FINALLY GETTING SOME DINING CHAIRS

There’s a little saga to our dining room seating and it goes like this. Since I bought our dining table (back when I was living by myself), I opted for a mix and match approach to seating. I bought a fantastic stool with the table, found a chair I liked from World Market, and built a bench. Everything was going smoothly until the bench broke last year. Matt had mentioned that he didn’t like the mix and match, but I wasn’t sure I wanted a matching set—until we borrowed our neighbor’s chairs for Thanksgiving and I realized how good it looks to have a full set around that table! I know, imagine that, but here we are, a house later and no new dining chairs. Why? Because chairs are expensive! What is up with that? Is it just a crazy markup like on mattresses, because people need them? Or does it really cost $150 to make that single chair?

We actually picked out the chairs that we want for our table a long time ago, but haven’t pull the trigger yet. They’re black and modern and we tried them out in store and we added them to our wishlist. Since moving into the townhouse, I’ve been planning on utilizing my CB2 shipping hack, and ordering them maybe one per month. Since then, plans have come together that we are hosting Thanksgiving again, soooo we should probably just buy the damn chairs, right? Well then they were backordered, and it’s still just a heartbreaking amount of cash for 4 chairs…

I shifted gears a couple weeks ago and started checking Facebook Marketplace every day or so, looking at what people were selling. Then, I heard that when you use the Marketplace and click on items of interest, it really starts honing in on your preferences, and if you are looking for particular items, like dining chairs, then by searching it, you can get even more personalized results. So, I immediately stopped clicking on all the weird things that people sell on there that I was clicking on just out of curiosity, and really focused on what I want.

One night last week, after I was already in bed and ready to go to sleep, I checked the Marketplace and less than 5 minutes before, a set of 4 black dining chairs had been posted. The listing said they were from Room&Board, with slight defects from wear, for $40. I immediately messaged the seller and asked if she meant $40 per chair. She didn’t. I quickly replied that I wanted them and would pick them up as soon as she wanted me to. Tomorrow at 6:30? Perfect. I had nothing to do on Halloween anyway.

She said that was prime trick-or-treat time so I should park in the alley. Weird… So, I requested that a nearby friend go with me because I am aware that I am a petite lady. Once I was headed there, she told me that she was on candy duty so I should just go up the front. Turns out, she was at a very popular trick-or-treat location and I had to wait in line between witches and wizards to let her know I was there for the chairs! It was an extremely easy and quick trade because I wanted to get out of the Halloween goers’ ways. The really funny thing is that it took no time at all to recognize that, in this neighborhood, going to a stranger’s house on Halloween night might be the safest possible scenario ever. I generally trust my gut, and the alley comment threw me, so nonetheless I’m glad someone came with and I’m glad it wasn’t necessary.

But back to the chairs: we set them in my car, I dropped my friend off, and headed home myself. Once I got home and saw the chairs in the light, I noticed that there were two chairs with one imperfection on them each, and the rest looked great. What a deal! And to further my curiosity, I did a little internet sleuthing and found them for sale here, for $129 a piece. Which means our new chairs, at $10 a pop were over 90% off! Holy cannoli that I can’t wait to eat with anyone who wants to sit with me at our fully functioning dining table. Hahah. Here’s a snapshot of how they look.

Not exactly what we had in mind, but definitely the right price and good enough for Thanksgiving and then some! In case you can’t tell, I’m so excited about this serendipitous purchase, I’m even sitting on them as I write this post! So who wants to come over for dinner? Love, Shauna