OA, are you trying to put me back to work already? And I was just learning to enjoy being retired! LOL Guess you could tell my ears perked up when all of you mentioned wood placemats because I've actually thought of cutting some to paint--didn't even know there were already some out there! (See I never have an "original" idea!) As Karen knows, I'm the queen of procrastination, so doubt my painting production would be fast enough, you might want to enlist Punk's help--she's a "speedy" painter! I really do like the idea of using something solid as a divider between sets of placemats to make it easier to pull out the ones you need. The ideal storage for placemats would be something like the storage racks the stores have for scrapbooking papers, don't you think? I think Kathleen's friend has a good idea with the lunch trays too--wonder what those cost? Maybe find them at a restaurant supply place???? However, I really like the idea of reuse/recycle something--that way it's less expensive too. The idea of using wood scraps and building some stacked shelving to fit on some shelves in my hall/linen closet has popped in my head a few times too--mainly for separating the sets of dishes, but sure would work for placemats too. Now that would be neat! Luvs P.S. OMG! I just realized that just a board across a couple of wood blocks, or bricks even, would work for adding extra shelves to my linen closet shelves! The existing shelves allow me to stack plates fairly high, but then it's difficult to get to the ones on the bottom of the stack. So neat that this post has sparked some ideas for better storage of things including placemats! Thanks.

Sherry, glad you have decided to go for it. Lori and Robin, just wondered if you have decided to participate or not? I want to add you to the list. Just a reminder - if you are new to the forums and especially if this is your first Swap, make sure that you activitely post over the next few weeks so that your partner will be able to find some current information on you. Most of us like to search the various threads for hints of things that you might like rather than look at a list of likes and dislikes. Also, if you are looking for information on your partner and can't find what you are looking for, then get sneaky and start a thread on the cooking forum that hopefully your partner will post to. Example - Want to know if your partner likes spicy foods? Start a thread asking about favourite Curry or Mexican foods. Or maybe you are thinking of including something BBQ or Grill related. Start a related thread. Ann

What you have is "plasticizer migration." The chemicals in the placemat that keep it soft and flexible has migrated into the finish and done the same there. The damage is in the finish, not on the finish. If the damage is not too bad, you might be able to buff it out with some 0000 steel wool. If there is a dark toner (finish with color in it), it might lighten the spot some. You can get more lacquer finish in aerosol cans and if you can get a good match on the color, also toner in aerosol. There is also a chance the damage is all the way through the finish, in which case it's more difficult. A good touch-up technician may be able to recover for you. It would be worth trying in an attempt to avoid stripping and refinishing the whole top. Steam cleaner is not good -- stop that now. You may have damaged your table's veneer or finish using that.

I think it's cool that this thread started in 2007 and still lives, and thanks to all for keeping it alive, it is very inspirational. This is going to be a long post, so sorry about that. I'm sick, so lots of couch time yesterday, and I finally caught up on a few decorating mags. April's Elle Decor has several homes that sort of qualify as coastal, breezy, etc., though with more of a multi-cultural flare than the strict British Colonial. There is one beach house in Brazil that is nicely done; casual, quirky and fun. Even though we live at the 44th parallel, and as I write have ice on the pond and snow on the ground, I love the styles posted in this tread and the combo of having some time to think and seeing this thread again has given me an idea for our screened porch. We built this house 5 years ago, and 3 years ago finally screened in the porch (on the east side, we have a SW exposure and get hot afternoon sun, even up here in NNY, the porch is respite from that). The flooring and ceiling are lyptus, and we have wicker furniture, some white, some dark green with white and green striped cushions. Classic, yes, but we already have a lot of green, house exterior, LR, entry way, MBR, and while they are all different greens, I wanted something different. So, I sprayed the wicker dining table base a tomato red, sprayed the dining chairs purple and had new cushions made for the dining chairs in some Sunbrella fabric I have toted around for umpteen years. It's a very crisp stripe; yellow, green, purple, red, aqua, blue and white, and since I'm not a crisp gal, it was bold move for me. In the porch seating area I sprayed the white chairs a deep, glossy brown and painted the desperately faded cushions an ivory color. And while it looked OK, I could not put my finger on why it didn't feel right. Seeing this thread again has helped me to diagnose the problem, the look, while cute, is too cottagey, and the porch is more coastal. Aha! So, once the weather breaks, I'm going to spray the dining table base and chairs a deep blue (pulled from the stripe in the cushion) and probably paint the green wicker the deep glossy brown. Then I'll bring in some white and a lighter, but still strong, blue (sort of the colors Target is featuring in their latest collection of melamine plates, navy, white and indigo, I think, I'm not sure what color the lighter blue is called). I would also paint the currently green house walls that are the back of the porch the color of the trim out there now (BM Sailcloth) and maybe get a sisal rug. The wicker couch has been moved out, it wasn't working in the space, and in its place we brought in 2 smaller, vintage chairs, one wicker, one sort of 1950's porch furniture, with wide arms and a wooden frame. I'll need new cushions made for the wicker, not sure of the print, will paint first, make cushions later (I paint and paint is cheap, I don't sew and cushions are $$$). Here are a few pics of the porch, what do you think? Would that work or am I kidding myself that a porch in this style would work in the far north? I should add that we are on the water, so that does add some legitimacy (she says hopefully) to the "coastal" thing. The pics are 3 years old, and don't reflect the brown painted furniture, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the space. Dining area: LR area: Thank you for listening to my ramble, hope I haven't bored anyone to tears- sandyponder