greywings, The opening facing the fireplace is to the front entry of the house. It kind of divides the fireplace in half. I hadn't thought of putting the chairs in front of the fireplace. And my dh would love to put an sectional where you are suggesting. He's suggested that a few times. It would have to be a fairly small one since that is not a few big area. Here is a picture looking at the fireplace from the foyer. (Please ignore that ugly green paint that I've since painted over!) And another older one looking more directly where the two recliners are now. (Sorry it's so blurry) Also, what would you put in the corner to the left behind the recliners? Since that's looking into the room from the entrance, would looking at the back of the recliners looks good? I could put a table between them, but a lamp would be difficult without using a rug behind them to reach the outlet. Thanks for the help. I've been struggling with the shape of this room for some time. I've even tossed up the idea of closing in that opening that leads from the foyer, but it would be strange to walk into the house and directly towards the kitchen area. (of course, everyone always heads that way anyhow!) Robbi

clinresga-don't mean to hijack here - but OMG - that dishwasher thread! I mean really. My kitchen will have 1 dishwasher and no prep sink... That two way trash pull-out is really cool! I think it makes sense that they are both for trash - since they aren't full extension glides. Otherwise, I think it would be hard trying to get the trash in when you are on the recycling side, if that makes sense.

I do this on a small scale. I love working on all sorts of projects, from furniture to funky clothing/purses, etc. But my apartment is too stuffed as it is. Every year there is a neighborhood wide yard sale on a Saturday in May, and I haul a ton of stuff out to get rid of it. My prices are stupid low -- because I really want to get rid of stuff. I get the fun of finding things, doing something with them -- then I don't have to live with them! I just wish, wish, wish I had some storage/work space. It keeps me from working on larger pieces of furniture. And this neighborhood is sooooo obliging about throwing out near perfect pieces.... One question I have, for those who've done this often; how do you handle taxes? An attorney friend told me that you don't have to declare income from yard/garage sales because the assumption is that you are selling at a fairly significant loss, but when you pay little or nothing for the raw elements, and sell at a reasonable profit -- do you declare the income? Best of luck with your sale, Margo -- and I hope you have many more in the future!

You can squirrel/racoon proof a pole mounted bird feeder. Use plastic plumbing pipe of 4 inches Inside Diameter or larger. Merely lift the feeder off its pole and slip the pipe over the pole and remount the feeder. For a little extra deterrent, add an umbrella shaped guard at the top, one that made for the skinny pole. Carefully determine the length of the pipe and cut. Cut the pipe a bit long for the first try, temporarily assemble, and measure for the final cut. The pipe will be in the way for getting to the normal clamps for mounting the feeder. To fix this, fasten a pipe flange to the bottom of the feeder and screw in a short length of water pipe. Use a size that just slips inside the aluminum feeder pole. A pipe lenght of 5 inches or so will work. To mount the feeder, put the pipe inside the pole and let the feeder rest on top by its own weight. There's no need to clamp it in place unless you wish to hurricane/tornado proof the installation. Mine has stayed in place in wind gusts up to 60 mph. As an alternative, the pipe could be used in place of the aluminum pole that comes with most feeders. However, you'd have to devise a way to mount the feeder and the pipe would require a larger hole in the groud to install. The lazy way is to slip the pipe over the existing feeder pole. I have deterined by experiment that the pipe must be 4 inch or larger. Racoons can get enough grip on a 3.5 inch pipe to climb it. The pipe must be one piece with no joints. A joint ring or seam may aid the animal's grip. The pipe soon pays for itself in reduced loss of bird feed and feeder damage. The racoons will be greatly frustrated for the first few days until they resign themselves to what drop to the ground. They will, however, dig and tear up the ground under the feeder. Evetually, their visits will diminish. If the racoons have a nest nearby, they will continue to attempt to thwart any barrier between them and food or shelter. Make sure they do not have any way to gain access to a roof of your buildings. Both squirrels and racoons will enlarge any small opening they find on a roof structure to gain entry. Trim away any overhanging tree branches; Remove vines.