Our Style Editor Picked This Dining Set for a Very Relatable Reason
With all respect to our first apartments, at some point, it’s time for our spaces to feel more grown-up. For Apartment Therapy Style Editor Emma Dangel, her self-described “big girl apartment” in NYC needed one more thing to accommodate the stage she wanted to be living in now: a place to eat.
“I’m ready to romanticize my life and eat at a table, not on a sofa,” Emma says. “Plus, when I’m entertaining a friend or two, it would be nice to sit across from them at a real table and talk.” With a small apartment, she wanted to find a chic but space-effective dining set for small-scale hosting.
To get an IRL feel for what would work in her apartment, Emma headed to Bob’s Discount Furniture®. Bob’s specializes in space-efficient furniture solutions that don’t skimp on style or quality. With decades of customer service under their belt, Bob’s is also a great stop for shoppers like Emma, who may be newer to buying furniture.
“No matter what I’m shopping for, there’s just no substitute for seeing/trying on/sitting in the piece in person. Sure, I do plenty of online shopping, but it’s so worth it to try things out IRL — especially if I don’t already have a specific piece in mind.”
Emma Dangel
First Looks
Emma did a first pass of the dining set options, including the gorgeous Elm Dining Set, an elegant marble-top option with a combination of chair and bench seating that would be great for larger eat-in kitchens. She also considered the organic modern Sonoma Kitchen Island Set: With four bench seats, it’s space-efficient, but the height wasn’t what she was looking for. The Mango Dining Set was a contender, too, but ultimately had too big a footprint for her small space.
Then, across the store, the area rugs caught her eye — specifically, the bold modernist pattern of the Phoenix Geometric Rug. On her way down the aisles, Emma also spotted some cute decorative objects, like a whimsical green glass mushroom. So many great finds to discover!
Time to Get Serious
But Emma likes to shop with a plan, and today her mission was a dining set. After a bit more exploring, she found her match: the Bettie Three-Piece Triangle Dining Set. The space-saving triangular design can work with Emma’s layout in multiple ways, including flush against the wall, and the Bob-O-Pedic Memory Foam chairs are plush and comfortable without adding bulk. It’s just the size for Emma’s space, with plenty of room for friends.
“This set really looks high-end without the high-end price tag, which is always what I’m looking for,” Emma says. “The rich wood tones will fit perfectly with my vintage furniture pieces, and the chairs are super comfortable! Plus, it’s small enough to tuck into a corner, but the table has tons of surface area for tablescapes, crafting, you name it.”