Dunhill Chair: The Saga

My affection for leather chairs boasting nailhead trim began quite by accident.  It was February 2001 and I was in Paris strolling the flea markets with my husband on the last day of our trip.  I had already had a very successful shopping day having found an elusive pair of blue enamel opera glasses, a beautiful lock with it's original key, and an iron hook with a brass acorn tip!  But then, as we turned to leave, I spotted them. They were old, worn and a bit tattered.  Perfectly imperfect.  My husband and I loved them, but even in our very limited French knew we could not afford them.  The quest was on. When we returned home I began the search.  Little did I know it would more than take 8 years.

That same year we moved to Williamsburg, Virginia and I became friends with a women who had lived in Paris.  She had chairs.  And they were exquisite along with  her many other fine French antiques. Torture.  In the summer of 2005 we moved back to our home in Northern Virginia and embarked on a four year, and counting, long renovation of our home.  My husband and I agreed early on we needed to find chairs that had the character and essence of the French chairs for our small library.

So I consoled myself with pictures like this...

                                      Country Home -April 2003

and this...

                                                  Traditional Home

In October of 2007 while waiting for a gift to be packaged at Crate & Barrel, I browsed.  And there at the top of the esculator were my chairs!  They were not remotely typical for the style C&B is known and loved for.  And, the price tag indicated this at nearly $2,000 each!!!  Not only did they have brass nailheads, but this unique suede band and carved wood details,.  I called my husband...at work.  I took a picture with my phone.  I printed out a picture from computer when I returned home.  I talked about the chairs...a lot.  I would visit my chairs every time I came into the store.  I would save for them.

Along with the renovation costs, other unpleasant things like a new roof and HVAC system kept the "Objects of My Affection" away.  The saga rolled on....until November 2009.  Again, I found myself at C&B at the end of a very long day of Christmas shopping.  I browsed.  I did not see my chairs, but was so tired, I did not mind.  I left with my purchases and drove home.  When I got home I checked the C&B web-site for assurance.  None to be found.  I quickly snapped out of my shopping induced coma. I called the store and a women with a very nice voice on the other end of the line said a very bad word called "DISCONTINUED"!!!  However, they might be able to locate some on the computer or from another store.  But with each keystroke hope was dashed.  At just that moment, her manager arrived and she put me on hold, presumably to relay she was talking to a nut bag ready to have a meltdown!  But she didn't say that.  Instead she said a really good word called "ACTUALLY" followed by "we have two".  The last two had just been marked down and sent to the lower vestibule to be sold as floor samples.  They could not hold them.  I had to come now, pay and  pick them up before they closed.  YES! YES! and YES!

I left $20 and a note for my teenage son to buy dinner explaining that I had a "crisis" that couldn't wait.  And back I drove, in rush hour this time, in the same direction I had just come from an hour earlier.  I thanked everyone profusely and drove home...smiling all the way.  When my husband arrived home from Afghanistan(where he has been working as a civilian) for Christmas and saw the chairs, he smiled so broadly and said "finally".  I smile every time I walk into this room.  It was worth the wait.

So, if you hung in there for this story, tell me about something big or small that possessed you?