When I hit the local antique stores last week, I shared this amazing antique oak Toledo typewriter table on my Instagram Stories.  I loved it immediately, but at $175, it was a bit more than I wanted to spend on this piece.  I was also wrestling with the fact that I just put “the last piece” of furniture in the studio, the antique post office register.  I made the decision that I couldn’t fit in another piece, even a small typewriter table with sides that folded down.  I passed it up.

Well, all evening and into the next morning, I was thinking about that antique typewriter table and how absolutely perfect it would be as a side table for my easel.  I’ve used stools and other little rolling carts, but they were never quite the right thing.  This antique typewriter table would offer enough room for a palette, brushes, mediums, and I could even set up a still life on it.  It rolled around nicely and the sides folded up and down like new.

I’ve learned with antiques that if I’m not sure about something, I need to walk away for a while.  If I forget about it or if someone else buys it, then it just wasn’t meant to be mine.  If I keep thinking about it, imagining myself using it, picturing exactly where it will go, then I should go back for it.  It’s a gamble that I might miss out on something, but it prevents me from making impulsive purchases.

So, the next morning, Jeff and the boys were napping after an all-night youth event, so I quietly snuck out of the house and went back to buy the antique typewriter table that had been pleasantly haunting my dreams.

NOW, this is the last piece of furniture that will fit in the studio!  (I’m pretty sure I said that about three pieces ago…)  It reminds me of when I was little.  I told my babysitter I was full from dinner, but I still had room for ice cream.  She pointed out the obvious inconsistency.  I said what became an infamous Marian line in our family, “Well, ice cream just fills in all of the cracks.”

This little antique typewriter table is the ice cream in my studio.  It just fills in some of the cracks of a space that’s already pretty full.

Isn’t it perfect, though?  And even sweeter than ice cream.

This antique typewriter table is the perfect size to hold several of my palettes and, in fact, if I didn’t have to worry about kitties putting their paws in it, the table could be a palette.  For now, I need to use palettes that I can put away in a drawer when I’m not using them.

A cool thing I didn’t realize until I got home is that this antique typewriter table is made by Toledo, the same brand as my antique drafting chair.  and, I looked them up on and saw that similar ones sell for $250-425+, so I was feeling pretty good about my “bargain” antique typewriter table!

You can find other things I purchased on my little excursion in THIS POST.  You can see how my home art studio (a converted sun porch) has evolved over the years HERE.

And, I wanted to let you know that I’m partnering with Luxury Brands of America on an amazing giveaway over on Instagram.  A couple of months ago, they asked me to be a brand ambassador for the pens and inks they distribute and I gave them a more than enthusiastic yes.  As someone who has developed a fondness for beautiful writing instruments, I have loved exploring the world of fountain pens, dip pens, and inks.

The pen that they are giving away is the Waldmann Tango Imagination in the color of your choosing with a steel nib in the size you want.  You can also choose a bottle of Colorverse ink.

I don’t get swoony about jewelry or brand-name purses or shoes, but I get swoony about beautiful pens.  This one is gorgeous and such a pleasure to write with.

Anyway, if you’d like to win one as an early Christmas present, visit my Instagram post HERE for details on entering.