La Maison

[prosodic]

Lance and I both have an issue with our new house, in that the cable hook-up is in the room with the fireplace (what I'll refer to as the sitting room). We don't want a television there. That room is right off the kitchen and we want it to be just a room for relaxing by the fire. Besides, it we entertain, for a football game, say, it would be really annoying to have Lance and his friends watching TV right there by where I'm trying to prepare food and chat with the wives (because you KNOW this always happens...the women end up in one room and the guys in another).

The living room is where we want the television, and we'll need to have the cable company do a hook-up for it. But it's easiest to do it along an outside wall. And the only place we can put the entertainment center is between the two windows, and that encroaches on the space that is designated for the dining area.

So we decided, since neither one of us really likes the combination living/dining room, that we would forgo a dining room altogether. We have a breakfast nook in the kitchen and I already have a small table picked out for that space...a table that seats 4. That is sufficient for us to eat dinner. We're not a couple that requires formal dining space. When we have guests, we can sit at that table, the breakfast bar, and put a card table out in the sitting room, if the need arises. Our families are very casual, so they aren't going to care either. (In fact, at Thanksgiving most years, my family is so large that we can't even all eat dinner together in one room...we're generally spread out over 3 rooms.)

We will be taking down the chandelier that designates that dining room space, and replacing it with some other light fixture (or perhaps a ceiling fan...we'll see). And that whole room will be our living room. It's huge, actually, but I'm sure we'll find ways to make use of the extra space.

We're also trying to decide what to do with the cabinetry and the counter that's tucked into the space by the entrance to the master bedroom. One of Lance's co-workers, who saw the house photos, thinks it's a linen cabinet, but it's not, because it's nowhere near the bathrooms. The best use for it is a bar, I think...a place to store wine glasses and beer mugs, and I can put my wine rack on the counter. We don't generally keep liquor in the house (although we have a few bottles right now of stuff we've acquired since we've been here...must get rid of it), but there is a place to keep that too. Of course, there is no fridge there at all, although we might be able to rig one up in the bottom cabinet. So if I wanted to chill wine, I would have to take it to the kitchen. So that is problematic too, and I don't actually know the original intention of this cabinet, but my first thought on seeing it was that it was supposed to be the area where you store your brandy and sherry so you can have a little nip after a long day at work (does that sound pretentious enough?).

Lance suggested just ripping out all that cabinetry and putting in a bookshelf. I wouldn't mind that, actually. Just have to see what can be done with it after we move in. Storage will be at a premium (since we have no basement or attic), so we may just end up using those cabinets for extra storage and there is an outlet there for our stereo. Yeah, that might work.

Just typing all stream of consciousness here, I know.

Anyway, no house is really perfect. There are problems that present themselves, either immediately or as you are settled into the space after awhile. We're just trying to troubleshoot some of the more obvious things right now. Although the first big problem is the tiny laundry room...we'll have to install storage shelves above the washer and dryer. There is absolutely no place to store detergent, bleach, dryer sheets, etc. We'll have to hang the ironing board on the back of the door that leads out into the garage (the laundry room is the buffer zone between the sitting room with the fireplace and the garage...the door between the sitting room and the laundry room is a sliding door).



Okay...enough rambling about something that only Lance and I really care about.

I bought a couple books today, although they won't last for long. Dai Sijie's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (which I had never heard of before, but the cover and description of the book intrigued me) and Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which I know front, sideways, and backwards, but is always worth a re-read.

Signed up for the Da Vinci Expo trip next Saturday, but I have a feeling it will get cancelled. I'm #15 to sign up, and they need 30 people. But I was assured that my refund would be timely, and in cash, in case it is cancelled, and Andrea and I have plans to go there on our own just in case.

Anyway, I now have some housework to do (I always have housework to do) and Lance needs to get out and rake leaves. Our yard looks ridiculous right now, but I don't think either of us cares very much.

Comments

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

I think it'll be more fun to actually see photos of the things I'm discussing once they are done.

First project: hall bath. That wallpaper has got to come down ASAP! There are 3 wallpapered rooms and they'll all get done, but I want to do that room first.