I did something really rash a year ago, which is that I bought dining room furniture, eight chairs and a table, for a house that has not yet been built. In truth, the house has not even been designed yet. However, my love for this dining room set was so overpowering, that I bought it anyway, knowing that I had no where to store it in the interim. So here it sits, a set of dining room furniture in the middle of my living room covered in plasitc, for the last year. Let me describe its charms: the table is square, allowing for 2 seats on each side. This is an unusual seat arrangement, and I like it. It means the hosts are not 10 feet apart with the guests lined up like bowling pins on each side. The table has a wooden base, with a cut-out carved top, covered by a large piece of glass. The combined practicality and elegance of this arrangement was compelling. I can keep the table clean without having to do extensive polishing. The seats have the same cut-out carving on the backs, and a simple dark apricot nubby fabric cushion. The carved backs don’t end at the seat, but continue down to the floor. Now I just need to build a dining room to fit my table.