I went downtown today to see if I could find some interesting chairs in any of the antique stores. I thought maybe there was a remote chance someone had gotten rid of a plain chair that would suit my needs. The idea of having a set of mismatched chairs that all share a few main features is appealing.

I parked in front of Merry’s Trash and Treasures, which is the biggest antique store in the universe. Well, maybe not, but they have like three storefronts…and when you go inside, the furniture is literally stacked to the ceiling.

With a selection like that, you’d think I might have come across something…but Merry’s stock runs more along the vintage American kind of furniture. I didn’t see anything that might have been brought over from China or Japan or inspired by those countries. All the wood had a natural finish, too, except for one old farmhouse set–so no black, which is what I need to match my table.

Also, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything in Merry’s that doesn’t cost $300 or more. I discovered this years ago, but somehow I had forgotten.

Unsure of my chances of finding anything at an antique store now that I’d seen Merry’s selection, I went next door to The Marketplace, which is run like a flea market; different vendors run different sections of the store. This place does not deal in very much furniture, but they have all those neat knickknacks and books and cooking utensils that you expect in a second-hand shop. I stayed because I love looking at vintage curios, and I figured that if I found something I used to own or something that reminded me of my childhood, I wouldn’t have a problem picking it up.

I had fun scouring the shelves. I came across some Charlie Brown and the Chipmunks glassware that we used to have when I was a kid, and there was some nice milk glass too. Nothing really stuck out to me, though, until I was heading back along the opposite wall and came across a beautiful set of Noritake china.

The dishes were trimmed in gold, and at the center of each was a cluster of blue flowers. I examined the set. Apparently it had once been a service for 12, but some dishes and saucers had been broken along the way, so that it was now a service for 10. One dish was chipped, and the floral design had worn away on several pieces. Still, it was in fairly decent condition, and the price was reasonable. I decided to think about it, and moved on.

After happily coming across a copy of The Truce at Bakura, my favorite SWEU novel, in the adjacent stall, I moved forward and found a lovely Queen Anne table…laid out with another gorgeous set of Noritake china. This was a service for eight, in perfect condition, and none of the pieces were missing. They were trimmed in silver and the design was pink flowers.

I was already sold on the set, but I moved on anyway, went upstairs, scanned other items. However much I tried, though, I couldn’t concentrate, and it wasn’t long before I was hurrying back downstairs to snag the set before someone else saw it.

Here it is:

Oh, I love them so! I really hated the thought of serving a special dinner on the plates we use every day. They’re good plates, but they are old and worn and you can tell. I’m so excited to have something so beautiful for special occasions, and to have found the set at such a great price.

As you can see, my table is ready for Thanksgiving. All I need now are chairs!

As you may know, while Mom was here I purchased a beautiful Nigoshi table from Sears. It’s a black table in an “Asian” design, and I love it. Unfortunately, I didn’t love the chairs meant to go with the set, so I didn’t buy those. Since then, I’ve been hunting for just the right chairs.

It’s harder than I thought to find chairs with a black finish, let alone chairs in a plain or (heaven forbid) Asian style. I thought I had found a decent chair at Target, but last night I decided to check some furniture stores just in case.

First I went to Ashley Furniture HomeStore in the Augusta Exchange. This was the only chair I found that was close to what I want:

The chair was comfortable. I know Sean would approve of the padded seat, but I personally would prefer a hard chair that you can add a cushion to if you so desire. The back of the chair is problematic because it’s not quite right, style-wise. My bistro table has stools with skinny, straight lines across the seats, and so if I’m going to have parallel lines, I’d like them to sort of match. However, I’m open to chairs with a rectangular cross-slat pattern, because that simulates the look of shoji screens. These chairs have a big panel in the center of the back which doesn’t really do it for me.

Next I went to Haverty’s. This was their only selection in black. They actually had the shoji-style I’m interested in, but only in “chocolate”, which is not black!

This has the parallel lines, and not too thick, but it has a cross-bar up top, and while this sort of does the shoji thing, it’s not consistent across the entire chair. Still, I really liked how these chairs felt to sit in. They are also available in end chairs with arms, which are comfy as well.

I decided to check the mall next. They used to have a Macy’s furniture store at one end. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to have it anymore! I walked the entire length of the old mall and didn’t find any stores with furniture. At that point I was too tired to worry about looking at all the new mall stores that opened recently…I want to really take my time in exploring them, anyway, especially the Williams-Sonoma. So I hopped in my car and headed out.

Since I was already on Wrightsboro Road, I stopped in at Rooms to Go…but they had nothing. Nothing! At this point I was pretty disappointed that I had only found two candidates, and neither of them was exactly what I wanted.

After that I went to Target to look at my original choice again…and I was shocked to discover that not only were they more expensive than the chairs at the furniture stores, but they were of weaker construction! So…never mind, Target.

Right now I’m leaning towards the Haverty’s chairs. I like how they feel to sit in, the design is pretty close to what I want, and I like the end chairs with the arms. But I’m still weighing my options.

And that is why I went to the antique store today, though I ended up buying something completely different…