Getting a grown-up house

Owning a big house can be both a challenge and a blessing. A challenge because you need to fill it with something, and to have nice furniture costs money -- money you may not have. It is a blessing because if someone wants to give away something large, other folks may turn it down due to lack of room, and you get it simply by virtue of having the largest space.

My mother is downsizing the size of her furniture in her house, and she has a beautiful kitchen table and chairs. She would like a smaller set so she has more room to move around it. Lucky me, I was the daughter with the space for a table. I was skeptical that it would all fit in the Kitty Kia Soul, but can you believe it all did? That little car is amazing.

Molly's dog crate was going to be too large to remain in the kitchen, so what to do for a door-side stand was an issue. I didn't want to spend $100 or more on a side table, or clutter up the room. Then it occurred to me that I could just match the cubby I had on the other side of the room. Believe it or not, the Unfinished Furniture Store still carried the same cubby 10 years after I purchased the first. I'll paint it to match the wainscoting, like the other. Molly's crate went into the den to replace her bed there, and she seems to like it. She'll probably be happier not being next to the kitchen door when I'm out, anyway, although I liked having her bark when people came to the door.

Just the wood and tile table top probably weighs in at around 125 pounds (or more?) I was barely able to get it into the car and out again.

Here is the new improved kitchen. My house gets closer and closer to looking like a good old middle class American farmhouse.

Thanks, Mom!