I’m getting to the blog a bit later this morning.
We were sitting on the sofa, having our second cup of coffee and we began to chat about how anxious we are for the new sofa to arrive. Then we started talking about moving things around when it arrives, because we always end up doing that. Suddenly, we were pre-moving furniture! Of course, there’s only so much you can do with our living room space, which includes a piano, a heavy sideboard, and large wardrobe/cupboard.
Don started talking about wanting cleaner lines in terms of the kitchen island, which has become, for us, simply a place to put things when prepping dinner. It is no longer a place to store things. Don is right – it was pretty busy there. We had the blue table, the bread board on top, the Vernors crate, and a wooden crate below. And then we looked over at the bistro table in the living room. The one thing that has always bugged me about where it was situated is that we have golden pine floors, a golden oak coffee table, and the bistro table also has a golden finish. We’d already been thinking about putting a rug under the coffee table to break up some of the pine.
I’ll take better pictures later when the light isn’t pouring into the room, but the antique farm table is now where the bistro table was. It looks much better than this. I love the blue chipped paint, which gives our eyes something other than golden wood to rest on.
(The bright sun makes a good picture next to impossible.)
And the bistro table is in the kitchen.
I have to figure out the details yet.
Don’s right. The lines are cleaner. We’re also thinking of getting four matching chairs for the kitchen table. I think we want a bit less ‘variety.’ We’ll see.
Of course, this could all change once the sofa arrives next week! But for now, it’s a good change. As always, with a small house, I had to find new places for certain items, like the vintage step stool and the crate that was under the blue table when it was in the kitchen. The Vernors crate is temporarily in the white wardrobe. Once the sofa is here, I’ll take pictures of everything.
I told Don that I sometimes feel my whole life consists of shuffling things around. Small spaces are a huge challenge that way. But it’s also a lot of fun to see things in a new way. Don has a very good eye, as well. So we work well together.
Much cooler today, but sunny. I’m going to go outside shortly and check on my green things.
Happy Tuesday.
It is not what you have, but how you arrange it. And I love that prayer plant.
Thank you, Jan!
My Dad used to swap rooms in our small flat. We had three rooms that served as the living/dining room and two bedrooms. I remember my brothers and me having fun on move days when he’d move furniture around, about twice a year. Much much later in life, my Mom explained that Dad moved the bedrooms around according to the seasons, making sure the children had the warmest bedroom in winter.
Such a sweet dad!
to wendy t …
awww … love that!
hope all’s well for you and your family and you are having a good day.
kathy in iowa
Hi kathy from iowa…It’s raining today, so I’m staying in to continue with the curtain sewing. Re: my Dad’s furniture moves, I guess I caught the bug because my college roommate freshman year and I would move our furniture around after a long night of studying. I’m sure the students who lived below us in the dorm didn’t appreciate furniture shuffling at 2 am! After we got married, I drove my late husband crazy with the furniture shuffling. And nowadays, my daughter refuses to help me move furniture, but I can still do it alone if need be. I’m campaigning for moving a wall system from the family room to my office upstairs to reunite it with its mate. The campaign is falling on deaf daughter ears… You have a great late afternoon and evening!
hi, wendy t!
good luck on your campaign (i’d help you if we lived closer) … an office sounds like a good place for the other wall unit!
i’ve always lived in smaller places (currently, a smidge over 500 square feet) and, because i love old places, have radiators limiting where furniture can go … so, more than furniture, i move the books, vases, etc., but i enjoy that puttering, too. :)
hope you’re having a nice night and good week!
kathy in iowa
I think it sounds terrific and well done! That table does look lovely against the wood and I love the chippiness of it. So nice the bistro table fits well well in the kitchen. A win-win! And I do so lust after your splendid stove! Can’t wait for more pix!
Thank you so much, Jeanie! xo
hi, claudia.
it was lovely before, but this switch looks particularly great … breaks up the color as you want and shows more of the stenciling on the bistro table.
and i like how the leaves of the plant echo the pattern on the brown-and-white pot on the bistro table. :)
i am excited for you and don to get your new sofa! i love how one change can lead to a chain reaction of puttering and especially seeing and enjoying home in a whole new way. plus i trust the new sofa will help your back! looking forward to seeing photos.
hej, claudia … hope you don’t mind if i turn this into a little psa/public service announcement, okay? it’s about eye health and vision. two days ago, when i was getting ready for church, i started seeing flashes of light in one eye whenever i blinked or moved my eye. went on for about an hour, then i went outside and saw what i couldn’t see so well indoors with lights off … hundreds and hundreds of little translucent black and grey spots and other floaters that looked like angry dark and not-so-little scribbles in that eye. called my eye doctor’s office on sunday, got an appointment yesterday and saw a retina specialist today. turns out to be expected in an older (i’m 61) eye that also is quite near-sighted. i have to go back next week to re-check it. hopefully those flashes of light will stop and the floaters go away or my mind will learn to ignore them (could take months). will skip all about what it is (vitreus fluid pulling away from the retina) and get to the “psa” … i’m no doctor, but what i’ve learned in the past 48 hours is this: if anyone has a sudden onset of those flashing lights or floaters in their eyes, please, please get it checked immediately! you will want to make sure it is not due to a tear (as in rip, not as in crying) or detachment of the retina. those things could lead to irreversible vision loss or complete blindness in that eye if not repaired within a short period of time (like days to hours). please do not delay!
thanks, claudia. :)
hope your day is going well, that your back feels 100% better!
kathy in iowa
I have that in both of my eyes and when it first happened, I went to a retina specialist. I still get flashes occasionally but they’ve really calmed down since it first happened. The floaters are still there. They said the same thing – part of aging. You’ll get more used to it as time goes by. I was very frightened when it first happened. Hang in there! You’ll be fine! xoxoxo
hej, claudia …
sorry you’ve also had to deal with flashes of light and floaters in your eyes (just one of mine for now, though the retina specialist said he expects it will happen in my other eye, too). it is very frightening! glad at least some of it is better for you and hope it continues to improve.
and that you’ve had improvement makes me feel some better. thanks, claudia.
hope you and don have a nice night!
kathy in iowa
I was panicked at the time, for sure. But now, I’m fairly used to it. xo
Oh….how frightening that must have been! Thanks for the PSA…good info to know. Take care…enjoy your evening! ;)
to donnamae …
yes, very scary! but it sounds like most older people go through it and now so will i.
hope you are spared such things! and have a good day!
kathy in iowa
Claudia your kitchen is lovely. I love those cabinets. I mowed the front lawn and my sister’s help we trimmed and cut back a lot of things. The weather is gorgeous today.
Marilyn
It is. Is it as windy there as it is here? Very, very windy here!
It’s been a long time since I’ve ‘shuffled’. Now, I’m anxious to see new pics.
It’s been a dreary day here today…51 and windy. We made another garden center trip…that should do it. But…I was too tired to plant. My son’s fiancé is selling her house, so we’ve been helping with yard work over there. Sprucing up the yard, curb appeal and all that, and it’s kicking our butts! So we took the day off. Even stayed off my iPad for most of the day.
Hope everything was looking green today. Enjoy your evening! ;)
Not only your own yard but your daughter-in-law to be’s yard as well! That’s a lot of work. I’d be tired, too, Donnamae!
The bistro table really looks good in the kitchen. Can’t wait to see the new sofa. I love shuffling furniture. I’ve done it my entire life. Mom used to marvel at how often I’d move the furniture around in my small bedroom. When Dean and I first moved in together, my advice to him was that on those nights he came home from work late, he’d better turn on the lights before he tried to sit down.
I used to do it in my bedroom when I was a teenager. All the time!
You and Don have so many interesting pieces and a small space, but shuffling is very satisfying. Our home is static, especially now that neither my husband nor I am strong enough to move furniture. I recently bought two wonderful prints by a very eccentric artist so as to change around some of my wall decor, even taking them to be framed. But I wasn’t clear on the size of the matting and the finished products, while gallery-worthy, are ,too dang heavy to hang on my upstairs sheetrock walls! I’m crying. Your garden is fulfilling its promise already with beauty and lushness. I spent part of last week near San Diego and my heart was thrilled at the brilliant bougainvillea, the bursting roses, the giant birds of paradise, the rolling green hills–even during the years I lived there, I’d never seen things so verdant and bright. And coming up our driveway I saw the ferns beginning to unfurl, the last of the wood violets still peeping out, and the trees much fuller than when I’d left just a few days before. I do hope we have a series of days with sun, cool breezes, and not many bugs. The gifts for your doll houses are spectacular! Nice treasures to remind your resident of her trips to France. XO. Hope your back continues to improve.
Can you lean them against the wall – either on the floor or on a table?
Oh that’s a good idea!! Maybe our mantle, altho the cat likes to get up there, but they’d look great in that spot. :-). Thanks Claudia. XO
Ahhh- nesting better! Enjoy!
Lani
We will, Lani! Thank you!