Mine is usually open. One cat is usually hiding in my closet, which is off my bathroom. I keep the closet door open and the bathroom door closed. Bathroom is off my bedroom, and I leave the bedroom door open. So she has lots of room, and access to water if her bowl gets empty. Buddy, my new 'shadow', is always behind me, or almost glued to my let. He would sleep on my head if I'd let him. But, I usually can push/move him over enough so I can turn over. Leslie

Gorgeous piece Tom!! You should be very proud-I'm sure it will be treasured! Can I give you a tip? We have a dresser that has been passed down the generations. We got name plates engraved with the babies name and birthday and lined them up in order of use on the inside of one door. My daughters are numbers 6 and 7! 3 generations and hopefully my girls can use it one day and continue the tradition! Might be nice if you could do something like that too?

"I put my foot down though when he wants to go out to dinner in January in shorts - not with this wife." So my guess is his "other wife" allows him to wear the shorts out to dinner in January? LOL ;) You know painting over wallpaper is something I never gave a thought to. Sure it could "seem" easier to some people wanting paint instead of the wallpaper that was currently there, but adding moisture over a waterbased paste, to anyone with any sense at all, would realize it would only cause said paste to loosen. But then how ever said most people were that smart, huh? And yes, your hubby has great legs. And arms. I have one of those at home too. And you are correct. Sharing photos and all the comments received is the best way to get more work out of them. They are very easy. Funny, I never would have though while I was in high school that marrying a Jock would be a good thing. But as it turns out, it was a very good idea. Good thing I didn't know him when he was in highschool. I'd have stayed clear for sure. Though I know your guy is also a brain, as is mine. Lucky us.

One problem with making this decision is that your needs change as your family grows - both in number and in years. For example my sister in law put an island in her new kitchen instead of a table when her kids were small. The twins were constantly falling off the tall stools,and she really liked the idea of gathering around a table for family dinner so she ripped out the island, and bought a table. That was several years ago. Now she is missing the workspace (and her prep sink, which went away with the island) and, regrettably, there are fewer opportunities for family dinners with older kids rushing off to sports and other evening activities. We are fortunate enough to have room for a peninsula with seating as well as a table. But it does seem somewhat redundant. Especially as we also have a dining room with table (which I'm certain will never get used except holidays.) However, we are a family of 6, so we could never fit entirely around a peninsula or island. I do think kitchen tables are underutilized especially when entertaining - everyone crowds in the kitchen and some perch themselves on a peninsula barstool, but who goes and sits at the kitchen table? I think it's because it is so low compared to the rest of the counters. A friend of mine bought a counter-height kitchen table and tall chairs to try and include the table area more in the overall kitchen scheme. I thought about that but I found a traditional round kitchen table that I really love so I am going with that.