We have this area in the living room/dining area that is definitely underused. I have put an extra table there when we had parties to display cake and cookies on.
After the party was over the table just stood there and collected junk and it always looked untidy.
So the other day when the IKEA catalogue arrived in our mailbox (yes, in Sweden it is delivered in the mail once a year and I usually hold on to it to keep it as reference through out the year if we find that we "need" something) I had a brain wave when I saw a table on the front page that would suit our needs. Needs that hadn't been defined until then.
Isabel started First grade last week and even though she won't have a lot of homework I want to instil a homework routine for her if I can.
During my first years in school I recall preferring to do my homework where my parents were. In our case that usually meant the kitchen (or various conference rooms where my parents went to political meetings to discuss boring grown up stuff while I studied maths or Swedish or somethingorother).
I don't know what Isabel will turn out to prefer but just in case she wants to be where we are then I had to prepare a place for her in the living room.
Both Isabel and Sofia loves to paint and craft which added another dimension to the decision.
This table folds down and takes up about 30 cm (1') of space when not in use. It has three drawers down the middle on either side that although too small to keep paper in are perfect for all the crayons and pens and pencils my girls like to use.
The sides folds up individually and both girls can fit on the same side.
The sheet I use as a background for photographing what I sew make a nice wall protector. It has been sort of an unwanted stepchild, always moved around down stairs and always in the way where ever we put it.
We have since added a piece of moulding to the sheet to keep it from getting stuck to the wall.
Another good thing about this table is that it's the same width and height as our kitchen table so when we have lots of guests we can expand that table using this new one. It folds out and becomes 150 cm (60") long which together with our 210 cm (82") table will seat both our families when we celebrate with room for a few stray friends as well.
I'm pretty sure we'll add to the area if Isabel turn out to use it. I'm considering a better notice board. And I have been thinking about dressing the table in oilcloth to protect it a bit more. Sofia loves to do water colours which is a killer on the table surface.
