Old Oak Table, Repurposed

Because this is a smallish house, it's fortunate that I don't often find large "keepers" at estate sales.  But I do find them, from time to time.

There was the big set of Fiesta Ware dishes....



Resident tuxedo cat, hoping those are cat food bowls

The oak Morris chair, which we've had for several years (and one reupholstering job).

Resident tabby, 7 weeks old, claiming the chair is hers 



Resident tabby, 9 years old, reminding us that the chair is still hers

Last weekend, it was the solid oak vintage pub table.  I spotted it immediately at an estate sale a few blocks from here.  It only took watching a couple of other potential buyers stroking their hands across the smooth top of this old family table to convince me that it needed to come home with me.  I had another use for it in mind.

Oak pub tables are very popular in my area.  (I see them so often in local antique stores, I wonder if there are many left in England, where many of them originated.)  I looked up the definition of "pub table" at an online interior design website.  It said that a pub table is designed for small spaces and intimate seating, and adds, "It is common for people to also refer to pub tables as bistro tables."

I'm not sure I agree with that.  I think of a bistro table as something weather-resistant, lightweight, designed to hold wine glasses and baguettes as you sit outdoors watching the busier world pass by.  Sort of like La Tour Eiffel balancing a tray on its head.

Bistro table and chairs, Paris

I've been to England several times, and I've never heard of people gathering around a "bistro table."  To me, a pub table is like this one.  It's solid oak; it's designed to be used indoors.  We brought ours inside the house (pictured below), but the living room was not its final destination.

I moved the pub table into the home office.  The table top comes off so that you can extend the table leaves.  That also makes it easier to transport.

The table is in remarkably good condition for its age.  Only one small piece of wood needed a dab of wood glue and a few hours with a clamp.

(You see evidence in the above photo of my use of the Towel Method for moving furniture: lift up the end, shove a thick bath towel under the desk legs, and you can drag the table across your hardwood floor without damage to either.)  After the wood glue was dry, I extended the leaves and reset the table top.  Vintage oak pub table, repurposed.  Instant desk, for the home office of The Estate Sale Chronicles.

Being repurposed can be a good thing.  It means you can go on being useful in a way that still allows you to use your great strengths.  I think the old pub table will make a great desk. 

As well as for its functionality, I admire the table for the beauty of the wood and its classic design. The oak finish is almost too pretty to put a computer on. 

Or a cat. 

Almost.

 

Even though it's not a proper pub table anymore, the oak table is still a nice place to gather with friends and share stories.  Pull up a chair.