Through the years my husband and I have moved four times. When we were first married we lived in a duplex in a small suburb of the city we worked in. This duplex was the upper level of an older home. We did not have much money when we were first married. We each had lived on our own for a few years after college. We had always shared apartments with friends. When we moved in together we had bedroom furniture and living room furniture, but no table and chairs. There was a counter in the kitchen so we decided that we would use bar stools at the counter to eat our meals. We were given a card table and chairs as a wedding gift, so we could set that up if we were going to have a couple over for supper. The folding chairs were metal and not very comfortable. I bought chair cushions for them and a round top to put on the table that converted it into a table for six and also made it sturdier. The round top was hinged so it could be folded and stored under a bed.
After we were married a year we bought an old farm house. It was small, but it was remodeled and we loved having our own space. The kitchen area of the house had a built in table and benches. This was in a bay window area, so it was a great place to eat meals. There was no formal dining area so we did not purchase a dining set. I bought chair cushions to replace the ones that were on the bench. I bought a country valance for the top of the bay windows and found chair cushions that matched. The table was homey and was like sitting in a booth at a restaurant.
Our next house was triple the size of our first. We had a formal dining area, an informal dining area and a den. The design of the house was very opened. There was also a kitchen counter that had room for four stools. For our first month in the new house we ate at the counter because we did not have tables to place in the dining areas. Some friends called and asked if they could come over to see the house. They said they would stop and bring a pizza along. We dug out our folding table and chairs. I had saved the chair cushions so we tied them on and covered the table with a cloth. The table and chairs looked very small in the formal dining area.
Today we are back in a small farm house. We live on a lake so we traded a big house to have the luxury of lakeside living. We now have two dining room tables and chairs. One set is over a hundred years old. The wood chairs are not very comfortable so I again bought chair cushions to place on the seats. I am sure as we age we most likely will go full circle and move into a duplex.
