You guys I am SO EXCITED for today’s post—after years of lusting after them, I am now the proud owner of two Serena & Lily Riviera Counter Stools. And even more exciting than that, this means that for the first time in 2+ years, I have somewhere to eat dinner, work from home, and entertain guests that is NOT MY COUCH!

During the height of shelter-in-place back in March, April, and May, besides missing my normal life, the thing I really was craving was a place to eat meals and work that was a hard surface. (Such a simple concept! But in my Dupont Circle apartment, I didn’t have the space.) I bought a little table that I used for a while, but eventually got lazy about pulling it out of the closet everyday. As work from home wore on, I started to get more serious about finding a place with more space and then eventually became sure of my decision. So, in case you missed it, I moved back to Arlington, Virginia last weekend—full details in this post—and when I was looking at potential apartments, one thing I knew I really wanted was a place to put counter stools. I had an island at my old Arlington apartment and sat in my counter stools all the time then, so having a counter was high on my list (along with a balcony and a white kitchen!).

Luckily, I was able to find a place that checked off all my boxes, and treated myself to a housewarming gift: two of the Serena & Lily Riviera Counter Stools in navy. I had actually never purchased anything from Serena & Lily before, so I signed up for their email list and used the 15% off coupon they email you as a welcome when purchasing these stools. Taking into account shipping and tax, each chair was $350—definitely a splurge, but I can already tell you, they are SO WORTH IT!

Getting these Serena & Lily Riviera Counter Stools was quite the adventure. I ordered them over LDW, thinking they would arrive to my old apartment in time for me to move them to my new place with the rest of my stuff. The shipping ended up being delayed, so I ended up moving before they arrived. You would think that in 2020, getting an address on a package updated would be really simple—but it took no less than 10 phone calls to Serena & Lily and FedEx to make it happen. Luckily it all worked out and the shipping address was corrected so I didn’t have to beg some Uber XL driver to take pity on me with two big boxes.

The stools themselves come assembled and are very well packaged so they don’t get damaged in-transit. Since pulling them out of the boxes this weekend, I’ve sat in them so much since they are just so comfortable! I am really looking forward to having them for work from home, too—and, of course, for all the memories in this kitchen ahead!

Also, if you have bar-height counters—they have Riviera Barstools as well! And, in case it’s helpful, this article has a great guide on whether you need counter-height or bar-height stools.