#city issue

While passing through Tennessee on our road trip to Asheville last month, we made a pit stop at a small thrift shop where we saw a flier for a mid-century modern furniture store in Chattanooga. Since it was closed for Labor Day weekend, I immediately liked it on Facebook to see if it might be worth a day trip in the near future. I have spent the past several weeks gawking over the photos of beautiful arc lamps, sideboards and Eames-esque chairs that pop up on my News Feed, and came to the conclusion that it was indeed worth spending a Saturday to check out the store firsthand.   Online, the inventory at Rebirth Furniture appeared to be very similar to that of Atlanta’s City Issue, but at shockingly low prices, so naturally I imagined I’d be coming home with a car packed full of wonderful purchases. But it only took a few minutes of browsing to realize I had been deceived by well-composed, favorably-lit photos of items that were at best okay, but as a majority  in terrible condition. The owner hadn’t even bothered to dust off pieces she was selling, seemed oddly unknowledgeable on the subject of mid-century furniture and strangely uninterested in her collection - disappointing for sure. Lesson learned: Redecorating with rare finds from the past just cannot be done in a mad rush, and it will take some hits and misses and some time and patience to find the perfect pieces.