The Mastercraft Coffee Table

Have you ever seen a piece that you absolutely fell in love with but had no idea how to get your hands on it? Many years ago, in a photo of a well decorated living room (in a home that belonged to Lauren Conrad), was a vintage brass coffee table, and it was love at first sight. 

The obsession settled in and the search commenced. I started google searches like “vintage brass glass coffee table”, scoured through Pinterest, and I began to see a path that led me to an online retailer that sold vintage pieces revealing my desired piece was a Mastercraft coffee table. Bingo. So now that I knew what it was, I just had to figure out how to get it. From there I searched for the item online antique retailers, local Chicago stores I knew had a flair for MidCentury Mod (The South Loop Loft), Charish.com. Believe it or not I managed to find a few for sale, the downside was they ranged $2500-$4000.

Knowing this was completely out of my budget, I humored myself with an Ebay search. To my surprise, I didn’t find just one but three Mastercraft brass coffee tables. The winner was priced at $700 and located in Palm Springs, CA. After a bit of back and forth with the seller (my assumption is an elderly person who didn’t know the piece’s value), I completed the purchase and found a transit company who would pick up the table and drive it to Chicago. I don’t think I ever imagined how much anticipation could be of a random man driving a sprinter van cross-country. 

Fair to admit this seems like a great hassle, however I now have a practical staple piece I will cherish forever knowing I put in the work to get it at less than a forth of the cost. 

When you find a piece you love, go the extra distance (maybe not to Palm Springs) and be resourceful. You’ll thank yourself in the long run to get exactly what you want and feel gratified you did without pressing the easy button.