Surprise! John and I slipped away to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware around the Fourth of July. John’s parents have a lovely beach house there, and we spent the weekend relaxing on the sand, publishing a few posts so you wouldn’t think we’d vanished, and tackling a quick patriotic watermelon project. We also made time for one of our favorite pastimes: hunting for secondhand treasures at Beach Plum Antiques.
We didn’t do much beyond lounging and exploring the town, but a pit stop at the antique shop turned up a tiny surprise: a carrera marble–topped side table tucked under a pile of other pieces. You can see me posing proudly in the photos — apparently I was channeling my best game-show Vanna White. The table felt like a hidden find, as if it had been patiently waiting for us to discover it.
We’d been searching for a small table for the sunroom and this one was just the right scale. We’d never owned marble before, so the idea of adding a carrera top felt a little indulgent — in the best way. When we checked the price tag, though, the real shocker came: the table was marked $20. We handed over $19 in cash (it was all we had) and the owner chuckled, telling us he had just reduced it from $45 the day before. Peel back the stickers and you could see it had once been priced even higher — but in the end it went home with us for pocket change.
It amazes me that a mint-condition marble piece like this sat unnoticed for so long. For comparison, similar marble side tables from mainstream retailers can cost well into the hundreds, so $19 felt like a lucky strike. We couldn’t pass it up, and it quickly found a place next to a teak chair in the sunroom.
Close-up shots reveal why we loved it: the carrera top has beautiful veining, and the wooden base features ornate carved details and gracefully turned legs. At first we considered painting the wood—white or a soft celery green crossed our minds—but once the table was placed beside existing pieces, the original patina blended perfectly with the room’s palette.
Our design approach leans toward mixed materials, subtle textures, and complementary tones rather than perfectly matched sets. This little marble table brought contrast and visual interest: the gleaming stone top introduced a refined element, the carved apron added luxe texture, and the weathered wood tone coordinated with nearby teak without being identical. It created a layered, collected look as if it had been part of the room all along.
The trick to making an eclectic mix feel intentional is keeping a few visual commonalities so the space doesn’t feel chaotic. In our sunroom the white ceramic dog, the neutral pillow, and the marble top all echo a crisp white tone that ties the vignette together. The cream-colored wall provides warmth and softens the overall effect, helping the new piece to read as part of the same story.
So that’s the story of our under-twenty-dollar marble table that crossed state lines to join a life-sized ceramic pooch in our sunroom. Have you scored any great finds at thrift stores or garage sales recently? Summer’s garage-sale season is in full swing, and we’re always curious what other people are discovering.
p.s. On the secondhand front, we’ve been happy with a couple of refurbished tech purchases: a Flip video camera we grabbed for a good discount and a refurbished MacBook. Buying used or refurbished gear felt great — both for savings and sustainability — and they’ll help us keep sharing more projects and adventures.