Embassy Furniture
Anyone who has been on a posting with the Canadian government already knows that the furnishings provided in the staff quarters (SQ) leave a lot to be desired. Now normally the Canadian government does an okay job on the houses or apartments themselves. Location, they are not always so good at as we have seen, but in terms of size and comfort, they do pretty well. The furnishings, on the other hand are -- how can I put this gently -- abominable. Whether you are posted in New York, Paris, or Rome or Harare, Port au Prince, or Dhaka, you will have the same lacquer dinner room table, the same matching buffet and hatch, and the same forgettable coffee and end tables. The couches and sofas will vary in colour and perhaps pattern, but essentially these are the same furnishings that one would have expected to find gracing a hotel lobby in the early 1980s.
The furniture is bought in Canada and shipped around the world so that expatriate Canadians won’t feel lonely or out of place. It’s always a bit of a competition between officers to see who managed to get decent furniture. I didn’t do too badly this round. The furniture in the guest room is quite reasonable. Even nice. My kitchen furniture is also funky – although I was recently informed that it was bought locally. Ahhhh.....
The items that are continuously classified as the worst are the lamps. I do not feel sorry for these lamps. I do feel sorry for the lamp in the IKEA commercial though. Poor little lamp, all alone in the rain. On the other hand, these SQ lamps should never have existed in the first place. Ever. I am not even sure that hotels buy these lamps. In fact, the only reason these lamps probably exist at all is that the Canadian government buys them en masse and sends them around the world. When I arrived, I was lucky enough to count seven of these creations in my midst. One of my first stops upon arrival was to Tok e Stok, a furniture store a notch or two above IKEA. It turned out that Tok e Stok had an excellent selection of interesting lamps and I stocked up – as the name suggests. Although I cannot afford to replace all the lamps, I have replaced a few key ones. The original lamps, bless their souls, now reside in the otherwise empty maid’s room. At least I am using it wisely!
The furniture is bought in Canada and shipped around the world so that expatriate Canadians won’t feel lonely or out of place. It’s always a bit of a competition between officers to see who managed to get decent furniture. I didn’t do too badly this round. The furniture in the guest room is quite reasonable. Even nice. My kitchen furniture is also funky – although I was recently informed that it was bought locally. Ahhhh.....
The items that are continuously classified as the worst are the lamps. I do not feel sorry for these lamps. I do feel sorry for the lamp in the IKEA commercial though. Poor little lamp, all alone in the rain. On the other hand, these SQ lamps should never have existed in the first place. Ever. I am not even sure that hotels buy these lamps. In fact, the only reason these lamps probably exist at all is that the Canadian government buys them en masse and sends them around the world. When I arrived, I was lucky enough to count seven of these creations in my midst. One of my first stops upon arrival was to Tok e Stok, a furniture store a notch or two above IKEA. It turned out that Tok e Stok had an excellent selection of interesting lamps and I stocked up – as the name suggests. Although I cannot afford to replace all the lamps, I have replaced a few key ones. The original lamps, bless their souls, now reside in the otherwise empty maid’s room. At least I am using it wisely!
posted by Karen @ 10:38 a.m.
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