The table...it has arrived!

I had this post written up and awaiting photos a few weeks ago, and then it got eaten by the internet.  And then we went on vacation.  Actually, we're still on vacation, but it's raining in lovely London so I'm inside on the iPad catching up on the blog. 

Last I spoke of our new dining room table, I was anxiously awaiting a November delivery date. Then November came and went, and I got an e-mail from West Elm saying that my table was due to be delivered sometime in January.  So.  Not.  Cool.  I ordered this table in SEPTEMBER, and the benches had already been assembled and chilling in my living room since then. 

Luckily, a new West Elm store had (literally, that day) just opened in my 'hood when I got the most recent backorder e-mail.  I called the new store, and lo and behold they had a Carroll table in stock!   I previous had called every store in southern California to no avail, so I was kind of ridiculously excited. 

I drove over to the new West Elm on Beverly the next day, and it was amazzzzzzzing.  The new store has a really cool, less preppy vibe than the Santa Monica store, and it's way easier to get to from our house than the Santa Monica location.  Maybe it's new store enthusiasm, but the employees were super nice and helpful, and I went on opening weekend so I snagged some free coffee and pastries while I shopped.  Best shopping experience ever.  

Better yet, they had my table! And they were willing to honor the online sales price from September, aaaaand since I arranged to pick up the table in store I saved over $100 on shipping and delivery charges. A few days later when the table arrived from their warehouse, I went back to West Elm and was able to cram the entire table (disassembled, duh) into the back of my Honda Insight. A few minutes of assembly later...and we have a table! 

(and a sneaky little doozin trying to climb on the kitchen counter as I take pictures) 

For some reason the lighting in the dining room is always off no matter what time of day, so the pictures never come out quite right.  Boo.  I also have a lighting update for the dining room, so I don't want to give it away just yet, so ignore the awkward angles.

I really like my long lost table. I think it looks more orange than it really is in these photos, but it's a nice medium brown that will hopefully blend well with the rest of the main living area.  I'm not totally digging the black buffet in the dining room any more, but it's super functional so I'm brainstorming ways to make it work.  The blue chair isn't always at the head of the table, but it kind of works.

The lines are pretty chunky, and it's a super sturdy table.  It's solid wood so I'm hoping it lasts for a long, long time.  I'm quite impressed by the quality to price ratio - after saving on shipping costs, the entire set cost just over $900, which is the price of just a table at a lot of mid-range furniture places.

In sum, I love my table.  I do not love the West Elm back order, but they came through in the end.  I think the dogs like the table too - Mabel thinks it's her fort and can usually be found hiding under it, and while Ernie isn't a huge fan of the benches he usually makes himself cozy on one of the blue chairs that float around the living/dining area.