How does a person say "tape measure" in Thai?

We've spent the past two Saturdays in Bangkok proper, but sadly, it wasn't because we were doing cool Bangkok things like braving the crowds at Chatuchak, cruising the klongs, or hunting down the best quality pirated DVDs. We were looking for some new furniture.

Before we moved here, we rented a huge dumpster, parked it behind our garage in Calgary, and purged tons of old stuff from deep within our closets and basement, including some well-worn furniture. There were some items that we didn't toss out, but put into storage, so when our container arrived at the dock here in Bangkok, it held about 2/3 as much furniture as our house in Calgary did. Which was alright, except that our apartment here is more than twice as big. Luckily, nice furniture is much more affordable here than in Canada, so the process of filling up our new abode isn't an extravagant endeavor.   Like that  Ikea winter sale commercial where the lady sprints to her vehicle and scream at her partner to start the car, we usually leave furniture stores after a purchase with a feeling of disbelief.

Last weekend, we were on the hunt for a larger dining table. I am very fond of the little pine one from Ikea with the gate legs that we've been using, but it only fit four people comfortably, and when my folks arrive in a week, we'll need something for at least five people. Luckily, Chris and I found a table that we both really liked nearly immediately. It's finished in a brown-black stain, has a tempered glass insert that is etched with a checker-board patten, and is 150 cm x 75 cm in size.  Upon arriving home, we pondered our soon-to-be-retired dining table, and noticed that something looked rather familiar about it. We took out a measuring tape and checked it's dimensions: 150 cm x 75. Familar indeed. Is there another couple out there who would set out to buy a larger table and end up buying one exactly the same size? Just us? That's what I thought ...

Dimensions figured prominently in this past Saturday's shopping adventure. We were looking for a matching pair of bedside tables. We'd meander from one bedroom display at Index to the next, and all of the bedside tables stood about eighteen inches high, like they'd been designed for Hobbit bedrooms. While they probably work fine for platform beds, which seem to be popular here in Thailand, they're in no way going to work with our North American boxspring and pillow-top ensemble, unless at step-stools to help us climb on onto the rather high bed. This set-back is kind of a "one door closes and another door opens" thing, though. It's the perfect opportunity for us to pick out bedside tables from the Ikea catalog or the Pottery Barn website and have copies made.

Which would be kind of cool!

Comments

[ada]

That's hiLARious! Custom built furniture is nice too... ha ha!

[domestic girl]

The idea of having custom built furniture is such a wonderful thought! I never even thought to look at furniture while we were in Bangkok... but then the thought of having to ship purchases back home to the States was a bit daunting. Reading your blog makes me miss Thailand... I really need to plan another trip there soon!