Tapper Richards Interiors: Advice to all Fledglings Series: Pedestal Table

Fledgling: A young bird, usually one that has recently left the nest.

Oh, to be a fledgling again! Moving out on one's own for the first time. Getting your own stuff, decorating, accessorizing. One cardinal rule is - do NOT buy cheap, disposable furniture.

Try to buy real stuff even if it isn't brand new. Furniture made of real wood, for example. Search antiques shops, Good Will shops, yard sales, etc. I realize now that it was a good thing not to fluff my first nests with trendy pieces of shoddy construction via impulse purchases at big box stores. I made due with things like a bookshelf composed of milk crates, and always had that mustard yellow boudoir chair I purchased back in my high school days at Savers. I had reupholstered it a couple of times, but it was a great shape and size. A little while ago, I re-donated it to the local Good Will, but I actually wish I still had it. Buying REAL items means you can re-donate or recycle them, get a tax write off and be green.

One piece you can use over and over again, reinvent and re-purpose throughout your life in a variety of homes is a round pedestal table. I'd recommend a Small Round Pedestal Table: 36" - 42" in diameter. Drop sides would be a plus. Why?

It will always be useful!

It is easy to move

Starts out as the only table that will fit in your first apartment's tiny eat-in kitchen...then can be re-finished or painted (if it is real wood) to be used again and again.

In a bedroom or living room as a side table

In an entryway

In a breakfast nook

In a Sun-room.

In the kids' play room as an art table

Can be skirted for a softer look.

Can be re-donated or sold

When you consider how many uses a piece like this will have and how many times you can reinvent it, wouldn't you spend a little more for a quality piece. They say, "buy cheap...buy twice", and it's true!

Here are a couple I spied on Pinterest: