One more comment. Many gun death accidents happen with *unloaded guns* So even keeping ammo in a separate location from the gun in not foolproof, because all it takes is for one time to *think* the gun is not loaded when it is. My Dad was a gunsmith growing up. We were taught all the gun safety. On the way back from a Utah deer hunting trip (from So CA) all five of us kids in the back of the van and my parents up front. My oldest brother was carrying in one rifle into the house and blew a hole in the living room ceiling through the roof with the *unloaded* rifle that had traveled home from Utah to So CA in the back of the van. Another incident. Guns were locked up. My twin brothers were crazy anyways as in always doing stuff they shouldn't. One time after school I remember seeing my brothers in the utility room Showing one of their friends some handguns or one handgun. They were handling it. I think they were talking about shooting it in the backyard (can't remember exactly) but I was SCARED. All us kids KNEW not to touch or break into the guns. Period. It was drilled into us. Ummmm teens (boys or girls) have hormones raging through them, curiousity.. they Cannot see the danger as they have immature brains. That is all there is to it! Lets see .. one boy in our neighborhood lost his eye to a BB gun. ANY way to rationalize it and try to make a clear argument there is no excuse for locking away guns. I KNOW it defeats the purpose to have a gun for personal protection if you can't reach it quickly AND it be loaded .. but there is no easy answer! Thought I would share my stories

this is interesting to see the varied points of view and strong opinions on what is really a very innocuous matter. that said, for what it's worth, i am in the "not for daily wiping" camp. my cabinets are 1950's era coppes-napanee solid wood. i've wiped them down maybe twice in the eight years i've lived in my house, and never the inside doors(!). yes, i'm clean; and no, i'm not lazy! but get this, my new housekeeper wipes them down once a week with murphy's and i have actually noticed that the finish looks worse (duller and streakier)!. sadly, because of roof damage, i'm having to gut the whole kitchen and replace the cabinets anyway. -- just my two cents.

I think toe kick drawers are the neatest thing--especially in a small kitchen. Mushcreek, on the Kitchens forum, took a different tack and incorporated the toe kick space into the bottom drawer on each of his base cabinets. For those who didn't know they exist: images of toe kick drawers/steps

So much creativity and so many good ideas. And I love seeing pictures. Susan Davis's of the way the orange was pulled throughout the room was helpful. On that note, her comment made me realize how much the rug in that room has faded. The rust used to be more red than it is now! I love the idea of moving a shelf. Never occurred to me. And the suggestions of where to look for art and rugs. I hate to confess this, though — this morning, before I went to work, I moved the sofa back to original position. Please don't hate me! I think Anele's comment about her living room arranged that way looking better in pictures than it did real life points to something. I thought the pictures of with the sofa floated made my living room look the best it ever had. The reality, not so much. From the pictures you just can't see the broad green Berlin Wall the back of the sofa makes. But don't give up on me! I may even float the sofa again before I go to work tomorrow at this rate. I'm mulling curtains (keep or change?), rug and art ideas, and maybe something less boxy that I could use as a media stand.