Oh, wow- you guys are amazing!!! You have me excited! I think you've talked me out of curtains, ratherbesewing, you are right that they would attract pollen and dirt like crazy....and that would drive me crazy. There is a rug under the wicker furniture, but it is only a 5x7. I might look for a bigger one when I am at Ikea in a few weeks. The large silver thing is a propane heater. We actually don't use it often, and it could probably be put in the garage until the fall. More plants, vines, and candles are easy fixes- I can easily do that. deedee99, I love all of your suggestions! I hadn't thought of painting the table and chairs. The table is old, so I usually just put a tablecloth on it, but I love the idea of painting it. I also love ALL of your textile suggestions. teacats, I picked up some light for the tree today. :-) Thank you all!!

Of course it depends on how you plan to use the area. It's so narrow that I can't imagine it as much of a gathering space, so I would probably make it comfortable for one or two people...maybe a chaise longue with a small table or garden seat used as a table and maybe a small round ice cream parlor type table with two matching chairs. I would add potted plants and other plantings to screen off the house next door.

Sabrina Alfin Interiors - I like the idea of switching out the chairs and light. Getting rid of the table itself isn't an option right now. We purchased and redid a gorgeous craftsman style house in the PNW (the table fit in perfectly there) two years ago, and as soon as we were all settled in we had to relocate to Florida for work. Not too many PNW craftsman styled homes here! With all the expenses of the last few years, a new table isn't on top of the priority list, but new chairs and a chandelier are totally doable. Sammie J, decoenthusiaste, and oaktonmom...agree with you as to the bizarre lay out. As it is now, the dining room is the corner part of an L shaped layout - with a massive TV/great room on one side (not shown in the photos), and the informal seating area (by the kitchen) on the other side. Unfortunately, it isn't an option to flip the rooms. For some electrical code reason (the details are fuzzy), we can't add the type of lighting that we would want for the dining room if we were to swap the rooms. It has something to do with whatever the previous owners had done when they re-plumbed/rewired the house a few years ago. Oddly enough, this layout is very common and preferred in homes in our area.

before spending money on new flooring in there, have you considered upgrading your florescent lighting in the kitchen? Its going to be hard to get true colors on here since that lighting throws off everything. At the very least, remove the light box and replace w/a track light that has LED bulbs. as for flooring, will you be having that countertop for a long time? if so, bring in something that works with it. say, a dark charcoal tile or laminate (depending on what you want) you can try the adhesive tile coverings, but did you know you can paint tile? If you're going to get rid of it anyway, it's a nice option to go with while deciding. SharkTails, peel and stick vinyl 'tiles'