You simply cannot be any cooler than you already are!

That table is perfect. I love the cat accessories you have displayed with it.

"Schlumpadinka"? :) I hope you don't mind me borrowing that one, because I'm totally going to work it into all of my conversations for the rest of the day!

Your new table & chairs are fantastic! I love the candle setup and the inspirational poster, too. It may only be 15" wide, but you've given it a great makeover.

Laser-eyes Frankie! Squeee!

Your table is WAY cool! I love Mecca/Target almost more than Nirvana/Ikea. And I understand that you can block the flow of chi, but really, you just block the flow of cats. They can always find a way to get anywhere they want!

Oops! Meant to say, you CAN'T block the flow of cats. Sorry - got fumble fingers today.

I can't ACTUALLY be first - but even so: no, you can't be much cooler. Although having said that, you seem to continue to coolify ever now and then, all the time. I'm SO loving all this home improvement stuff, because I'm about to start the same thing, soon as we get back from our trip to Colorado. I've already straightened up the linen closet and *cleaned the spice & cat treat cabinet*. You can't imagine how major that is. You continue to inspire (and let's see...I think your book will be sent to me in less than a month now...I'm hopping from one foot to the other and doing a prepared-to-be-happy dance!)

Oh, Jules! It's a painting, I wish it came out better in the picture but I had flash issues LOL. I found it at this little place in Woodland Hills and about fell over. Even my art is helpy.

Great table and chairs---looks perfect and just the right cat height for observing--.

Beautiful dining set! Looks more grown up and it totally fits with your new floors and new comfy home. It will help you savor your food rather than scarfing it down. Great choice, Tarjay is surely a mecca.

I knew it....not first, but that's ok, and I forgot to say it but I'm with Jules: the candles look spectacular! You have IT - the natural gift for adding little "touches". I admire that so much, but my sister got all the adding-little-touches genes from our mom.

I have to be the first to say that I didn't like the Burke tulip table. Too 60s or 70s -- whatever -- reminds me of a decade when I had bad hair and skin. YUCK!

The new "bistro" table set (yes, that is what they're called!) looks très chic and très moderne, and in keeping with your attempts to declutter your home.

Nothing "schlumpadinka" about that furniture! LOL

Oh that looks lovely! And with the art & candles too. But now the ceiling light's gotta go! Will the landlord let you change it? Home Depot can teach you how.

Somehow I always thought the mod table set didn't fit your new life. Even without knowing the history. Maybe when you find out what it's worth, it will be easier to let it find a new home?

And Rita, I love the chi flow / cat flow analogy. You may have discovered Truth!

omg, that floor is really rocking. i'm surprised at how well it cleaned up from the Pile O' Shag. pretty chairs! but i really like the art work ;D

Whereas I do not eat standing up over the sink, I do eat off a plate balanced on my chest in front of the tv (hence the gallon-sized Shout container in the laundry room for the food spots). Perhaps I should take inspiration from you, our Queen of Cool, and start to eat at the table?

Growthy indeed.

I was just looking at the before-and-after and I honestly cannot believe how much less *stuff* I have. I used to hold onto everything, I guess it was a kind of comfort or something. Especially when he left, I think it somehow made me feel less alone if that makes any sense at all.

Getting free of all the stuff has been such a slow and sometimes painful (and tedious) process that I didn't realize how much LESS junk I have. It's crazy.

But it's nice, too. My main goal is to have a house that I can maintain and invite people over at anytime without needing a 16-hour cleaning marathon beforehand. (Yes, that happened when I was first living here, sad but true.)

I'm with Juliana on the Burke thing. Too many memories of "not good" asscoiated with that stuff.

The NEW stuff is awesome. Hooray for new things that make you happy that also are not much money!

I shop the furniture thrift store just up the road from me, and have scored some excellent deals. Hey, what do I care if someone's eaten a thousand dinners while sitting on the new-to-me couch? I'm eating the NEXT thousand there, and it is gooood.

Love the new table and chairs, but I *really* love the painting above...my sentiments exactly! It looks so cozy and inviting. Target has some pretty cool stuff. Congrats!

The proportions are just perfect--and the placement of those candles (is that what they are) is exquisite. I'm all about proportion--and that grouping is perfection!

Tiff -- I love thrift shopping! This is why I have no coffee table. I know it's better for the word to recycle things, to get furniture secondhand and it's cheaper, too. (I wonder if in my heart I will ever stop being a po' trailer park kid? Or does that mentality always stick?) but the table was such a value and it's a unique size, especially with the fold-down sides and it was one of those things that you see it and you just *know* it's meant to be.

I'm still hoping I can find a thrift-store coffee table I love, though :)

omg, laurie, you commented at my site yesterday that you thot we might be in the same place re: men and their vagaries, and figuring out what we like on our own, etc.

(and i so get that. have you seen the scene in Frankie & Johnny where Michelle P. has severty plates of eggs in front of her and she's deciding what she likes?)

and i've been holding on to all this furniture that doesn't work for my new place, because i couldn't afford to buy new (trans: expensive, permanent) furniture, and last weekend i went to ikea, spent $500 and have chairs that actually work in my living room and dining room, instead of all this stuff that decidedly doesn't.

rock on with your bad self and your target dining set. (which SO doesn't look target, btw)

And yeah, the Burke set has some weird energy attached to it. I'm just not ready to let go yet.

That. Looks. So. Good!

You can breathe easier too, I bet, what with all the chi flowin'.

Congratulations. It's beautiful.

islaygirl... we are indeed on some weirdly parallel path!!!!

I woke up one morning and looked at my dining set (the white one) and realized I had no idea what my real decorating style was. I had spent my life trying to be someone else, or please someone else, or make our house nice for him, all of that. It was ridiculous. It's been fun figuring out what my "real" style is. Apprently it's hippie-moroccan-modern, with cat hair. Go figure!

Laurie, you're such an inspiration. I have a goal that involves moving from apartment to house, and I'm seeing a lot of clutter in my life. You are a great example/impetus!

And you said "full-butted," which made me fall off my chair laughing. !!!

oh. mah. gawsh. i may die at the dining room set. *pinches self* no, okay, i'm okay. that's exactly what i need to be looking for, i think. our table is huge for our space. even though i love it, it needs to be re-purposed or something.

Laurie,

That is a fantastic dining set - I love it!

(I also love the print hanging over it - so cute!)

Ooh, I like that. The Burke set is made of all kinds of awesome. I was gonna cry if you got rid of it. I'd keep it. It's not being cluttery, it's storing for the day when it does work in a space. That's not something you should get rid of. :)

Funny you should say that you had no idea of your decorating style. Me neither. Growing up I never had encouragement or positive feedback and all my choices were no good or so I was told. And so as an adult I agonize over what is my style and what suits me and gasp, I even go through in my head what OTHER people would think of my choices! Isn't that crazy? I'm in my 40's and trying now to figure out what I like and want.

But fabulous table and chairs! Love, love it! And I love Target, too!

And Frankie, I love Frankie. ;)

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon with all the other lovers of your funky print above the table. So appropriate for this season of life you are going through!
Very self-helpy and growthy.
:)
And the new table set with it's candlerific decorations is lovely. And doesn't appear to block the flow of chi or cats. It also looks great on the new wood floors. Perfecto!

I should've known it's a painting - it's not shiny enough to be a poster! :) When I was a teenager and I'd take a picture of my room (I did that way more often than is really normal), there was always a big shiny spot in the middle of my posters. Flash issues, as you say; they were common in the 80's, plus I wasn't such a great photographer!

not to be a party pooper, but I know you love your kitties. I have a table and chair set that is very similar and one of my kitties got his paw stuck in the slats on the back of the chair and dangled there by his paw until I rescued him. I about had a heart attack thinking he had broken his wrist. I think he had jumped up on the chair, slid across the seat (since it's that nice shiny smooth wood), and reached out with his paw to try to save himself. I was horrified. Since then, the chairs are pushed flush into the table so that the cats can't jump up on the seats. In any case, the set is a gorgeous addition to your home.

It looks fantastic! That's one more reason to love Target. (As if I really needed another.)

My mom will barf when she sees that painting ... she hates anything with chickens on it (which made it even funnier. And more ironic.)

Leeny: You're not alone. I feel like I spent most of my life trying to please other people or trying to be something or someone I wasn't so it got to a place where I honestly had no idea what pleased me! Except food of course. And getting fatter was really displeasing to others... gee, wonder if there's a connection Dr. Freud?

LOVE IT! I too recently changed my dining room table (only I went bigger and lighter wood) and it's made all the difference.

Here's to full-butted Americans (of which I am one)!

The table and chairs are very cool and look great in your home. But I have to comment on the painting you have hanging on the wall above them...I love it! Where did you find it? I think it's just perfect and I love what it says.

Jennifer

I *like* "hippie-morroccan-modern with cat hair." You have excellent taste and common sense combined, which is really really rare.

We have a tee-tiny "dining area" too. We found a really good small table with folding leaves for it, but we need to find better chairs. The ones we have now are too big.

The one you found at Target is beautiful! And functional and fits, too, what more could you ask for? Oh, really inexpensive into the bargain? That was an great find.

I read "cue montage and happy music" as "cue MORTGAGE and happy music." You can tell I'm not romantic; also that I need new glasses.

OMG! It's gorgeous Laurie!

I do a little painting and collage in my free time, and I may have to try and do something "inspired" by your painting (if you don't mind) - although mine won't look nearly as cool. I love it!!

Fantastic! That's really awesome

Jennifer ... glad you liked it! found it a little shop in woodland hills, but it's one of those canvas paintings that are probably mass produced so you might be able to find it online. I don't think it's an original. (Not for what I paid for it anyway1)

I'm impressed. What a rockin lil crib you've created there in Encino-adjacent. Good for you!!

I love the new table- it seems quite at home there in a way that the old one just wasn't. I have been eating in front of the tv/sink for a while, too, and I've found that I just enjoy my meals more if they're eaten at a table (I just moved to a new place that would accomodate a table.) With REAL silverware and actual GLASSES (as opposed to plasticware and disposable containers). I am anticipating weight loss, too (although I should probably add "diet" and "exercise" for that to happen. I'm still putting my faith in the magical weight-loss happy table.) Anyway, love the look.

Love, lurker Jenny

PS: I abuse parentheses. (Sorry 'bout that.)

Gotta say I think the new dining table looks chic, elegant, and very self confident. Actually I like it a lot more than the old one but that's just me. Out with the old and in with the new! Yay Laurie!

I eat standing up at the kitchen counter because there is no room for a table with the microwave stand and book shelves. If I moved out the book shelves that little table might fit.

I LOVE TARGET!

The dining room table is just a real big mail basket.

Your place is looking great! I love how your embracing making where you are right now your home and not waiting for the magical "something" that many people are waiting for.

Happy nesting!

I just love how you write. I don't mean to insult you but you write like I talk.

Your wood floors look awesome and I love the Target sale dining room. I love me some Target. I've been eyeing this wall table --you've given me courage.

Your house is really wonderful and I'm so glad you're happy!

I love the new dining nook! You're cleaning frenzy has inspired me to start one of my own. Last weekend, I got rid of 5 large boxes of books from my overstuffed shelves. I'm tackling the closets next and then all the "collectable" stuff.

I love it and it looks so sexy on those wood floors.

I have helpy pictures too, as long as you are already tending toward suicide.
.

I like the new stuff better than the old...

Between your recent home decluttering blogs and happening on an Oprah rerun with Colin Cowell showing his OCD tidy kitchen, I have been inspired to get a grip. I emptied several kitchen drawers and tosses more than half of the contents in each. Then I attacked the container with all the various out-of-date allergy meds. Very freeing.

I had done the grody carpet removal about 12 year ago. Light pink carpet in the dining room with food stains all over it. Nice.

Keep up the good work. You're inspiring and very helpy.

Hey Laurie, I'm pretty sure your artwork is a Rodney White! He's got great stuff and I've had him listed as one of my "searches" on Ebay though I have yet to actually get around to purchasing anything yet. I love his stuff and that one looks GREAT over your table! You rock, chica! Nice job.

I love your dinning set. Good for you, getting your home organized. You inspire me to do the same with my place.

Beautiful! And where'd you get the art? I need me some of it!

My stepmom uses the term, "Schlumpadinka" often. I used to think that it was a southern term but she is from Canada so perhaps not.

Anyway, your new dining area looks gorgeous - simply GORGEOUS! So cozy yet elegant and a bit Parisian. Well done.

Oops, read about the shop...must look online. Don't think I can drive over from Nashville anytime soon. ;)

Love the look, Laurie. All of the wood makes your little home warm and cozy. And, well, homey. :D

I just have to ask -- I have a love/hate relationship with painting (pictures). If I can find/love the subject, I love to paint. If I don't, I don't. Is that how you are? I know you used to paint -- don't you paint at all anymore? Because I was looking at the painting, which is really nice in your dining area, but I was thinking you could have done something that would have been just as great. Maybe better.

Just wondering.

Love the new table and the price is great! How could a cat not like it. Not only is it lovely, but it is taller. I am sure Saba is loving being able to look down on her dominion.

Jo -- I'm the same way with painting. I loved this canvas as soon as I saw it, but for the space above the sofa it's a blank. So I have a giant white canvas and I am going to paint it myself. Part of that involves cleaning up the one remaining area of clutter -- the spare bedroom -- so I have room to actually paint. That's my own personal "clutter's last stand" alas.

p.s. Jen I'm coming to Nashville :) In October. shhh. don't tell anyone. Also, if I don't have fried okra while I'm there I will cry.

That's fabulous!! And you gotta tell us where you got that painting.

Laurie, you are an inspiration! Perhaps I will declutter my own personal stash of crappe...

Like other readers, I was curious about the painting, so I took your suggestion and found it online: http://veerle.duoh.com/index.php/art/comments/rodney_white/

How cool can something be if it is out of place, in the way and a worry? Hmmmm....

I LOVE your new table. YIPPY!

Wow. You scored!

Under $200.00 for a real wood dining table and chairs??!! I gotta go shopping in the U.S.

Pam thank you so much! I edited to add that info, thank you!!

I don't know many people who get as excited about this sort of stuff as I do. I'm *SO* excited for you, your herd and your new dining set. And everything that is coming to you in your future. Because I know that down the road when you have been there / done that, you won't forget your $179 dining set. Solid wood. Espresso finish. You're awesome.

It's perfect.
Restful, soothing, and looks really nice!

Yes, I got the same table and chairs for my tiny dining area and I love it. It looks good and it works. Your painting completely rocks too. I'm jealous.

One plus about your man running off with a twinkie is they take all their crap, and you get to have the cute girlie home of your dreams, with no one complaining it's too pink!
My place is now full of girly crafty stuff, and I no longer have to pick chest hairs out of my Martha Stewart sheets.

That's really cute and looks terrific with the wood floors. I know that under my carpet are wood floors, but at least I'm the only owner of the carpet so I know just what has made those stains! Or rather whom.

OOH, nice!

What did you do with the Burke set? Yes, I am nosy.

LOVE what you've done with the place!!! Do tell where you got the special touch candles (please)...

I'll bet you could make $179 in, oh, a day or two were you to expand your CafePress line to include Cat Photos With Clever Cat Sayings.

Meanwhile, you are making me want to redecorate. Oh, hell, let's be honest here: you're making me want to decorate, something I've never yet gotten around to doing. (See "waiting for the time to be right" syndrome as previously described by Dr. Purl.)

i'm with jeannie. i'm surrounded by j's crap and try as i might to make a lovely home for us, he insists on making a mess of it. or cramping my style, literally. our tastes are so different that i'm constantly compromising. it's very frustrating.

i'm glad to hear that you haven't gotten rid of your old dining table. it's one thing to purge yourself of things that you don't care about but it's another thing to purge yourself of things that you love, just to be rid of it. putting it away in storage, letting it cleanse itself of bad karma is the way to go. who knows. one day you'll have a home in which that set will fit and look great. and by then, you won't give a shit about its past.

in the meantime, the little dining table is awesome.

by the way, we have 2 dining tables with the appropriate number of chairs and we still eat dinner on tv-trays. want to know why? BECAUSE J'S STUFF IS ALL OVER THE TABLES!!!

Andree -- bubble-wrapped the edges of the table, then wrapped and stored the table and base and chairs in the garage. It's a very safe place to store things since it's impossible to get the garage door open without an army of help. Gotta love those old-house "quirks" LOL

Mom2, about the candles -- the two tall ones are from Target, the smaller one is from pier one. They have a cracked-glass thing going on around the bottom half, the top is clear glass.

Maryse -- I fight the war of clutter with myself daily so I kind of understand ;) It's tough when you're hardwired to hoard.

Elizabeth, thank you.

I have that set! It is indeed nice and space-saving

*whispers*

You're coming to Nashville?? If you have any desire to meet some of your readers, we sure would like to meet you! I'll bring wine!

*goes back to normal voice*

I do love all your home improvement projects. I'm dying to do some of my own, but I'm still waiting (and waiting...and waiting....) for them to finish my house. One day I will get to decorate, buy stuff and do some nesting. In the meantime I will just live vicariously through you :)

Stephanie, I am indeed. At the end of October... more details coming in a few weeks. And I never, ever turn down an offer of wine... LOL

OR FRIED OKRA. I am just saying is all.

sorry about that last bit... I'm just really craving fried okra....

Love the table, love even more that YOU love it! I went through a similar odessey of self-discovery after my divorce. Now I know my own personal style is hippie-moroccan-Chinese, with cat hair (but of course!) and lots of books. And it all must be comfortable or what's the point?

You continue to inspire me! This weekend is my bedroom's turn!! (Did the kid's last weekend.)Woo-hoo! Three days to work on it.

Well, I know nothing of fried okra (I'm not a southerner...I just live here!). But, God willing and the creeks don't rise, I'll find someone who does.

(like that southernism? it's the best this Missouri girl can do...)

Your dining nook looks so lovely it makes me want to stand up and slap someone.

Did i get it right? I'm so midwest.... :)

But what to do when one's spouse is the hoarder?

Speaking as a mid-30's soon-to-be-divorced mother-of-twins...honey, you rock the coolness. And I know cool when I see it. Excellent score on the table and way to go on taking back the sanity and spiffing up the house all at the same time.

This is the part they don't tell you about - what happens to you after a horrendous divorce when you slowly but gradually discover who you really are, and *surprise* that you are actually a much cooler, smarter, happier individual than your ex- ever made you feel!

I love your furniture, especially the painting. I found a similar solid wood nightstand for my bedroom at Bed Bath and Beyond, of all places, for only $100.

Congrats on your continued journey! Even better days are ahead! Trust me.

Very, very nice! I especially love the fact that Frankie is color coordinated with your dining set.

I also noticed that it looks as though you have a beautiful chair rail. Have you thought about painting a nice coordinating color below the rail (assuming the land lord will let you)?

Anyhow, great find...looks great!

I live in Canada, and I'm *so* very jealous of the Target. Sigh. As a veteran of many very, very tiny living spaces with no dining area, I say to you -Bravo for finding something that fits!

Gotta say that shlumpadinka is going to be a part of my vocab from now on. I don't know where you come up with some of these expressions; us midwesterners apparently don't have any creativity or sense of whimsy!

Laurie,
Have you ever checked out Overstock.com? We got a wonderful corner cabinet to put our huge flat screen TV on. Looks wonderful, very sturdy, lots of storage and only $200. The shipping is never more than $2.95 & around X-Mas they sometimes drop it to $1. Yes one that is two dollars and ninety-five cents and one dollar around X-Mas. Check it out. Lots of great deals there. I saw a coffee table that looked like it would go really well with your new dining set and it was on sale for just $44, but they did not have it in stock right now. Worth a look. Your place looks so cute--love the floors! I am so impressed by you.

Stephanie in TN and Laurie - fellow Nashvillian here - I'd love to get in on this CAP visit in Oct! Wine will flow like a river and regarding the fried okra - I don't know how to fry it myself but I know where to get it...from Sylvan Park Diner on Murphy Road...I'll bring a big ol' plateful!

P.S. Dining nook is gorgeous.

My mother had 5 (yes FIVE!) boys. When we had all growed up and flew the nest, she had an explosion of rampant femininity - all pinks and purples, frills and flounces. Obviously Dad`s Y-chromosome wasn`t enough to fend it off!

Must be XX linked, so enjoy...

Thanks. For everything!

I am also working on my house for a lot of the same reasons you are. Don't know how to say this without sounding too goofy so please forgive my ridiculousness but your past few posts have inspired me and have brought out the better things in myself.

Goofiness over.

But really, thanks so much.

I like your helpy chicken painting and hippie-moroccan-modern with cat hair style. It's all good.

That table fits your space (and lifestyle) fantastically, and *that* is what matters. I recently bought a solid wood little buffet cabinette from Target online, and I just love it. It was reasonably priced, fairly easy to put together, and great quality. I was afraid of ordering furniture from them, but I won't hesitate in the future. I am going through the whole "making the HOUSE a HOME" process right now, too. It's a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. The decluttering gets me down, but when I get an area finished and it looks nice and is well organized it is so worth it!

DO NOT GET RID OF THAT BURKE TABLE SET! unless of course you'd like to sell it to me! Seriously, my husband stalked I don't know how many Burke table bases on E-bay and either he got out bid very early on or just at the last minute. We finally gave up all hope and purchased the copy version from the other Mecca aka Ikea.

That Mecca/Target table is perfect for that tiny area and love the candles & painting.

Congrats on settling in to your new home versus your old house.

Laurie,
The dining set and the picture look really great. I'm trying to pare down as well. Starting with clothes. I have just come to terms with the realization that I will never fit into most of them again. Out they go!
Berni

I think that this set, secretly, makes you even cooler than the mod antique-y one. Because, well, wood is superior to plastic ANY day. Like wool/cotton are superior to synthetics.....

lahvly dahling lahvly happy new sit-eat-not-stand-area to you!

Beautiful, sensible, thrifty, and quirky-cool: your new dining nook and you yourself as well! Here's to discovering your own style post-X. **raises wine glass**

As for the old set, have you ever thought of auctioning it off, or donating it to a celebrity auction, with the profits going to a charity? Maybe a charity that helps recently divorced women find homes and jobs and move on with their lives? Just an idea, if the bad karma never wears off and you need the room in the garage for an artist's studio...

Such a DEAL!! Ya did good!!!I LOVE LOVE LOVE THE PAINTING...THANK YOU for putting the artist info out there...awesome stuff...

Gorgeous! Hmm. Is your Burke set sturdy enough to put outside and funk up your patio area? Just a thought.

I *love* the dining nook! Way to go!

The best part about table & chairs for $179? If the cats destroy it after a few years (like my very own Force Of Random Destruction would), it won't make you cry. Our < $200 table & chairs was sacrificed to He Who Has Claws (after 12 years, there's one chair of the four left), and that's fine, because he hasn't touched the more expensive stuff, and I don't want to strangle him.

Um, usually.

Oh, and it looks fabulous.

just lovely.. and cozy!!

Ok...this is my first comment I've ever left, although I've read (stalked?) your blog for months now. I have to say that your new table and chairs are lovely, but the best part is how you're getting your things to revolve around your life, instead of having your life revolve around things, which is a challenge I battle daily. I believe that at $179, the set is indeed a bargain, but only because it fits YOU. And I think that's awesome.

I just wanted to thank you, because after a particularly not-so-lovely day, the best part was getting to read about how the things in your life are coming together. It gives me hope, reading your blog. It's kind of my free therapy. Well, that and a good glass of wine. :)

Thank you for being willing to share your life with the rest of us...particularly those of us who aren't brave enough to return the favor.

OOOOh, fried okra. You got me hooked on it after your demonstrative post. Alas, I am now on a CARB-FREE diet courtesy of my doctor. FOR SIX WHOLE WEEKS. Today was the first day and I can't believe how cranky I am. I won't even be able to eat my husband's birthday cake next week. Poor, poor pitiful me. (I'm calling the waaaaaaahmbulance for myself right now)

Your table and chairs are beautiful! I'm so happy that your becoming more and more happy!! You're doing a book tour?? I hope you have a ball!! You deserve it, sweetie.

That set is so adorable, and just the right size for its space. But if you're not ready to let the Burke furniture go then by all means keep it and don't feel guilty about it (especially since you have room to store it). I go back and forth on whether there are vibes attached to inanimate objects since after all, it's just a dining set, just as a french fry is just a french fry (or a cigar a cigar- heh). I am still wondering what to do about the dining set I bought 15 years ago in a fit of hopefulness that I would be able to afford a home in the Boston area that would accomodate a massive mahogany table, 6 chairs, and a buffet large enough to store a body in. Currently the table supports and chairs are in my basement, the table top is at my mom's summer cottage, and the buffet is at my dad's. How stupid is THAT? The time for Goodwill may be nigh.

The joys! The rapture! Of purchases from Tar-jay! I happily gave up nearly all the living room furniture when the ex moved out two years ago. Spent good, divorce-settlement money on a couch that I sincerely hope will last FOREVER, and then spent next to nothing on some nice, decent, solid wood tables from Tar-jay. Coffee table, end tables, sofa table. Yup, and I'm not ashamed to say where they were purchased!

Your little dining set is SO totally perfect for the space! And to think that you found a round table with folding leaves...the good buyers at Tar-jay must have known that you would wander in one day, looking for that exact table.

BTW...post-divorce, I tore up all the carpet on the first floor. Unfortunately, the oak floor underneath was fairly well ruined, and the prospect of being torn up forever while refinishing it (how would we live here...more importantly, how would the two dogs and four cats live in a house whilst waiting for varnish to dry?), so my son and I put down a hardwood laminate floor on top. Let the next owner take on the refinishing job, says I! But, yay you, you got down on your knees and beat that floor into submission!

Okay Laurie, I'll trade you my Michigan 2,500 sq. ft. ranch house with full basement and 5 acres of rural loveliness (and a pool! but no pool boy, sigh, what did I do to *not* deserve a pool boy?) for your lovely little house.

Or I have to de-clutter! You are inspiring me! Thank you!

love it laurie!! i totally relate to the "I had spent my life trying to be someone else, or please someone else, or make our house nice for him..." i did that, for only 4 years, but that was all i did for those 4 years. single again for almost that long, i'm starting to do what you're doing--figuring out personal style, etc. you are such an inspiration to all of us out here! <3

CAP mentioned me in a caption!! Now I'm going to be IMPOSSIBLE to live with... well, even MORE impossible to live with...

Thanks, Laurie -- although, as soon as I posted that link, I realized it was not a link to the artist's site or a shopping site but to someone's blog, and I felt like an idiot. Forgive me, CAP readers! You can find this painting (and more of Rodney White's work) on eBay...

Super cool AND fantastic

You've inspired me to rip out my manky gross carpet and go back to the nice non-bug infested tiles!! Thanks

Ok personally? I LOVE this table!! In fact, I like it better than the other one. The other one looked like a throw back to the late 60s. All you needed was a shag rug somewhere! This one is so much more up to date and PRETTY!!

Oh and as far as eating over the sink? I'm married with two kids and I STILL do this!! How sad is that?!?!!?

Love the dining table. Wish we had Target in the UK!
Another cliche scene in chick flicks is the bath in candlelight. Suddenly our hard-working lonely heroine is in a tub surrounded by so many candles she should have a bright red, sweaty face (but doesn't, of course). You never see the scene where she's cleaning the dripping wax off the edge of the bath next day.

No, no, no, no. This set is WAY cooler than the Burke, sorry, but the Burke is so...uhm, Star Trek. THIS set is sleek, sophisticated, calm, confident, and yummy in a bistro-y way. LOVE it, it's YOU. Laurie, you have got the re-decorating mojo going.

Bossy approves. Speaking of design, come on over to Bossy's place to find out what thirteen things her kitchen has in common with Award Winning kitchen designs (not.)

http://iambossy.typepad.com/i_am_bossy/2007/08/things-bossys-k.html

I think we have the same house. I have an impossible space JUST like the one you show here. And, you know, mine is still empty and barren. *IDEA*

Thank you - this is very hot and cute.

I like it way better than the Burke table. There , I said it!

Great minds think alike! My just-graduated-from-college son in his first real job purchased that exact set from Target with his gift money. It looks young, smart, and hip in his high-rise studio apartment. Kudos to you both for making a great choice!

Please go to http://www.dwr.com/category.cfm?category=170, the Design Within Reach web site and note how valuable your discarded table is. The chairs are probably more so because they are rare. The table is a clasic and I still have mine originally purchased in the early 1960s. The chairs,same style as yours, are long gone. I've had 3 or 4 sets of chairs since then. They have been everything from bentwood to queen anne and all look great with the table. Take good care of it until you're ready to use it in another place or are willing to sell it. Mine has moved cross-country a few times and currently sits in my kitchen under a wrought iron and chrystal chandeleer with black queen anne chairs. Love it!