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Using the space we need after retirement
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Posted by pinkpaula (My Page) on Fri, Jul 3, 09 at 16:19
| With the children married and gone, we decided to make use of the spaces in our home to suit our daily lives. We gutted, rebuilt, and enlarged our kitchen. We did everything ourselves,except for the electrical work and granite installation. Now, we use a small, 42" table in the kitchen for meals. It is so cozy for two to four people. After donating the formal dining table (used twice a year) to a womens' shelter, we turned the large dining room into a den for reading and watching TV. It is much more comfortable than our more formal living room. The wide central hall is now home to our china cabinet and buffet. This week, DH and I are turning our back hall area into a combination dinner party/crafts room. We built a farm table, which can seat 8 people. Very easy to do! When covered with an oil cloth, I will have a fantastic crafts/painting studio of my very own. It just seemed a shame to walk through unused areas in our house. Have any of you changed the traditional uses of rooms in your homes? |
Here is a link that might be useful: photobucket
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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| I love the changes you have done. The back hall with the table looks great and will function well for both dinner parties and as a work table. |
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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I have 3 bedrooms on the 2nd floor that only get used maybe 5 times a year for holidays and such. We would love to enlarge our kitchen and/or master bath but we can't figure out how to do it in the current footprint of the house. And no need to add on for just the two of us.
I've thought about opening the kitchen to the formal dining room to have one long room, but the layout just doesn't work. We like to have our eat in kitchen table by the back windows so we can look out at the gardens. |
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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| Thanks for posting - I would love to hear from others what they have done after the children have gone. We have a family room that we never use. I redecorated after the kids left, and it's one of the pretties rooms, but it never gets any use. :( DH and I can not seem to agree on what we need to do with that space. |
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| Everything looks great, that table is fantastic !! |
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| Great use of space. I love repurposing rooms. My DR has gone from DR to office and back to DR. |
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| I could look at pics of your home forever !! It is so beautiful. You have a lovely table there and I really like the reuse of the rooms. We have not had kids since we were in this house so no repurposing of it but I like the idea. Can you post more pics of your home...kitchen finished and the den area that you created ? Do you have lovely garden areas? You can see I am in love with your space. c |
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| how about telling us how you made the farm table? "blue" Paula |
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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| pinkpaula - I'd love to see more of your home. Looks very old. |
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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| Thank you all for the kind comments. Our house was built in 1910. In the ten years we have owned it, we have renovated almost everything, the majority DIY. There is still a lot to do. In the pictures, the room with the leather sofa used to be the dining room. I am in the process of choosing fabric to make new drapes. I am leaning toward a large, but subtle plaid in creams and browns---but I may change my mind tomorrow! Artlover, one day I just might move the farm table and re-establish a real dining room. OK, I admit it; I enjoy changing things around! Trailrunner, I am not a gardener. We recently had sod put in our yard and a few new shrubs. We will do more in the Fall when it is not 98 degrees outside. Will work for roses, I had looked at farm tables for months, but I could not justify spending that much money. So, I went to Home Depot. I bought 8 foot long,1x12 pine boards for the top; 1x4 pine boards for the apron (the box the top sits on); and 4 thick deck posts, which I cut to 29 inches. I built the apron first, measuring so there would be a 2 inch overhang on all sides of the top. I cut two pieces of 1x4 to make evenly spaced reinforcement boards so the length and weight of the top would be evenly distributed and reduce the chance it would bend. I screwed these to the apron. Next, while the apron was flat on the ground, I turned the deck posts upside down and used 2 1/2 inch wood screws to screw the posts to the apron. I countersunk each screw head. Then, I reinforced each post by screwing 2 metal L brackets to join each post to the apron. After that, I stood the frame of the table up so it was standing on its legs. Next, I laid the three 1x12 boards on the frame making sure the overhang was equal on all sides. I used wood screws to attach the boards to the frame as well as to the two reinforcing boards. I countersunk each screw. I thoroughly sanded all of the wood then used a tack cloth to clean it off. At this point, I filled the screw holes with stainable wood filler then sanded them flat, but people told me later to stain the entire table first, then fill the holes with stained filler. Finally, I stained the table twice with a mixture of three different oil-based stains to get the color I wanted. I finished with a wipe-on poly varnish. I have to say, it was a very easy project. I had never built a piece of furniture before. Materials for the entire table cost about $140.00. I would do it again. I know this is long, but you wanted to know. |
Here is a link that might be useful: photobucket
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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| pinkpaula, WOW what wonderful photobucket pictures! Your home is just wonderful and that porch is to 'die for'. You have done an outstanding job of decorating and furnishing the rooms that you've shown. Isn't it wonderful to have such a lovely old home, they just hold so much history? The farm table is great and to think people spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a farm house table and yours certainly doesn't scream 'homemade' either. Thanks so much for allowing us to take a walk through your lovely home. |
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RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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| Susan209, so glad you enjoyed the pictures. We do love our home and appreciate its history. Next summer, we plan to celebrate its 100th birthday on our porch with all of our neighbors. Placing the farm table in a previously unused hallway and rethinking the use of the original dining room created two practical spaces. Justgotabme, the sleeping porch and library are terrific changes to the original plan. You were so smart to think about how you were actually going to make use of your space BEFORE you built. For traffic flow, the opening you added between the kitchen and ladies parlor will save countless steps. Simply removing the little wall in Katie's bathroom makes so much sense. Thanks for sharing your floor plan. |
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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| Oh paula...I don't know where to start. You have the most beautiful home and your decorating style is absolutely faultless. Every room is simply and tastefully lovely. Did you make all of the drapes yourself. I have rarely seen window treatments on every window that I liked as well as yours. How many bedrooms are there? It seemed like quite a few...anyway what a pleasure to walk through your home. The table idea is fantastic and I wish I had thought if it when I was looking for one in a similar design. I will pass it along though to a friend that is looking for that type table. You and your DH have done a magazine worthy home. c |
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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You are welcome paula. It's amazing how a home can be changed to fit it's occupants if you think outside the box. Using a wide hallway like you did for a dining/craft area is brilliant in my book.
Our daughter is in the Air Force now so her room is storage until we finish the attic. It was my "everything" room until our son moved back in with his toddler son (half time here half with mom) temporarily while his wife is dealing with the loss of her mother. |
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| Paula, It's wonderful, all of it. I would love to know you guys, as we have so much in common... We're DIY's as well, and try everything. Our kids think we're nuts, cause we do so much...You made a lovely home. Joann |
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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| Trailrunner, I splurged on the four pair of gold and cream silk drapes in the living room and had them custom made. DH thought I had lost my mind! The drapes in the brown bedroom I got on sale at IKEA. I made the remainder of the drapes and curtains in the house. Our windows require 120 inch drapes since most of the ceilings are 12 feet tall. We have three bedrooms; each enters into the central hall from the left side of the house. The LR, DR, and K enter into the hall from the right side. I didn't include pictures of the two rooms at the back of the house. The room behind the last bedroom went through several changes over the years. It was originally a small porch. Then, it was enclosed and made into a second, small kitchen. We tore the kitchen out and are using it as my DH's art studio, since it has windows all around it. Right now, it is a MESS. In the future, we might make it into a large bathroom and closet area for the last bedroom. The room behind the kitchen is the laundry room and a small bathroom. It, too, is in need of renovation. There is always something! Justgotabme, although your family members are going through a difficult time, it is wonderful that your house can become their home for awhile. Joann, thank you! Our kids think we are crazy, too. Isn't it great that this forum exists so like-minded people can share ideas? |
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| What a wonderful home you have, just love it! That table is fantastic too. |
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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| I am soooo envious! Exactly what I would love to live in one day. Now, if only I could find one and talk my DH into it. :) |
RE: Using the space we need after retirement
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