Over Labor Day weekend Joe and I went to Costa d’ Este, Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s hotel in Vero Beach, Florida, for a quick getaway.

A Miami Beach style hotel in Vero Beach

On our first morning in quaint Vero we found a little, old-fashioned breakfast place called The Lemon Tree. Booths lined both sides of the establishment and in the center was a single row of wider booths, each with a middle divider creating two smaller booths.

A unique wooden booth divider that creates two eating area from one

These old white painted wood separators were attached across the middle of the big tabletops and when a large group arrived, a divider was removed to accommodate the whole crowd at one long booth. Their simplicity and convenience made me wonder,” Why haven’t I seen those before?”

A bloom in the water lilies

Later in the day we walked around McKee Botanical Gardens that, besides its lovely tropical landscaping, boasts the longest table in the world; created from a single 35′ piece of mahogany. Another impressive design made of wood.

The longest wooden table in the world

Finally, that evening, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the new Citrus Grill House and we couldn’t help but notice the beautiful, distinctive floor. Guess what it was made of? Yup. Like the table divider and mahogany wonder we’d seen earlier in the day, it, too, was made of wood.

The Citrus Grill House 250 year old oak floor

The floor, we were told, was 250 year old oak that came from a tobacco mill in Ohio, which was why it had unusual light and dark stains and such a unique pattern.

After finding these three special design elements in one day, it seemed as though I was being given some kind of message. Perhaps, “recycle more wood?” I don’t know. But I feel lucky to have found each one and hope to be able to discover more uncommon designs in the future. Knock on wood.

Have you seen any unique things lately?