Eatin’ like Aliens
There is a store called Area 51 in Seattle that sells vintage (and some new) furniture and other kitsch/modern items. When we told one of our friends that we were looking for a dining table/chair set, he suggested that we try the store. I was skeptical at first, since I was sure that the “hip-factor” would unnecessarily mark up the prices beyond what we cared to pay. Well — we were pleasantly surprised by how reasonable some of the prices were. We found a set we liked and could afford (a new set), but we decided to keep looking in the used/antique arena just a bit longer. We were hoping to find something with a little character, though not too much, at a salvation-army price. Turns out that a decent set of dining table and chairs is highly sought after in this town, as we learned from all the “sorry, it just got sold” emails from the sellers on craigslist. We checked out some antique shops, where we found some things we liked but for much higher than we could go. We ended up going back to Area 51 today, and purchased the table mentioned above.
We like the table a lot — it’s simple, but is unique enough that you don’t find it just anywhere. And most importantly, this is the first piece of new furniture in a long time that we did not buy at IKEA!
