I have a soft spot for antique chairs and I have bought many over the years.  The majority of the chairs in our home are old.  I have learned, though, that when it comes to the chairs our family sits in every day for meals, it’s nice to go with chairs that aren’t petite in scale and potentially rickety. The use of “decorative chairs” in our house over the years has become a joke in our family.  Recently, I told Jeff I passed up a $6.00 French-style upholstered chair at a thrift store and his reply was, “Why?  Was it actually comfortable and you could sit in it?” Okay, okay.  I earned that, but I’ve gotten much better at making sure you can sit in all of the chairs in our house. Anyway, in addition to having sturdy chairs, I also wanted ones that were relatively comfortable, with padded seats

Sometimes having a clear vision for how you want a space to look can be a hindrance when trying to finish a room.  It’s usually a good thing, because there is an actionable to-do list.  It can become an obstacle, though, when you know exactly what you want down to the shape, color, size, but you’re having trouble finding it! Such was the case with the mirror for the dining room.  I’ve been looking for one for a few months and have come up empty.  I have looked at local consignment shops, thrift stores, estate sales, and antique stores/malls.  I wasn’t hopeful, but I checked HomeGoods a few times on the off chance they would have one.  I’ve looked on craigslist here and in PA and NC (so I could pick it up when we visited family on the east coast).  I looked when mom and I hit some antique