The Perfect Dining Table

Isn’t there an old adage that states, “third time’s a charm?” Apparently that also applies to dining tables. While I was not hoping for the experience I am about to share, it is what ultimately lead us to our finding our beautiful dining table.

When we moved into our open concept home we needed to get a dining table quick. Something pretty substantial, large and inexpensive. I was searching Facebook marketplace and found a great table that was in our price range, in our hometown and ready for pick up that day. I was pregnant and didn’t have time to ponder a table, you know, nesting. My boyfriend (at that time, we were not married) contacted the owner, figured out how to get it to our home and the rest was history. I loved the handmade farmhouse trestle table, but it was always a temporary item. We wanted to actually live in our home for a while and figure out what would make sense for the dining area. While I loved the farmhouse look, it was definitely not the final vibe I wanted in this home and space.

In December 2018, I decided to sell the farmhouse table and our older dining chairs. I was really excited to order something new and so my search for the perfect dining table began! About one month later we had a table on order through Wayfair, and I was very excited. We got an amazing deal and free shipping! When the table arrived, I was not home. My husband put the table together, had a friend come by to place it upright and I could not wait to see this amazing piece that I had been dreaming about for over a month. He texted me and told me it was beautiful and perfect. I walked into the home and looked at the table and thought it was wonderful. The color, the legs, the size, except for the warped top that dipped in the middle. My husband got out a level and found that that the table was very uneven and the center of the table was bowing. I called Wayfair and explained the situation, they told us that they would come get the table as is, our money was back into the checking account within a day, and they also gave a us a 10% discount for future purchases because of the hassle. WOW! They were awesome! I was skeptical to order the same table again due to the bowing and the way this table is made. So, we started a new search.

I found another table that I really liked, actually I had wanted this table before I ordered the one from Wayfair, but the Wayfair one was such a better deal, I decided to go with that table. At this point, we decided to order the original table I had been interested in. We ordered the new the table from Bellacor, but when I placed the order they said the table was backordered until June 2019, it was February. I placed the order and they made me pay for the table right then and there, but shipping was free. To my surprise, the table arrived a week before June. When the delivery people showed up they brought the table, which was in a cardboard box, into my home and left. I was so excited, I anticipated the way the table was going to look, I peeked at the separate box that the table legs had come in and couldn’t wait to see the rest. My husband came home and put the table together that evening, just as we were turning the table upright, we noticed the cardboard box had a large hole in it. The top of the table was gashed and scratched. I took pictures and emailed Bellacor, because they are closed on weekends, and this was Friday evening. I didn’t hear back from them until Monday through email. It was a cryptic message that made absolutely no sense. I sat on the phone for over 30 minutes waiting for customer service and then was hung up on. I called back and waited again, but this time I finally spoke with someone in the ordering department. She told me that I should read my email and do whatever it said. Are you kidding me? That is why I was calling in the first place because the email was so confusing. Long story longer, I finally got through to a manager, and they told me once the table was back in their possession they would credit me the money. I needed to “box up” the table in what was left of the cardboard box, which was very little because of the hole in the top. We waited and waited and waited, I never heard back from them. We had this table sitting in our home, that we loved, but we were not keeping because it was damaged. We finally saw a credit to our account 15-20 days later and still had this table in our home. The night before the freight company was scheduled to come and pick up the table, I received an email from Bellacor stating that they didn’t want the damaged table back and that I could donate it. Such an odd company with very interesting communication strategies. We ended up “donating” the table to my sister who now has it in her home. It is definitely a beautiful and still usable table, but when you are paying money for something, you want it to arrive pristine and not damaged.

So, this leads me to the table that is now sitting in our dining space. Before we had heard back from Bellacor about the “donating” situation, we thought they were coming to pick it up. So, I started looking for a new table. We finally decided that maybe the “free shipping” wasn’t the best idea. I wanted to see the table in person this time before purchasing so we ended up at Restoration Hardware. I walked in, started talking to one of their designers and within 15 minutes we found the perfect table. I called our designer, Laney, the next day and ordered the table and 8 dining chairs. The table arrived within three weeks, the delivery was smooth; the delivery guys brought the table in and set it up! I was able to check out the table and call Laney directly if there were any issues. We were very happy with the set up, the customer care and having a personal point of contact. The chairs were a custom order so they will not be here for another few weeks.