I am a huge fan of animal prints so of course I love your chargers! There are many different styles that go with those and you've received good ideas already. As soon as I saw them I thot "Ralph Lauren" and there's a bedding pic on his site that shows leopard print with plaid and reds and greens. Have a look about 1/4 of the way down this page: http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/style_guide/ask_ralph/default.asp Another way to go which would be a very masculine table for your DH ;-) would be sort of Indiana Jones meets Ralph Lauren. In the link below it shows leopard print with neutral pillow and leather. I wonder if there's such a thing as brown leather placemats? They'd really set off the leopard chargers - or are they cheetah, I never remember the diff? Beige or cream dinner plate and a darker salad plate with a design. Use whatever you have or find in leather in the centerpiece - a leather box would be good along with some faux cedar, and something wood. Not too rustic. Jeanne's dark wood pedestal would be good! :-) Looking forward to seeing this TS. Here is a link that might be useful: Desert Retreat

Can you adjust the seasoning and turn the mixture into Greek Meatballs or Greek Cabbage Rolls? Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Greek Meatballs With Avgolemono Sauce ===================================== These are extremely tender and flavourful meatballs 1 1/4 lbs Lean Ground Beef 1/2 lb lean ground pork 2 slices of bread, made into crumbs and soaked with milk 3 garlic cloves 1 small grated onion 2 tablespoons chopped parsely 1/2 to 1 cup chopped spinach, squeezed dry 1 tablespoon chopped mint 2 teaspoon grated lemon zest 1 teaspoons dried oregano 2 eggs 1/3 cup uncooked rice salt and pepper to taste Option: Add some fresh chopped dill as well 5 cups chicken broth Sauce 2 egg yolks 1 whole egg juice of 1 large lemon (1/4 cup) 1 1/2 cups of broth (from cooking meatballs) Makes approximately 48 meatballs. As an alternative to the egg/lemon sauce, try doing this instead: Make a roux with butter and flour, add the chicken stock that you cooked the meatballs in, simmer, add some of the hot sauce to an egg yolk and then slowly stir the mixture back into the remaining sauce. Add lemon juice. Add the meatballs and simmer on low for a few minutes. Do not boil if using the egg yolk. . Mix the two meats together well and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well using hands. Saute a small amount to taste for seasoning and adjust seasoning as needed. Form into meatballs the size of walnuts and saute until brown. Drain on paper towels and then add to a pot of chicken broth. Simmer for 40 minutes until tender. Remove meatballs from broth. Strain broth and reserve 1 1/2 cups. Return broth to stove and bring to a boil. Beat egg yolks and egg with lemon juice and slowly whisk the hot broth into egg mixture. Return sauce to sauce pan and heat on low stirring until sauce thickens. Do not bring to a boil. Add meatballs and continute to heat until meatballs are hot and coated with sauce. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Greek Cabbage Rolls in Avgolemono Sauce ======================================= Greek Cabbage Rolls in Avgolemono Sauce 1 large Savoy cabbage (Steam cabbage just long enough so that you can separate the leaves) Chicken broth head of garlic For the Stuffing 1 onion chopped 1/4 cup chopped parsley 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil 1 pound ground pork 2 cloves minced garlic 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill zest from one lemon 3/4 cup to 1 cup of raw rice, Cooked until almost tender. Prepare filling Saute onion in oil or butter until tender. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Mix together the pork, rice, cooked onions, parsley, dill , lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Form the cabbage rolls and place in a deep oven proof casserole. Add enough chicken broth to almost cover. Add a number of peeled and cracked garlic cloves and a few sprigs of dill. Top with any leftover cabbage leaves. Cover and bake for about 2 hours in a low oven (325F). Avgolemono Sauce Rather than make the traditional Avgolemono sauce enriched with eggs, I make a sauce using: 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour 3 cups of chicken broth salt pepper juice of one lemon lemon zest optional Make a roux using the butter and flour. Add the chicken broth and when the sauce is cooked add the juice of one lemon and the zest if using. Season with salt and pepper and serve over the cabbage rolls. Cabbage Rolls can be prepared earlier in the day and then reheat in the Avgolemono sauce.

It's almost like Christmas morning!! I woke up to a many more gifts! Thank you. Karin, thank you for the insight. I absolutely love the idea of an armoire. It would be beautiful, but I do not think practical. I am in those files many, many times each day. The ones to the right of my desk are customer files, the rolling files on the floor hold a few more customer files plus other info I need access to. Patty and Mary, the bookcase idea sounds like a possible as well. Les, you have given me even something more to think about. Several others mentioned this as well -- purpose of this room. As I said, this is a center hall colonial. 20 years ago we added 5' to our family room and added a large sunroom on the back of that. Since that time (and even before that) the living room has just been for show, not function. Several years ago my sons suggested moving my office from the basement, where dry as it was, it was still a basement. I was so very reluctant, because after all I was going to disparage the living room. So I put the desk and files in and bought the screen. While a very large room, shoving everything down just made it worse, because now I had just moved the living room over to make room for the office. I recently got rid of the sofa and two tables. That was great. I had my family room furniture delivered and they would take away any used furniture for free and donate to a furniture bank. I had the sofa and a chair (37 years old). One of the men said he knew someone who could use it and asked if that was okay with me. It felt good because I knew it was going to be put to use. It was in perfect condition - I just didn't want it anymore. Anyway, this has all made me realize that this room is primarily an office and I should embrace that - I am going to start by moving things around. Thank you, Les. I do love the bookcase divider idea as well. I have been thinking of moving the desk anyway, as it is starting to "alligator" in the sun. My father brought this home from work many years ago and refinished it. I can still see his hands on it, so want to preserve it. Les, if you are still out there, --- you mentioned a loveseat to the left as you walk in the room. You cannot see well from the pictures, but there is a very large window there. I don't think I would want a large piece against the window. Thanks again to all who helped me. Now, I just need to break the news to my dear, dear husband that I have yet another "plan".

Thank you everyone for the fabulous ideas! I am on the lookout now for any and all of them! wonbyherwits, that is a great idea. Anything that does double-duty in a small room is an asset! I will check out the local import store to see if they have something similar. syllabus, thanks for all the great ideas. After reading your post, I did a quick search on ebay yesterday and saw some incredible art pottery umbrella stands. Too expensive but I like the idea, maybe I can find a less expensive alternative. And I love gardening, so finding something that's intended for the garden is a great idea too. johnmari, what keywords did you use on the ebay search to find that table by the chair? Love the coffee table too. And I hear you on the sand for anything tippy...the local lamp repair shop guy told me he fills every pottery lamp he gets with sand. And I would use a round wood top on anything, with a pre-schooler in the house. organic, I am in Maine. I check boston.craigslist.org/fur every day, though so far I haven't found anything worth the drive. Thanks for the link. There was something similar at a consigment store down the street from me...I will go take a second look at it. Storage would be a big bonus (as you know, in a small house!). teeda, my ex had one of those magazine tables (belonged to his grandfather), so I know exactly what you're describing. As for price, I guess I would cut off consideration of anything that went over $150. Kind of depends on the piece though. I think I need 3 items. kec01, I am still hopeful of finding a taller plant stand. I might even go ahead and get a rather short one just to have some variation in the height of the tables in the room. There is one chair that could handle it. pfmastin, thanks for the crock photo. I love that look but couldn't visualize how a top would fit. That photo helps. lindasc, I am on the lookout!