How much would this be worth to you? (No CV19 stuff)

[Liz CA]

If you were in need or want of a harvest table: Approximately 4 x 8 feet, boat shaped (sides are wider in middle of table and taper off toward end points) made out of a mix of wood finished in pine. White (could be finished in different color) wooden supports on each end (not four separate legs), what would you sell it for or how much would you want to pay for it if you needed / wanted one?

I am looking if I have a pic....

ETA: Just remembered that the style was once considered "French Country" or MIL's idea of French Country.   :)   Does this help with picturing it?

 

https://www.chairish.com/product/1510325/1970s-rustic-trestle-table  or   https://www.chairish.com/product/689933/french-country-style-trestle-dining-table

Style similar to these as far as legs and middle support beam go. 

Edited April 12, 2020 by Liz CA

[PeterPan]

That would depend on the thickness of the wood, how custom the design was, etc. Is this a common thing in your area? I've never heard of a harvest table. The shape makes it custom, so I think you're talking at least $1k. That's just a guess. If you want a crazy way to price it out, see if there's something similar with an amish furniture site. Or try a pine furniture store. A lot of amish furniture companies, ironically, are online. 

[MEmama]

A used pine dining room table? $60 maybe? 

[Liz CA]

8 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

That would depend on the thickness of the wood, how custom the design was, etc. Is this a common thing in your area? I've never heard of a harvest table. The shape makes it custom, so I think you're talking at least $1k. That's just a guess. If you want a crazy way to price it out, see if there's something similar with an amish furniture site. Or try a pine furniture store. A lot of amish furniture companies, ironically, are online. 

 

I have just looked around but haven't seen much that is comparable. This one is not new anymore. Dh's father made it years ago for his growing family. We had it for many years but downsized our home last May and really have no room for it. Nobody else in the family evidently has any room either. We put it out there that it's available. I think it's a shame to let it sit in our shed. I would like a family with kids who needs / wants it to get it and I don't want to make a bundle of them. I'd be happy to know it serves another family as it did us. Dh and I are just not sure what price tag to put on it. (I'd even give it to someone in need but he thinks we should get something for it.)

Edited April 12, 2020 by Liz CA

[PeterPan]

13 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

just not sure what price tag to put on it.

Oh that's different! I would put something like $150 obo and see what happens.

[klmama]

3 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Oh that's different! I would put something like $150 obo and see what happens.

I agree, athough I'd probably put $100 and be willing to take $25.  Is it just the table, no chairs?   

[Arctic Bunny]

Does it come with chairs/benches? That would make a difference.

[Carol in Cal.]

It's really hard to place big tables these days.  I had a friend with a big oak table who literally couldn't give it away.  I don't know what she ended up doing with it.  It was very heavy and solid and had lots of leaves.  30 years ago it would have been worth thousands of dollars in a country antique store, and now no one will take it.

I am looking for something extremely specific that I can't find but I love that trestle table that you pictured.  And yours sounds really nice.  

I grew up on Big Family Holidays, and always thought I would host them.  My grandmother routinely had 25 people for those.  I have a big old table but not that big--my limit is about 12-14 crowded up with the leaves all in.

What I would love to find is a trestle table that is only about 3 feet wide but can be made to be very long with extensions or leaves or end tables that will attach to the ends of it.  I'd love to be able to get it up to 11 feet long.  Someday I will find one or have one built.  The reason I want the narrowness is due to having a long great room, and also wanting to be able to use my tablecloths, which work best on 3 foot widths.

 

[Rachel]

If I was looking for a dining table on Craigslist similar to the one you linked, I would expect to pay $250-$300 without chairs or benches. With chairs or benches I could see paying up to $500. Of course this depends on where you live, and the condition of the table. 

[Liz CA]

53 minutes ago, klmama said:

I agree, athough I'd probably put $100 and be willing to take $25.  Is it just the table, no chairs?   

 

52 minutes ago, arctic_bunny said:

Does it come with chairs/benches? That would make a difference.

 

15 minutes ago, Rachel said:

If I was looking for a dining table on Craigslist similar to the one you linked, I would expect to pay $250-$300 without chairs or benches. With chairs or benches I could see paying up to $500. Of course this depends on where you live, and the condition of the table. 

 

Dh made custom benches which we fit into our current dining nook with some alterations. So, no chairs with it.

 

[Liz CA]

53 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

It's really hard to place big tables these days.  I had a friend with a big oak table who literally couldn't give it away.  I don't know what she ended up doing with it.  It was very heavy and solid and had lots of leaves.  30 years ago it would have been worth thousands of dollars in a country antique store, and now no one will take it.

I am looking for something extremely specific that I can't find but I love that trestle table that you pictured.  And yours sounds really nice.  

I grew up on Big Family Holidays, and always thought I would host them.  My grandmother routinely had 25 people for those.  I have a big old table but not that big--my limit is about 12-14 crowded up with the leaves all in.

What I would love to find is a trestle table that is only about 3 feet wide but can be made to be very long with extensions or leaves or end tables that will attach to the ends of it.  I'd love to be able to get it up to 11 feet long.  Someday I will find one or have one built.  The reason I want the narrowness is due to having a long great room, and also wanting to be able to use my tablecloths, which work best on 3 foot widths.

 

 

I know this is so true. Even families who could definitely use a table of this size don't have the space. And this one is solid length, no leaves. 

[Liz CA]

7 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

I do not know how old your kids are, but it looks like this is a family heirloom and if you have space to let it sit for a few years until your kids have families, I would. As someone who cannot bring heirlooms even if I wanted to because my original home is oceans away I feel heirlooms if you can should be kept. If you can,  think twice about selling it or giving it away and saving it for your kids. 

 

I haven't ruled this out completely. It currently sits in a waterproof shed so we can leave it there for a while. I suppose I hate the thought that it's not in use when it could be.

[fairfarmhand]

35 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

I just opened this thread out of curiosity. The words that jumped out at me are your husband's father built it. Immediately I thought heirloom. I have few treasured possessions, many of which are random letters I saved of my grandmother with hand written recipes. I don't even have all the letters she wrote, she just wrote recipes because I remembered  and wanted to recreate because I was homesick. I have a shawl she crocheted. I have carried the strangest things as heirlooms in hand luggage like a small carved stool and answered questions to customs officers as to why it was not checked in,I have old brass vases, small boxes, tattered hymn books, torn old bibles, all perfectly useless but so gives me so much because it was used by my grandparents or my parents. I hope it is ok to say, wait for your kids to grow up. Someday they will have a home, and if they are far away, there is something that is so comforting about holding something physical that was in a home you grew up in rather than just memories. Perhaps they may not want it, but give them the choice.

yes and it would also be lovely at a wedding. So even if you trot it out for weddings, picnics and such, I'd hang onto it. 

[katilac]

17 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

yes and it would also be lovely at a wedding. So even if you trot it out for weddings, picnics and such, I'd hang onto it. 

Yes, if you have the room, this is what I would do. 

If you need the space, put it out there without expecting to get much for it. I don't think there would be any great demand, especially without matching benches or chairs. The solid oak one you linked is less than $600, and pine is much less expensive. 

20 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

  I grew up on Big Family Holidays, and always thought I would host them.  My grandmother routinely had 25 people for those.  I have a big old table but not that big--my limit is about 12-14 crowded up with the leaves all in.

What I would love to find is a trestle table that is only about 3 feet wide but can be made to be very long with extensions or leaves or end tables that will attach to the ends of it.  I'd love to be able to get it up to 11 feet long.   

Maybe just have two tables for big events instead? It's not like everyone seated at a super long table can speak to each other any easier than people seated at different tables. 

[Carol in Cal.]

25 minutes ago, katilac said:

 

Maybe just have two tables for big events instead? It's not like everyone seated at a super long table can speak to each other any easier than people seated at different tables. 

With the size I mentioned, I would still need two tables to host as many as Grandma, but I don't think that is a realistic goal anyway as we are too scattered to end up with 25 people.  The thing is, while it's true that not everyone at a super long table can speak to each other, if you serve the meal in courses people do move from spot to spot during the event, so they get around to everyone.  Our Big Family Meals usually were fairly intermittent.  We would have champagne and appetizers in the living room, and while the grownups were talking often the kids would escape to skate or play pingpong in the basement or cards in one of the bedrooms.  Then the main meal in the dining room, starting with shrimp cocktail and savories, and then a little break (mingle and mix) and then the main course.  Then a SIGNIFICANT break.  Like, everyone would leave for a while.  A group would go for a walk, and maybe drop in on a nearby cousin's house.  Another group would be frantically loading the dishwasher and handwashing for ages.  Another group might do songs on their instruments or voiced in the living room.  After a good hour or more, dessert and coffee would be served at the dining room table, and then later on, after dinner drinks like brandy or cointreau.  So there would be lots of mixing between courses and also mixing spots at the table from course to course.  That seems pretty ideal to me.

I actually have considered setting everything up like a bistro, with little tables for four, but the way my space is, that would look very cluttered a lot of the time.  Whereas a long table would fit fine all the time, especially if it had leaves in the middle that could be removed; and if I had it made with extension tables for each end, I could use those for other things most of the time--like a 'behind a big chair or sofa' type table, or an entry table.  

Edited April 13, 2020 by Carol in Cal.