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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Wait That's Next Month

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This Week Only
Light My Fire
You My Never Know
Feedback Welcome



 This Week Only

 

Sometimes I am not a big fan of this time of year even though it is usually my favorite time of the year. It seems like all the stores start pushing Christmas earlier and earlier each year. I saw Christmas stuff before Halloween was even over. I get tired of all the hype, especially the furniture sales. Ads like "This Week Only," Order now for delivery by Thanksgiving" and "A whole dining room full of furniture for only $500."

 

How many people buy furniture they don't really need, want, or love because they panic or are trying to impress? During this panic phase, you can buy furniture that is the wrong size for the room or that you can't even get into the house because you forgot to measure. This is a recipe for stress instead of a recipe for the perfect holiday celebration.

 

When you consciously select your furniture, one piece at a time you create the perfect home for you. You can create a home with furniture that will last a lifetime. A sustainable home or as I call it a "patient home" is one that is built slowly over time and filled with things you love, things that you actually use, and things that will last; not with things that are just there for show.

 

The interior of a room can be successfully built around a few anchor pieces. A dining room (if you still have one) is best built around a functional and well-built table. If you plan on staying in your current residence for some time you can choose a table that is right-sized for your existing room. For a long narrow room you may want narrow trestle table with benches. A round table requires a little more space but is more intimate and cozy dining experience. If you need more flexibility from a dining table you should pick one that can be reduced and expanded such as a table with drop leaves.

 

Or maybe your family uses the dining room for fun and it houses a pool table or ping pong table. These fun tables can easily be converted for dining by covering them with plywood and a tablecloth. No one will ever know or care as long as the food is good.

 

My "dining" table is an antique picnic table that works perfectly in my casual home. But don't expect everyone to appreciate your choices in furniture. When my Mom saw the table she declared, "That is the ugliest dining table I have ever seen." Clearly she would never have selected such a table for her home.

 

If you are still looking for that perfect dining table that is made in America, there are several options. But you might have to wait until next year to use it because these gorgeous dining tables are hand-crafted and made to outlast you. 

   
The Harvest Table 
by Thomas Moser is a beautifully hand-crafted drop leaf that will see your family through many holiday dinners. 
 
Moser Dining Table  
 

 

 Photo courtesy of Thomas Moser

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want something a little less formal, the  Fern Trestle Table might be it. This organic table looks like something straight from the forest and might just have a little bit of woodland magic in it. 

 

Fern Harvest Table  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Fern

LIGHT MY FIRE

 

This is the time of year when folks love to sit by a cozy fire. If you have a wood burning fireplace or are spending the holidays in a setting where you will have a fire, please buy the wood locally. Moving wood across state lines or ever across counties can spread pests that are dangerous to the native trees. Besides, buying firewood from local vendors helps a small business and the local economy. Before you light that fire check for local wood. 

 

 

 

YOU MAY NEVER KNOW

Of course we all love to give gifts to those closest to us. But do you ever think about how your donations may provide a most special gift for someone you may never know? As I am writing checks to various non-profit organizations that provide holiday meals for the homeless or near homeless, I began to think of it as a gift for someone I don't know.

 

This gift giving does not just have to be about donating money. For example, the donation of old eye glasses can provide the gift of sight for another - someone you may never know but someone who will be ever so grateful to the stranger who gave. The donation of a coat or a blanket may the most precious gift to someone who might otherwise have a very cold winter. Those cans of food dropped off at the local food pantry might just provide the meal that helps children go to sleep with a full belly instead of hunger pains.


  


Feedback Always Welcome

I hope that you and your family have a most wonderful Thanksgiving.

Eco-Chic Design would like your feedback. Please email [email protected] and tell us what topics you would like to see in your monthly newsletter.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 
  Clutch

Marie L. Brown, LEED AP
Eco-Chic Design



 

 

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