still living in Seattle at the time we were also exploring some other vintage shops in the neighborhood. Nothing really stood out to me, but then we found an awesome store called The House in the Magnolia neighborhood. They too were dedicated to MCM furniture. They had some stunning pieces and I fell in love with a table they had there too! It was very similar to the table at Midcenturyville, but it was only the table. We were cool with that because it meant we got to play around with style and be creative with chairs. We weren't quite ready to make the purchase, but a couple weeks later when we were and we went back, the table was gone. I was actually pretty upset about it, and I will admit that I pouted. Embarrassing, I know, but I tend to do that.
Anyway, time went by, I got over it, we got the house, and we still didn't have a table. I search Craigslist every day to see what they have, but I have never really been smitten with anything. However, I did notice that every now and then that table from Midcenturyville would pop up. It was also getting cheaper too. Now, we weren't holding out for a cheaper price or anything, I think we just had a fear of commitment. Also, we were waiting until our living room was finished before purchasing a table since our living room furniture was currently residing in the dining room.

Finally this past weekend Glenn and I came to a consensus that this table was clearly meant to be for us. Somehow an amazing table had not sold in all this time. It was like it was patiently waiting for us to finish our construction so it could have a room of it's own in our house. Glenn emailed the owner of the store and asked her if we could pick it up Monday night and she agreed to meet us at the shop. We grabbed a UHaul van and picked up our table.
I think it looks so beautiful in our home and I cannot wait to decorate around it. It's such a stunning piece and it feels perfect. Now I just have to figure out a paint color that we both love. As you can see, we have a lot to choose from and it isn't easy. It's all good though, we're just excited to have seating indoors for now!