Ordering Furniture Online ~ What Happens When A Surprise Arrives

I'm attempting to figure out how to write this post so I don't leave you completely confused. The pictures don't tell the story. 

I am in the process of turning my dining room into a dining room. Brilliant I know, this space had previously housed a piano. One of the first tasks was to find a very long table to fill the space. Anything too short and it would be out of proportion in an area which is open to both the living room and entry. Wonderfully I found the perfect piece, solid wood featuring a worn finish...which is ideal when you have kids! And extending up to 10 feet long, can't you just imagine the large dinner parties that could be hosted?! Also, the light weathered oak finish fell in line beautifully with the soft color palette I have planned for the space.

When ordering online there are several factors to consider. First is size, and that I nailed. Next is quality, so it is best to order from companies with a proven track record and make sure to research the specific item to see if there have been any complaints. I encountered no red flags. Finally, order swatches if available. In this case that was not an option, so I intently scrutinized all pictures I could find of the item and placed a call to inquire in more detail about both its construction and finish. With all this done to my satisfaction, along with a sale running, I placed an order.

I love it. It is gorgeous. Long, heavy and solid. So what is the problem? The finish. And this is where you are going to get confused: I can't for the life of me take a photo that shows how the finish looks in person! In these photos it looks exactly like it did in the store's photos, how interesting is that? But in real life? The table is a dark deep green the shade of moss, only that actually sounds like it could be nice. So how about moss that is beginning to dry out, turning slightly brown with strong green undertones. Seriously and completely ugly. (When the delivery men carried it through the front door my first thought was, "oh, that is ugly...this should be interesting.")

This is the finish I expected, seen on the underneath portion of the leaf.

And this is what I got. Out on a family walk this past Sunday I spotted this tree, "hey, that is the color of our table!" I came back later to snap a photo. This and a mixture of the colors below.

Yes, I called customer service. But you know what? It's all a good thing. The wood is a rougher than I would ideally like, but it is nothing that a good sanding won't fix. Do you think if the table had showed up dressed in a perfect finish I'd be willing to sand away the rough spots, to make it nicer to sit at without fear of getting a splinter? Absolutely not!

So, that is the plan. I'm sanding it down and will then figure out if I like the natural wood tone or if a light stain will be the route to go.

And no, returning it didn't make a lot of sense. Even if I could accurately show the color and it was determined the finish was outside reasonable variances, there would be no guarantee the next table wouldn't be exactly the same. So as Tim Gunn would say, I'm going to "make it work"!

What has been your experience shopping for furniture online?