Thanks so much for the offer, Bob. We do have Cox Cable, and it is connected to the TV monitor. Our VCR-DVD is a Toshiba DVR620KU, and the TV is a Samsung Led TV monitor, SyncMaster, series 3, TA350 and series 5, TA550, whatever that means. I don't know which letters and figures may be useful, so am repeating them all. I am sorry for not having gotten back to this problem for several months. There has been illness in the family, as well as computer problems, which are now solved, hopefully, with the aid of a friend, and what with personal problems and job demands, I just didn't feel like concentrating on the TV/recording problem. What I want most now, and can't do, is to record TV shows. Not HD or HBO or anything--just a few KPBS or sit-com things. Our TV cable service is basic. A visitor showed me that with an HDMI cable, I can watch tapes and DVDs from the Toshiba unit, a step in the right direction. However, I seem unable to bring up anything on the TV screen that will let me record to either the tape or the DVD. There is no place to plug in a coaxial cable to the Toshiba, so I figure that any recording would have to be from signals sent from the TV. (In fact, even if I could send signals directly from the cable connector in the wall to the Toshiba, there would still be no way to select channels to be recorded.) The problem is that all the ports and other places for hitching the TV to the Toshiba are labeled "IN" and, unlike our old TV, there are none for "OUT". Well, Bob, or any other kind person, does it seem that there may still be a way to record to the Toshiba device? Even to be able to record to VHS tapes would be great.

Those above are from Amibience Dore. When you Google use *Modular Office Furniture* as your keywords. You can just buy the cabinets and drawer units without buying the desks or specialty units. They come in styles from Modern to Traditional. Places like Office Max may carry the type you like. I'm not sure if a particular style is important to you for a ceramics studio or if you just want function, but you may want to check out *Modular Garage Storage Units* also. They are sturdy and grease and dirt repellent but more casual in looks. Places like Home Depot have them. You may be able to get what you want cheaper by having them made for you according to your specs. They can be built and have plastic laminate like Formica put over them. Price this option. Depending on the area where you live, it may be the cheaper route or more expensive.

Do those upper shelve serve any purpose? With simple butted seams and no support in the middle on an extremely long shelf, it seems like they would hold almost no weight without causing a sag/gap in the middle. If you use wood filler and a lot of sanding you should be able to hide the seam on the shelf under the TV. I would also ensure there is a support piece under that seam that holds it together and prevents sagging. Its not like the TV will fall down, but the weight is right on top of that seam, so it will droop. Bruce

Sorry, I misunderstood, I thought you lived in a small house and the area pictured was the only space available to serve both as dining and living. I think you should do as someone above mentioned and cut cardboard to the different sizes that you are considering and see what you think will work best for you and your family. Your son did a very nice job on the table. I looked closely at it while considering the drop leaf table and thought how nice it looked. However, thinking that the room had to serve both as living and dining area it needed smaller scaled furnishings.