White Elephant Gift Ideas - -Occasional Tables

CSO

'White Elephant Sale' ; now those are words that motivate me! All the lovely piles of buried treasure to wade through! Pursuing the 'Great White' elephant, that rarity, that oddity that wonderfully unique item that harks back to another time! 

Any estate sale, garage sale, yard sale, school sale, secondhand store, church sale, or rummage sale is a potential site for finding the perfect item for a fractional price! I have rescued and refurbished countless items, many that are functional! 

Here is a favorite prize to hunt for in my white elephant hunt: the occasional or end table. Those odd little tables, large enough for a lamp and a glass of wine and a book! Or the coffee table style, although those are larger and more cumbersome; we call them the shin-busters! I prefer the smaller sizes but try to keep an open mind!

I don't like matched sets; I look for good construction and unique style! I collect tables it many shapes and configuration. some are round on a single pedestal, round on legs, rectangular with legs and fold out leaves, nesting tables of several sizes, corner tables that fit in a 45 degree angle corner etc.

I like tables with extra features. Tables can have shelves, magazine slots, racks, round or square compartments or drawers built in.  I am currently pursuing a table style popular about 35 years ago. It is a pillared, tall lamp with a table attached or built around the middle of the lamp. These are nice for small areas next to a chair for reading, writing or needlework with room for your coffee. 

Tables have many surfaces as well. I have tables with wicker or rattan tops, wood, plyboard, metal and glass. I generally don't like glass top, but found a nice square coffee table with shelf that looks charming in our living room! I'm really taken with the round glass table atop a gilt wrought iron base for use as a bedside table.