Garden Furniture Care

Before we moved into our new house, we ate all our meals in the kitchen. The kitchen was large enough for a table and chairs, but we couldn’t have more than four people over at a time. We had a dining room, but it was used as a home office. So we didn’t really feel a dining room was necessary until we moved into our new home. The new kitchen was lovely, but in exchange for the increased amount of counter space and storage, there was only a small corner in the kitchen that could hold a café table and four chairs. So the dining room, which was adjacent to the kitchen, became a room that we would have to outfit and use, especially for company. Of course, that meant we needed to buy some new furniture. I refused to move the old stuff into our new home. It went directly to the church for their annual rummage sale! Although our dining room was not huge, it was big enough for a nice sized table that could open up to seat eight people, and up to ten if we squeezed in close together. We looked at several different designs and made a decision to buy a Scandinavian style table and chairs with a small matching sideboard and breakfront. We wanted to maximize the space and make everyone feel comfortable, and not as if they were in a formal environment. Luckily, we made a great choice, because we love eating in our dining room! The sleek, contemporary style puts you in a good mood in the morning and is very welcoming for the evening meal. We also use the table for “game nights,” since everyone can gather around comfortably and easily. It was a good choice and we are truly blessed!

I balked when my husband suggested turning a spare bedroom into a home entertainment center. I’m not someone who is interested in spending hours sitting in front of a TV, so I was reluctant to waste a perfectly good spare room by converting it into a home theater. We had a lot of back and forth discussions, but I realized that there were more important things in life than arguing about a mini-theater, so I agreed to help him with the design if he would help me with the garden. I thought that was a very reasonable and valuable trade off. It was a win-win situation for me. My husband is interested in electronics, so he knew exactly what type of new wide screen TV we should buy and how everything else would connect to make the ultimate entertainment experience. He insisted on new chairs, that both swiveled and reclined, plus a cozy love seat with attached trays for our snacks and drinks. He claimed that was for our romantic evenings together … so who was I to object? We looked at the room and decided to remove the closet doors. Then we added shelving, bought a mini-frig and microwave, and kept the shelves stocked with snacks and drinks that we could prepare without leaving the room. It started turning into a really cool and relaxing space! In the end, my husband made fantastic choices and decisions. And for someone who was reluctant to think about turning the room into a home theater … well, I probably use that room more than my husband and have to admit it was a great idea. It’s cozy, comfortable and has become our private viewing sanctum, plus it’s large enough to have a small group over for movies. We both use it to unwind after a hard day at the office. I sure wish I could take credit for his good idea!

I was ecstatic when my husband and I purchased our first house, because I was anxious to turn it into a home. This was our first house together, and even though it was not new construction, it was everything we wanted. It was also the perfect excuse to get rid of all the hand-me-downs and previously owned furniture that we inherited from relatives or had purchased at thrift stores. Out with the old and in with the new! Fortunately, we had saved enough money to buy some good furniture pieces, which was going to help turn out house into our home. We started with the basic pieces and as time and budget permitted, added whenever we could. Both of us favor light wood and clean lines, so we knew what we were looking for. We wanted our furniture to reflect our individual styles but not overpower the rooms. We each had a lot of photographs, ceramics and miscellaneous glassware that needed to be considered, and thanks to the great suggestions in some interior design magazines, we were able to develop a plan before heading to the furniture stores. That was two years ago and our home is almost complete. We are just missing a few minor elements that I hope to purchase by the end of this summer. I also have to thank the in-store sales consultants who were able to look at our plan, scrutinize our budget and make fantastic recommendations that my husband and I probably wouldn’t have considered. In fact, we had a little party after the New Year to celebrate our success, and invited three of the designers who made our home possible.

I found a unique chair and ottoman set at a Balinese import store that really struck my fancy recently. The chair and ottoman both have wooden frames with a very dark stain. Both have padded leather cushions, also in a very dark mahogany color and have little criss-cross leather stitching as an accent in two lines down the chair back and across the ottoman cushion. The chairs wooden arms have a graceful scroll at the connection point and the leather is hob-nailed down all the way around. The set has such colonial charm, that it looks like it could have come straight from the parlor of a British East India Company executive, or maybe from the main house at a coffee plantation in Java. The lines of the chair have an elegant sweep and the legs of the chair and the ottoman have are wide set and sturdy. The quality of the leather and the wood itself leave a little to be desired, but the overall appeal of the set is so strong that these factors can be overlooked.