Do You Nadeau? Well You Should!

About a year ago I began obsessing over dining room tables. When we moved into our home I indulged my husband's love of IKEA and modern by decorating our dining room with modern furniture. I opted for a metal table with a frosted glass top and while nice it was very hard to keep clean with two kids (one of which was just discovering finger foods).

After numerous scrubbings, the metal finish began to rust and flake off (it is Ikea furniture after all). I began searching for a replacement. I knew that I didn't want modern (I tried to accept it but just couldn't). I found a table I absolutely loved. It was Crate and Barrel's Basque table in Java and I was developing a crush.

I went to my local C&B to check it out (I just can't bring myself to spend close to $800 without checking it out first). Once I got to the store my crush became infatuation - I had to have it. I try not to buy things on impulse, so I went home to mull it over. I would love to say that I bit the bullet and splurged, but the cheap part of me just couldn't stand the thought of parting with that much money (over $1000 when you factor in taxes and delivery). I set out to find a cheaper option. I came across the Terra table at West Elm and thought it was kind of cool.

So I headed to West Elm weekend to give it a look. When I got there I was less than impressed. It tended to scratch rather easily and just wasn't what I was looking for (it had too much of an asian flare). Defeated, I left West Elm and kept looking. As usual, I took to the internet. Somewhere along the way I found Nadeau. They advertised themselves as "Furniture With a Soul." Furniture with a soul? How in the world can furniture have a soul? I played around on their site and saw a link to a photo gallery of all of their merchandise. I scrolled through the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of photos until I came across a table that was remarkably similar to the C&B Basque table.

The next weekend, the Hubs and I headed over to Nadeau to look at the table. When I arrived at the store I was overwhelmed. There was so much furniture that I didn't know where to begin! After several minutes I found the table. I thoroughly inspected it and decided it was the one. We paid for the table and were able to take it home the same day.

If you look at the C&B table you will see that they are very similar. They were both 82 inches long. They were both made out of solid wood. But the main difference, the biggest difference, is the price. The C&B table is listed at $799. The Nadeau table? $400. That is almost 50% for a table that is almost identical to C&B! Normally that big of a difference would be a result of inferior material (such as MDF being used instead of wood). But not at Nadeau. Their furniture is made out of solid wood and costs 50% less? Sold!

Fast forward a year and I'm now looking for nightstands. I've looked at the local places (Pottery Barn, C&B, Restoration Hardware, West Elm, Joss & Main... you name it). I looked and looked and looked and nothing. Then I remembered Nadeau. I went to their website and checked out the photo gallery. I came across two adorable tea tables and knew immediately that they were perfect for nightstands. Since the Hubs and I were downtown over the weekend we swung by to buy the tables. They weren't there! Bummed, I asked the lady at the front desk (Sara) about them. She explained that the shipment with the tables hadn't made it in yet. She was gracious enough to take my info and hold the tables for me (they were to come in on Tuesday). Early Tuesday morning (around 8 am) Sara called and told me the truck was delayed. She said it would be in the next day and she would call me to let me know if they made it. And she did! So Thursday morning I went down to pick up the tea tables and they are great! Not exactly the color I want, but I'm not afraid to refinish furniture. And even better? These solid wood tables cost a measly $227 a piece! So for around $500 I got two solid wood tea tables. Sure, I could have probably found something cheap on Craigslist that would have sufficed, but I personally don't like driving to stranger's houses with a pocket full of cash. It just never will feel safe for me.

So I've rambled on about my purchases at Nadeau but haven't told you much about the store.

The furniture at Nadeau is all solid wood and is never mass-produced so there won't be a thousand people with the same thing. I don't know about you, but that's a big selling point for me. Another big thing for me is everything is in stock at the store - so if you see it in their photo gallery more likely than not, it's at the store (unless it gets sold or the truck is delayed). No waiting weeks for delivery. You show up, you buy it and take it home. Instant gratification! And unlike furniture bought at a lot of stores, there is no assembly required! Everything is assembled and ready for use.

According to their website (www.furniturewithasoul.com) Nadeau currently has 20 retail store fronts and can be found in 14 states. If you haven't discovered them yet what are you waiting for? There is inexpensive, quality furniture just waiting for you to buy it!