style.

The other day, I assisted a couple in their 50's choosing furniture for their son's apartment. The couple were walk-ins who have just wrapped up a brunch meeting with an interior decorator. I know this because, for some reason, working in a retail environment follows the fact that a customer must always give a reason as to how/who/where or just what ever it is that brings them in a store. Small talk probably. Anyway, I helped them out with some questions they had for store policies and other crap like shipping and payment. The couple picked out this wraught iron eight seater dining table with a glass top with matching chairs and a 1960's wooden expandable entertainment table. Medyo malabo yung choice nila kase walang common thread yung dalawang style ng furniture. I later found out na they were looking for two things, a dining set and some furniture to place a top their son's tv. Uh, ok kaya pala.

It actually took the couple quite a while to make their decision, kase they were buying furniture for someone who has not seen what they picked out. A problem, not quite, when you know the person's style. They were pretty much sold out on the dining set, and their son gave them a go to buyit for him trusting his folks taste. They then asked me personally why I think they should buy the 1960's table. So I thought, 1960's - dark wood - clean lines - expandable, you can't go wrong. I was looking at it with an aesthetic eye and it just so happens that the minute I saw the table come in the store I proclaimed it to be a cool piece of furniture for $365. Problem is the mom and I weren't seeing eye to eye. She point blankly said to me "Thats it?". Huh? So then I go ask them what their son's taste is... better yet, what kind of style does he have. She goes "He has no style..". Anak ng tokwa.

To make the long story short, they purchased the dining set and decided to hold the decision for the table muna. In my head, I thought what the hell is wrong with this picture. Some 28 year old just got a new unit from a condominium that was once a warehouse in Brooklyn and his parent's shopping(spending dough) furniture for him. How lucky is that dude? No problem with the rent's buying you furniture, maybe I was just bugged out by the idea of them purchasing some generic wraught iron dining set over a one heck of a piece of fantastic furniture. I thought it was such a waste, for if I had the luxury of being in his shoes I would've filled my new house with the coolest things.

In this case, they walked out of the thrift shop not with treasure but with trash. Sayang. I hope this lady who came in by the same time as they did and was looking at the table too would get it, she knows how cool the piece is.