when a zero becomes a hero :: ugly coffee table gets a life

our designer Erica Bryen, is incredible.  she’s young, vibrant, hip, smart as a whip, and totally gets us.  she works with clients all over southern california, has impeccable taste, and is no BS.  she gets it done.  she gets it.

i’ve come to realize that it’s good to know what you don’t know…when you’re in over your head, bring in an expert.  in the long run, you save time, which saves money.  Erica saves us from ourselves.

enter exhibit A: a coffee table we thought was pretty cool..

Erica has selected incredible pieces for our new house, which we like to call rustic industrial…aka, the restoration hardware look.  we also have a beach vibe since we love the ocean and live minutes from the great pacific.

husband had this cool coffee table from his bachelor days.  it’s a great piece b/c the top opens and you can store a ton of junk stuff inside.  the bottom shelf is a bonus.

we love this piece…so we showed it to Erica.  husband and i thought this was at least a 7, which would potentially save us some cash since we wouldn’t have to $pring for a new piece.

her reaction:  ‘it’s a zero.’

a zero.

0.

nada.

don’t even think about it.

really?  but look at this thing…is it THAT bad?

we thought ‘well, she hasn’t seen it in person.  let’s show it to her and maybe she’ll change her mind.’

‘yup, it’s still a zero.  exactly as i thought it looked from the pictures.’

ouch.  so i guess you can ask the question a bunch of different ways, but you’ll still get the same answer.  how ’bout now?  🙂

so i figured you can’t get any worse than a zero, right?  bring on the chalk paints!!

how about now?

and now?

maybe a 4?

c’mon!  i’ll take a 3…

reminds me of “so you’re saying i have a chance?”

what do you think?

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