The Furniture Epiphany

Jonathan and I planned to remodel the laundry room last week. Which was all very well and good - a nice little home project to last a week or so - except that while Jonathan was working, he got to thinking.

When we moved into our place last year, we made a third bedroom/office by walling off the formal dining room with bookshelves. But in doing so we blocked off a lot of the light that comes into the living room.

Jonathan is all about the view, but I am all about natural light. The view could be Wal-Mart for all I care as long as it provides significant light during the day. So I admit to regularly whining about having to turn on all kinds of lights during the day just to see my hand in front of my face. (I am prone to hyperbole when I whine.)

So while he was sawing, drilling, and painting shelves....

.... Jonathan was trying to come up with how we could open up the dining room again, but still have a place for our computer and all it’s accoutrements as well as all the office furniture.

The major problem is where to put all the furniture.  This place came furnished, plus we brought some of our own when we moved. We have an overabundance of furniture. Jonathan is not willing to part with any of the stuff that came with the place because it’s “nice” and it “matches” even though it is “ugly.” I am not willing to part with any of the furniture we brought because it is beautiful and I love it.

It’s a bit of a problem.

We stayed up till midnight one night last week brainstorming myriad possibilities. But nothing quite worked. And we were not going to move virtually every piece of furniture we own until we were sure it will work. We decided to table the issue for a few months.

But for the next few nights I tossed and turned with insomnia, trying to solve The Furniture Problem. It was like a jigsaw puzzle from hell.   Maybe even more challenging than my uncle Erick's puzzle of the White House - over a thousand pieces that each have several images of D.C. on them.

Finally one night, after laying in bed staring at the ceiling for an hour, I had The Furniture Epiphany. I stumbled into the kitchen where Jonathan was still awake and, squinty-eyed, said:

Me: “I did it.”

Jonathan: “What?”

Me: “I solved the problem.”

[pause]

Jonathan: “Show me.”

That was another late night, but we agreed that it would work. We did a little bit yesterday, but the rest – as Jonathan said – will make for “one heck of a Memorial Day weekend.”