Space Age Love

While visiting Arizona this summer, we took a day trip up to Phoenix to hang out with our good friend, Mike, and to do some record and antique shopping—we also ended up waiting for four hours (!) for some yummy pizza at Pizzeria Bianco (but that's another story...).

Most of the day was spent browsing and finding small scores here and there ...that is until we entered an upscale mid-century modern store and I couldn't believe my eyes! There sat a perfectly preserved vintage Arkana dinette—it was my dream set come to life! I'm sure Tony and Mike were amused to see me running up to and hugging its chairs like a complete freak. I knew right then that I needed to get it back to Atlanta.

So geography was the first problem ...and then there was also the matter of the asking price. The owner of the store had priced it far beyond my budget. There was absolutely no way I could afford to pay that much. I talked to Tony about it and he volunteered a possible solution: why not have his brother, a local architect and firm owner, talk to the proprietor to see if they could arrive at some mutually beneficial decision? Sure enough, a week later, his brother spoke to the guy—who, as it turns out, loves pleasing architects (future clients)—and he agreed to shave 1/3 off the asking price. Phew!

A few months and multiple rolls of bubble wrap later, we successfully transported it from Phoenix to Atlanta in a filled-to-capacity 17ft U-Haul. Miraculously, it survived the 60+hr trek across the states intact.

Stay tuned: pics of the dinette in its new home ...and more!