Friday, May 2, 2008

Kitchen Table

Kitchen Table

The kitchen table is often a gathering place in many homes. This is true at my mother’s house, as you can always find her sitting there. She spends a lot of time there, and I suspect the reason is that she can’t stand any of the things her husband watches on television. If I go to visit her, I know just where to find her, and I know that if I stay, I’ll be sitting there with her. This has always been the way things go there, and I imagine it will be that way for a long time to come.

My mother hasn’t been to my house many times because it’s a long driver for her. However, the first time she did make it up, she was dismayed to find that I didn’t have a kitchen table. I have one, but it’s usually covered with bills, clean clothes, or whatever crafts my daughter has been doing that day. We rarely eat at my kitchen table, so it’s never really clean and spotless. There are always reasons to use it for something else, and the biggest reason is space.

My place is small, and my kitchen table is actually in what should be the dining room. It’s not a dining room though; it’s just a small extension of the kitchen. This is the only place where one might put a kitchen table, and due to lack of space, I have to use it to fold laundry and as a catchall for whatever comes in the house that day. She told me she’d come visit more when I have a proper kitchen table for her to use, though I know she is only kidding. It’s a long running family joke about my mom and her table, and she loves to play along.

If your kitchen table is more of a gathering place than anything else, you may know what I am talking about. It doesn’t matter where you meet up, as long as you do. Even though we don’t really eat there now, I know one day we will. Sometimes the amount of space you have dictates how you do things. My mother understands this, but it doesn’t stop her from asking me if I have gotten my kitchen table cleaned off each time she calls. One day, I think I might do it just to surprise her, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll even buy a tablecloth.

Kitchen Wallpaper Designs

Choosing wallpaper for your kitchen is something that needs to be ordered with care. It’s not that papering in this important room of your house shouldn’t be done, but it’s a room that has a lot of stuff going on in it. No other room expect your bathroom, has as much temperature change as this room. Check out what you need to consider if you want to paper in this room with your kitchen wallpaper.

You’ve got to live with the design, and if you don’t choose wisely you might tear it down. Worse yet, you might just dread going into the kitchen area, and a few meals might be skipped too. Remember, before you wallpaper that it will be the most noticeable thing you can do to that area of the house. The walls in your kitchen are the pallet for decorating because it defines the style and entire look of the kitchen area. Kitchen wallpaper is a great idea, and you shouldn’t be limited with other ideas like border too.

It comes in a variety of different styles, and the cost of it ranges from high to low priced. If you’re concerned about price, look around for sales. Be wary though, when sale prices are at rock bottom, you might not find enough paper to cover the area you want in your kitchen. Usually, a medium priced paper is the best way to go, but before you stick it to your walls; you’ll need to read how to clean it. For an easy to clean wallpaper, use washable wallpaper for your kitchen wallpaper.

Cleaning it is only half the battle. If you don’t want a type that is paper thin, and easily absorbs dirt and grime, then pick one that is heavy and with a plastic coating on the outside. Believe it or not, certain wallpapers come with a plastic coating on the outside. You can wash the walls down without tearing the paper, but always use the recommended cleaning solution on it. The goal is not to destroy the plastic poly covering on your kitchen wallpaper.

Style considerations are the color of your counter tops, and the pattern on your floor. If you’ve got a busy floor, pick kitchen wallpaper that is neutral in color and one that enhances your floor pattern. The color of your cabinets and draperies in the area are important too. Don’t ever paper and then change them. You could tear it, but it could certainly clash with the colors. It would be heartbreaking to plan and work on the walls, and then have to change the kitchen wallpaper.

Finally, there are all kinds to choose from, but make sure it’s what you like, and that it makes you feel great about preparing meals. It might be a good idea to just put a border up, or only wallpaper one side of the room for the right effect of kitchen wallpaper in that hard working area of your house.