I realize that some of you are still hunkered down trying desperately to survive the bitterly cold winter armed with only your Snuggies and gas fireplaces, much like the Ingalls family in “The Long Winter”. However, here in South Texas, I do believe winter is officially over.
We did have some cold weather over the weekend and I tried to take full advantage by making Caroline wear this darling corduroy jumper to church on Sunday since I know it won’t fit her next year. She agreed to the jumper, but when I suggested she wear it with her fur boots she told me, “I’m just not feeling the boots.”
Okay, Rachel Zoe.
You mark my words, there will come a day this summer when she will have a fit to wear those dang fur boots with her swimsuit to the pool and I’ll have to launch into my time-honored lecture on seasonally appropriate clothing. You can bet Caroline Ingalls never had to deal with this kind of stuff. Her girls were just grateful to have some new calico for a dress.
Why am I rambling? I think the steady stream of reality t.v. this week has reduced my I.Q. by at least 45 points. Points I can’t spare, by the way.
Anyway, my point is that winter is over. In fact, this is how we spent the afternoon yesterday.
(Please ignore the paint spills on the steps. Some hack just recently painted our backhouse.)
Actually, before we started in on the popsicles we gave the dogs a bath because they were beginning to stink up the whole neighborhood. P took them to the ranch on Tuesday and Scout, in particular, has never met any type of excrement that he doesn’t want to roll in.
I couldn’t find the dog shampoo but, thanks to Pantene, their coats have never looked so lustrous and shiny.
After the dog baths, we enjoyed some popsicles and played some tee-ball until Caroline fell on our sidewalk and then launched into a twenty-minute rant about how we needed to have those sidewalks removed. She DOES NOT LIKE those sidewalks! Why did Daddy put those sidewalks in our yard? It’s all HIS FAULT.
Or maybe it’s her fault for not looking where she was running. But I didn’t point that out because, good grief, don’t anger it any further.
While I was out in the backyard, I finally remembered to take a picture of the completed backhouse. And by completed, I mean that everything is now painted that you actually see and the rest is hidden by the landscaping so what’s the point?
(Please ignore Scout licking himself. It’s who he is.)
(Also, I don’t know why that window is open. Totally ruins the picture.)
I am just so relieved that I finally finished the project, even if it did bring me to the edge of sanity and reason. It just goes to show that if you work really hard, go to college, and earn a degree, that someday you can grow up to paint your own garage. God bless America.
So now that I’m finished with the backhouse, I have another home improvement project on tap. This one doesn’t involve any sort of manual labor because, NEVER AGAIN. It’s more of a home decor issue and I could use some decorating input.
Like most of the free world, we own a coffee table. It’s the same coffee table we’ve owned for the last ten years and I have no complaints about the table itself. It’s perfectly lovely and functional.
At one time, prior to Caroline’s birth, the coffee table used to have some actual decor-type items on it. But then I had to put those items away because most child-rearing manuals will tell you it’s not a good idea to let an 18-month-old walk around carrying wrought iron candlesticks.
I replaced what was on the table with two stacks of various coffee table books because apparently I am very literal about them being called “coffee table” books. The problem is that P likes to prop his feet up on the coffee table and would push the books off EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. Then we’d end up having the same discussion EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, which was basically “WHY DO YOU WANT TO MAKE MY LIFE SO HARD?”
Finally, I gave up and moved the books off the table because my blood pressure can only go so high.
Which brings us to how the table looks as of today.
Granted, if your decor is supposed to reflect your lifestyle, then I think we’re doing a pretty good job. Classy, elegant and filled with processed sugar and Disney Princess light-up wands.
Am I wrong to want more out of a coffee table? Is there any hope for me?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. The only criteria is that whatever I use as decor needs to be cheap, and, by cheap, I mean free.
Muchas gracias.
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Thanks for the laugh this morning. I love your last comment, “…needs to be cheap, and, by cheap, I mean free.” LOL, girl!!! I hear ya! I’m in the same boat.
BTW, your back house looks great! I’m with you, why bother painting parts no one is gonna will see?
Be Blessed. Have a great day!
We have this same coffee table battle at our house. Both hubby and youngest think the coffee table is their own private laptop perch, and of course they also want their feet up there. I do manage to keep the coffee table books on there – - – but they are surrounded 99% of the time by feet and laptops and other male accessories.
I have no solutions, but I do feel your pain!
Hmmmm. That’s why we did away with the entire coffee table thing. I bought a hassock instead.
I’ve tried and tried to get my 11 year old step-son to use a coaster and finally I’ve succeeded! I just kept picking up his cup and putting on top of his Ipod, DS and laptop…he finally gets it and uses a coaster ALL THE TIME!!! Now my coffee table is covered with coasters because he puts them there.
Passive/Aggressive behavior triumphs!
I know that I’m repeating myself, but I do love to read your blog first thing in the morning.. you are just so funny.. you can make my day!!
Sorry that I have no suggestions for the coffee table. I have found, in a room that is lived in, the coffee table can’t be a decorative item. Ours contains three tv remotes, and at night, feet.
Big Mama-
I got rid of my coffee table when the little kids began to use it as a launching pad onto our couches. But, I resurrected that thing this weekend to put that stupid TV on it that now requires me to get rid of my Armoire? Why do the TV companies all get together and decide to do Armoire sized TV’s and then secretly meet in another 8-9 years and decide that they are done with that nonsense and now you have to have a “table.” I’m so confused. It really is a conspiracy….
Our coffee table became such a catch all, snack bar, mess that we decided to just donate it to Goodwill! Best decorating choice I ever made!
Maybe some day when the kids are grown I will have you again my sweet, sweet table of coffee!
Be Blessed,
Amy (Honestly)
What a screech you are! Sour Patch kids and M&Ms. Love it! Decorating is my last capability. So much so that because of the kids we have no coffee table, nor do I see one in the near future EVER. Just something we would have to move when we play Nintendo Wii! Backhouse looks great by the way!
The only reason my coffee table doesn’t have ‘stuff’ all over it is because we’re trying to sell our house. It now has a stack of about 5 magazines and an empty bowl. I’d love a fully decorated coffee table (with coffee table books, maybe a candle and a picture of my family). It’ll never happen – at least not in a room that’s actually lived in.
Check out this dude:
http://www.eddieross.com/eddie_ross/
He does nice things with flea market things and some craft store supplies.
That last part would baffle me but I have higher hopes for you.
Love reading your blog Big Mama, you are a great wake up in the morning! Our coffee table was over run by the Wii games and stuff, as well as the 5, yes FIVE, remotes for the tv/stereo. I also like magazines on the table. So we finally got a remote caddy (wodden box) for the remotes, a flat basket for the magazines, another small basket for the Wii remotes and are using a DVD holder for the Wii games. It doesn’t look “decorated” but at least everything is in its place. Not sure it this is much help, but good luck!
Thanks too for the pic of the backhouse…great job! You paint like I dust and clean–only where people are going to see it!
Have a blessed day~Megan
We don’t have a coffee table. It usually ends up as a catch-all. I like the feel of our room without it.
Your backhouse looks great. And you can always point to it and go over how you did it all alone when you ask P to do something big around the house.
Did the paint ever come off the dog?
Great post. I love any post that has Seinfeld reference.
I had your same coffee table woes with my kids and husband.
I tried many things, but my favorite………. I found an old, antique dough bowl that was just wide enough to hold my magazines/books. It looks so pretty, doesn’t break, and my husband just sits it on the floor at night when he needs a place to put his feet. Mine was free! It belonged to my husband’s grandmother. Good luck!
Baskets are the answer!
Caroline without shoes and a short sleeved shirt is killing this displaced Texan. We still have snow on the ground and Spring is nowhere in sight.
That’s almost exactly what my coffee table looks like! I even bought a new one with a cute tray to go on top but the clutter has just moved to the tray and all around it. I have no advice in this department because I like piles and apparently can’t quit making them
I too was tired of all the above mentioned things so I REMOVED the coffee table. end.of.story.
back house looks great! it is so good to know that my daughters college education will be good for something:)
carla
Love it! Be glad you get to have a coffee table, ours has been banished to the garage for the past 3 years…..one two many goose eggs on toddler head.
Be happy with what you have, some of us have none. Sad.
I second the basket idea. How about a “tray-type” basket, maybe black, from someplace like Pier One. I have one like that, with handles, that sits on the landing on our stairs. I toss things in it that need to find their home back upstairs and carry the basket up at the end of the day (ONCE) and unload it. It looks stylish sitting there empty or with toys in it. You could put in a couple of magazines and a candle or something, then you can pick it up and move it anytime you need to use the table.
After reading Jon’s post on Stuff Christians Like about going first … well, let me just say “thank you”. For showing me that your coffee table gets messy, just like mine. We’re all in this together…
The backhouse looks great, btw… and we may just be able to do popsicles tomorrow here in Georgia (after doing snow on Sunday.. gotta love the South).
First of all, I think the back house looks great and I KNOW from experience what a hard job it is to scrape and pint. Actually, it’s all the prep that is hard to me…once that is done, the painting is a breeze!!!
Next, does he still put his feet on the coffee table? Cause that would determine what I would suggest to put on it!!
Last, Caroline is a hoot and I’ve said this like 1,0000000000 times: She WILL BE my grandaughter!! I just feel it!!!
Oh my word, your coffee table looks just like mine! So, obviously, I can offer no advice…I just wanted to chime in.
I say let the coffee table go. Any vertical surface will collect stuff! Even before children I could not own a coffee table because my Rottweiler (whose tail I kept rather than bobbing) uses the aforementioned tail as a weapon of mass destruction for any lovely home decor items. Fortunately the house was pretty much childproofed because of her!
Oh, the warm weather sounds so wonderful — it has been in the 30s-40s and raining for the last 3 weeks in Shanghai. Sigh.
For the coffee table — I had one of those simple wooden trays on mine, so that at least I could contain the candy/clutter and make it look like it was there on purpose. That is about the extent of my decorating skills: hide and disguise. (I’m sure that I have been a huge help.)
BTW, how are you feeling about the Aggies?
I think the pink wand is the perfect decorating accessory. Most of my decor consisted of fine jewels like that. Now it consists of whatever my sweet jack russell terrior/king charles spaniel can find and chew. You should find Kramer and see if he has anymore of the Coffee Table coffee table books
.
Love the picture of Miss Sassy eating her popsicle.
I’d pretty much give it up. I’ve learned the hard way that 5 year old girls rule the house. The End.
There is no hope for the coffee table as long as there are kids in the house. Or husbands.
I came to your blog through UncommonBlonde and love your sense of humor!
I’ve never had a coffee table in my life because of the whole feet on the table issue. Like others though, I have resorted to an ottoman and that seems to work well. It’s not free but you could always upholster the top of your table to make an ottoman.
My breakfast bar however, looks just like your table. Right down to the M&Ms in the Waterford.
Btw, I’m a Yankee and I’ve got to ask… what is a “backhouse”?
i hope you don’t mind. i sent your coffee table to martha stewart and house beautiful. they’ll be using if for inspiration for next month’s magazine covers. it really is a stroke of brilliance. it’s sweet, functional, colorful, health inspiring (not one but TWO water bottles, and different mineral springs, too!), and fanciful. let’s see martha do that!!
why mess with perfection?
i solved the feet on table issue by adopting our rather oversized ottomon into the coffee table. i use a tray to house the “decor” items) and remove the decor when we need to eat (which sadly, we do on occasion in front of the tube). but i hear ya with the man-why-do-you-have-to-make-my-life-miserable attitude about decorating in general.
man = cave. get used to it!
Our coffee table went not long after its decor did. Our first-born was learning to walk and hit his head on it. Bye-bye coffee table! 5 years later and it’s still gone. I don’t miss it – no decorating delimmas! But I could use a place to keep the sour patch kids. Hmmmm….
I was having similar issues with coffee table books. We moved our coffee table out and replaced it with a big oversized ottoman (that goes with a chair and a half in the same room)
It is awesome because it is meant to have feet on it and there is not pressure to put other stuff on it.
Mama is finally happy.
Is there a place where you can stick a basket (like underneath the table)? One of those cool wicker baskets and just through everything in there? We do that in our bedroom and it works great.
Love the backhouse! You did a great job. Yeah, did the paint ever come off of Scout?
My “coffee table” is a steamer trunk. Our regular coffee table turned into a stage for dancing. I hope my 17 month old is not destined for table dancing.
I think decorating with a bowl of M&Ms is just lovely. Of course, in my house it would be an empty bowl of M&Ms.
My only suggestion would be a vase of flowers, but that may not be the best idea.
Cheap solutions from IKEA (the mother ship that calls me home) –
Basket perfect for holding the remotes & hairbrush
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90119170
Keep the candy, but ditch the Waterford…super cute earthy-looking bowls
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00132642
If you must have something decorative, I’d go the candle route (minus the sticks)
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40111534
You can even put the candle grouping on a plate that matches (or coordinates with) your candy bowls
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40132635
Don’t even try to keep books/magazines on top…but for this one, I’m sending you to Walmart (so you can also pick up some $5 scarves clearanced out for $3)
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7894855
I’m not sure I’ve commented before, but I think you are absolutely hilarious. I love reading your blog…it puts a smile on my face every day.
I can also very much relate to your story about Caroline falling down and the comment, “…Don’t anger it any further.” I have a 4.5 year old girl and we have had the same exact sidewalk conversation many times. Life with girls is so dramatic!
I have no advice for you about the coffee table. If you could see the current state of my house, you would thank me for the lack of advice, because really, that is a blessing. Who has time to decorate? I can barely clean!!
Good luck and congrats on the backhouse completion. No matter how long it took, it was less time than my master bath painting project that got derailed due to slow-drying spackle….you don’t even want to know how long that took!
Christina from Indiana
I’m just jealous that your coffee table has a bowl of M&M’s and a bag of Sour Patch Kids. My table only has candle holder with a medium sized pomagrante candle it. Mind you the candle hasn’t even been burned yet and it’s been there for months I tell you months.
Hi there,
Your blog makes me laugh so much! We do not have the footrest problem because we don’t have a tv downstairs (or in our bedroom). We have, however, had to move all our nice decorator items to higher places because the 18 month old is crazy. He’s child number 5 and the first I have ever had to move things for. I’m *slowly* learning that it’s fun for a house to look lived in and seeking perfection in that area can be overwhelming.
Hope you have a great day! The garage looks awesome!
When you have kids and a husband, that’s exactly how your coffee table should look. Congratulations! I love it!
I normally kept a small flower arrangement (I had the flower lady make me a dried flower arrangement) on a doily in the middle of my coffee table. That way they could still put their feet up and put the remote there, etc. At Christmas time I put a Santa and his sleigh on there with a candle. I am all about the decorating! NOT lol. Right now I have no coffee table upstairs because both my couches have recliners. The old coffee table is downstairs and it is sporting a remote. That’s it! lol
Good luck
Hugs,
Marie
p.s. my kids are grown.
p.p.s. I come here to have a chuckle and your Caroline never fails me. Thank you for that Caroline!
I too tried to have the Pottery Barn coffee table thing going on for many years….a few cluttery remotes and outdated People magazine issues later, I decided to make it more functional and less Feng Shui (Lord I hope I spelled that right)….so what did I do? Well, not sure if Caroline is like my kiddos but there is definetly a connection between sitting on our couch…and wanting food! So I found a really cool (on clearance) ginormous ceramic bowl at Target and filled it with (prewashed)apples and bananas….and continue to be SHOCKED at how they go through that stuff! Either they REALLY like apples and bananas or (what I really hate to think is true) they are too lazy to get up and go to the kitchen to get a snack so the fruit will suffice!
I still have those Pottery Barn fantasies…but I figure one day the fruit bowl will be full with no one around to empty it….so Pottery Barn will have to wait! Fruit doesn’t keep and neither do kids!
My daughter is 3 1/2, and the coffee table did a complete disappearing acting about 3 years ago. My life has been all the better for it!
I keep a bowl with these ball-shaped pink flowers on the corner of my coffee table and let the rest be as it may.
I’m loving this warm, warm weather except that it means that the girls in the trampy sororities now show up for my class in booty shorts. I feel like I should bring towels to class so they can cover themselves. Guess nothing makes a girl feel sexier than a discussion of how a bill becomes a law.
Oh- I’m so glad you asked this question because I have been dying to tell someone about the cutest table decor I’ve seen in a while. Anyway- take a square glass “vase” or container (about 6-7 inches high) and fill it mid-way with coffee beans, then in place a smaller, glass bud vase in the center of the beans and put small pieces of greenery, etc. Surround it with some pillar candles, maybe on a tray. It would be darling!
I saw it at a very hip new restaurant in Nashville and have been dying to make it for myself and just haven’t had the time. And- if you’re feeling like you need to paint the walls to match the new $.75 decor- the walls were painted the prettiest color of celery green- very clean and fresh- and then they had painted a chocolate accent wall as well- all very pretty.
OH- and by the way- I am coveting your warm weather! Happy Spring.
I can’t help at all! I am the most creatively challenged person ever! I am more one of those math/science brained people.
It sounds like you have gotten some great advice that I might have to steal!
And I agree…very jealous about the warm weather!
Can I have your sour patch kids??
Oh, wait. Never mind. I have a canker sore.
If you were to add a small pile of folded laundry, that could be MY coffee table!
I wouldn’t give up on the coffee table. Where else would you put the sour patch kids?
How about a tray? My mom uses a tray to put the magazines, and it looks so much better than just magazines on a table–cause you know they won’t stay “fanned” like you want them to. I use a tray to house all of the remotes we seem to have. Somehow, collecting everything together seems to make it have a purpose, rather than just random junk on your table.
I’m thinking you need to find someone with one of those big ottomans and trade your table for it. Then P would have a comfy place for his feet and you could just put M&M’s in all the little tufted places – no need for a candy bowl or any other decor at all!
And, um, you know I’m kidding, right? Cause I would never allow feet anywhere near my beloved M&Ms.
Well…Kramer from Seinfeld has a “Coffee Table Book about Coffee Tables” however, I can’t find it online anywhere, so I’ve concluded that it’s only for the show and not for sale. You can see it on a Regis and Kathy show…
http://www.spike.com/video/seinfeld-seasons-5-6/2684193.
I think you should get some cheap plastic clear frames of different sizes on put beautiful Caroline pictures in theme or some of her art work!
Oh, girl. I feel your pain. Esp. about the endless husband/wife discussions about form vs. function. Drives me BATTY. My fave is when men want to put two pieces of furniture right smack dab next to each other on a wall. Or blocking a window. ARGHH!
I didn’t have a coffee table until this past November .. you know because of the kids and all .. and now that I have one .. I kinda miss the olden days when we had the space and no arguments about feet, toys, and power rangers.
No suggestions here either, sorry
I also battle the coffee table issues with my kids and husband… I resorted to a red big dish/platter thing with a big candle in the center and dried lemon slices, big pieces of other assorted stuff, that type of potpourri around it – I already had the dish, just bought the candle and filler… I tried jar type candle holders but they only seemed to be holders for ponytails, barretts, etc. I have the dishc with candle in the center of the table so that there is something decorative yet plenty of room for the wands, hairbrushes and candy…
Well… I think that coffee tables that are decorated so nice and pretty are only in homes with people that don’t live in them. I’ve tried to put things on mine,too, that are nice and decorative and EVERY time they get pushed over or either pushed off altogether. So, I have no solution either, but I certainly understand where you’re coming from. You’re not alone.
My problem with our table is that I took all the decor off because I wanted to do something new. Then…it was Christmas and I had things to put on it…then it was valentines…and now it’s just a table with 18 month old and 4 year old fingerprints. I’m thinking of going to Home Goods over off 281 and Stone Oak. Have you been there? It’s not free, but it is cheap.
“..there will come a day this summer when she will have a fit to wear those dang fur boots with her swimsuit…”
As soon as I read this I thought of this pic I saw the other day!!! LOL
http://www.denimblog.com/new-trends/uggs-this-winter-yes-or-no.html
(The backhouse looks great – good job!)
I gave my coffee table away. It irritated me. It was always cluttered and in my way, so I got rid of it. It was very liberating.
so you live in south texas, i’m in west texas, and yep we have had nice weather huh? most of my blog friends are still showing the snow pictures! i’m not envious, though they are pretty…i think your coffe table looks magnificent! it looks like you have a wonderful family living in your house! with good taste (candy) and with great imaginations(princess wands) isn’t that what we all really want? to live in fantasy land eating candy? hehe.
Love the finished backhouse. I wouldn’t have painted where noone could see, either.
As for the coffee table, I got rid of mine because it was GLASS…and I hate glass tables. NEVER again will I buy a glass table….I cannot wait until I can get rid of the end tables that came with the stupid coffee table…but my chocolate dish has to go somewhere!!
As for decorating YOUR coffee table, before we got rid of ours, I loved having some framed pictures…and my current magazines on there. Since Caroline is older now, bring back those candlesticks!!!
Various size baskets. Bed, Bath and Beyonce (family nickname for the store) has some cool square and rectangle woven baskets. Gather like items in them and then you can easily move them around (or quickly put them away) as needed. I keep my magazines in a basket underneath a side table. When it fills up…time to recycle.
I can offer you nothing, because ours looks exactly the same way. And by exactly, I mean, almost exactly….same stuff, same amount of stuff…..I am not sure there is any hope really…..
That looks just like my coffee table! Or as I call it, the “put all your crap on, surface”.
With an 18 month old, here’s what I did with my table: I went to Ross and found a descent looking, low profile decorative box (it actually looks like a really old big bound book) and in there I store the remotes…and some other random little things, like gummy bears and Little People toys. Then I went to Target (or even Ross, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx) and got a TASTEFUL looking vase filled with flowers that look like the real stuff.
BTW, I think you deserve a medal for painting the back house. Really, what were you thinking?
I didn’t read the comments, but I’m sure some others have the same idea, which is baskets! I’m a HUGE fan of the basket! Go to Goodwill and you can find some nice baskets for cheap! A cute basket with a big lid on it would be perfect. Leave it open for Caroline, and when you are tired of looking at all the junk, throw it in the basket and put the lid on. Voila! My husband has what I affectionaly call his “crap basket”, which is where he dumps all the “crap” from his pockets at the end of the day. It sits on the kitchen counter and looks cute, unless you look indside, which I don’t have to do!
Big Mama – We have an ottoman that is soft – can be used as seating when there are more people in the house or use a tray to put beverages. BUT, alas, they STILL get COVERED with toys and used as launching pads to jump on the couch – life with two boys, make that 3 if you count the hubby, is always grand. BTW, LOVED your comment about Jason being a Nancy and needs to spend time with Jack Bauer. YES!!!! I, too, have lost many precious IQ points this week. Where is that Sudoku book? Too brain dead to locate it…
SO jealous of sitting outside with a popsicle. I don’t think spring is ever going to come here in Minnesota. Although, it will be 45 degrees here today – HEAT WAVE!
UGH…we have this problem on our wetbar…i swear if there is an open space on any countertop, the kids throw their keys, backpacks, whatever on it and so does my husband! I feel like I spend half my day cleaning off countertops!
This made me want to take a picture of OUR coffe table. In all its home decor finery… Legos, dirty Kleenex, empty coffe mugs, and the latest People magazine don’t really count as “decor.” Or do they?
Just popping in to say hello. The backhouse looks great! I love the door!
I’m no help with the coffee table issue. For one thing, I think yours looks fine the way it is.
Heck, I’d love to have one that looked that way, especially since ours was replaced at Christmas by Tater Tot’s train table. Hello, Thomas the Tank Engine. Peep, peep.
DID YOU KNOW THAT YOUR BLOG IS HIGHLIGHTED ON
THE PIONEER WOMAN !!!!
seriously, you should check it out in the side bar of her confessions page
pretty cool
If you have a basket somewhere in your house, in another room….let me interject…by basket, I mean more of a flat one, not so much countryish…
just a basket, maybe even wrought iron, to put your remotes in–I think that would be nice. If a few other nonessentials get tossed in it, it won’t look so bad because they’re “in a basket”. a “nice basket”. And even if you don’t already have one, you’ll find plenty options at your favorite Target.
and maybe put a couple of framed pics of Caroline. 4×5′s or something.
I went with trying to include something with some height on my coffee table…and by the way I plan to do a post soon as a follow-up to an old post for WFMW on where to put the kitchen table. But I completely digress and does anyone care? And IF they did, they might be frustrated to find that I currently am having problems with images I deleted….
Sorry…so sorry…back to the issue at hand. I have a set of three candles that are CONSTANTLY GETTING KNOCKED OVER. ARGGGHHH…so DON’T do that. I have a silk runner kinda’ messily placed under said candles along with a picture box and and a container with my remotes hidden.
And so after all of the blah, blah, blah, go with easy so all of that stuff doesn’t get knocked off. Pics are great. And a catch all basket is great, too.
Hope that helps…
I suggest piles of folded laundry and/or baskets of unfolded clothes. It seems to work for us.
You may want to throw in some dirty clothes just to mix it up a little…and confuse you as to which clothes need to be folded and which need to…be tossed on the offending boys’ pile because you don’t care it they are too lazy to throw their stuff in the chute that they will wear dirty stuff again!
The backhouse looks great. You, go girl.
I would just clean everything off the coffee table. There you have a nice, clean, adult look that P won’t ruin with his feet. (lol) If there isn’t another table for the remotes or magazines, I would find a nice little basket for them that can be easily moved to the floor and back again. In my experience, husbands cannot be moved once they claim their territory.
)
P.s.
YES, back for more…lucky you.
If you get basket to fit some magazines with the remotes on top, that might be cool.
How’d you get a picture of my coffee table. Wait, no. That’s not mine. Mine has water rings all over it, and the veneer is hcipping off.
I don’t have much to add in the way of suggestions, but I am glad that I am not the only one whose coffee table looks like that. In fact, I thought for a second that you had come into my house and taken a picture! I am thinking about getting those cute little leather boxes from Target in lieu of the coffee table thing. People can prop their feet up on them and there is storage inside…maybe that will work.
Why yes Kramer, you do need a coffe table book about coffee tables! And please put little legs on it as well!
If you put something with height on there will it block the TV? That’s important to know. Can you even put anything on there? Or will any decor item get in the way of P’s comfort with his feet up on the table? Maybe a basket of some sort to hold remotes? I need more information before I can give sound advice.
I’m still laughing about “don’t anger it any further.”
Our coffee table is completely bare because of a certain 2 year old who thinks it is her personal play table.
And a certain husband who feels it is his laptop’s home.
Prior to marriage and parenthood, I had a basket with remotes, a placemat that I got at Pier 1 on sale for $0.50 and a couple red candles on some glass coasters. All moveable, yet decorative.
Kelly
“don’t anger it” – ha! And – boohoo! Because this is how I feel about my 17-month-old, and I was hoping it would get better.
Anyway. The coffee table issue. I think we need to know what exactly your purpose for a coffee table is. If it’s a combo need of looking nice and somewhere for P to put his feet, have you considered an ottoman instead?
After realizing that our pretty things on the coffee table with sharp corners wasn’t going to work with the baby (again – boohoo!), we finally decided on a faux leather storage ottoman from Target. (Here it is: http://tinyurl.com/cck3d6) I know, it’s faux. But it looks pretty nice – and is a place to put our feet…and the remotes…without causing bodily harm.
Well, it looks a lot like my coffee table so who am I to judge?
We actually lived w/out one for a while when my youngest at the time kept running into a corner every time he walked by it…it was like a magnetic force or something.
p.s. how long has your blog been featured as a favorite on Pioneer Woman? wow… BIG wow!
I just want to know why there are still M&Ms in that bowl? That would not be acceptable at my house! The backhouse looks great!
Yes, I used have “pretties” on my table before I met my hubby. Now our decor consists of: NEWSPAPERS!!
Hate it!
And why can I sit comfortably with my feet on the table for an hour, and then he comes up and as soon as his feet hit the table it moves away 6 inches!??
Grrrrr…LOL!
Well, first I love that winter is over there and it is good to know that when I am watching the last of the snow disappear from a week ago.
Your coffee table, I have a coffee table that everyone loves to put their feet on and it drives me crazy. I am sorry but it does and especially after I have dusted the whole thing. On my coffee table, two Southern Living magazines, a hibiscus plant that is, well, fake. I know, I don’t care, fake flowers works for me and a Gla- day (that’s french ya know) candle. Simple. That seems to be my motto OR I have thought of doing what Reba did on Reba, spray pledge on the socks of the person who insists putting their feet on my table and tell them if they insist on putting their feet on the table and pushing things off the table, at least they can clean as they go.
Love ya,
patty
At least the M&M’s are in a pretty bowl!!
The back house looks awesome, love the color!
I have 2 coffee tables, one in each living room. I suggest baskets but don’t be surprised if they become beds & closets for 37 polly pocket dolls.
OK. I officially hate you (just kidding). Seriously, it was 10 degrees here yesterday morning and painful to go outside to get to work.
Nice backhouse.
The back house looks great! Sorry, your coffee table looks just like mine and every other I’ve ever seen!
Well, my coffee table is piled high with the laundry of 5 people. Is that the kind of display idea you were hoping for? No? Then I’m spent.
I can’t comment on your back house or coffee table because I’m too busy being bitter about your weather.
Bitter, bitter, bitter. Oh, wait, I might have a comment abo-
No. Still bitter.
This is my first time commenting…I think. You’ll have to forgive me, I just turned 33. *Gasp*
But I ditto the sentiments of your lovely blog. Hil.ar.ious.
The part,
“WHY DO YOU WANT TO MAKE MY LIFE SO HARD?
echos in my mind as well. You know the perverbial socks laying next to the bed (didn’t I just pick those up yesterday morning?) and the half full soda can sitting on the side table (for the 1 1/2 year old munchkin to pick up and start drinking, and by drinking, I mean spilling all down his front and on to the carpet. But we love ‘em, don’t we?!
The back house looks great! …and if it’s any consolation, I could barely see your dog licking himself.
This is my first time commenting…I think. You’ll have to forgive me, I just turned 33. *Gasp*
But I ditto the sentiments of your lovely blog. Hil.ar.ious.
The part,
“WHY DO YOU WANT TO MAKE MY LIFE SO HARD?
echos in my mind as well. You know the perverbial socks laying next to the bed (didn’t I just pick those up yesterday morning?) and the half full soda can sitting on the side table (for the 1 1/2 year old munchkin to pick up and start drinking, and by drinking, I mean spilling all down his front and on to the carpet. But we love ‘em, don’t we?!
The back house looks great! …and if it’s any consolation, I could barely see your dog licking himself.
PS: Forgot to mention good post!
Honey, I totally gave up on ANY coffee table at all. So I guess that means I am no help here. But I did want to comment on something you said.
“don’t anger it any further”
Oh gosh, that is so my life right now. What scares me is yours is 5, mine is 2. That means that it isn’t going to get much better anytime soon. Something that makes my mama laugh with glee. She seems to think I deserve this. I seriously don’t know where she gets that, I was the perfect child!
Thanks for letting me come on over and see what is coming my way, all too soon. It does scare me that I think my little gal is channeling Caroline more and more every day!
Cheers and smiles, Kiy
We don’t have a coffee table, (I would rather have the space) so I can’t help you there.
On a totally different note – I have been reading your blog for a few months now and I have seen such an increase in your readers (by comment totals). Go Girl and don’t stop you blogging….please it has become a daily requirement.
Thanks so much for stopping by my Year of the Scarf Bloggy Carnival! I was so thrilled to recive your comment!
My coffee table looks about the same as yours, and my husband hates having stuff on it as well, so I am afraid I am no help whatsoever. (Is Whatsoever all one word? That really does not look right!)
Thanks again!
I just have to tell you that my five-year old son walked in while I was reading this and saw the picture of Caroline. He said, “Who’s that?” I told him that her name was Caroline, and he replied, “She’s pretty! And that heart on her shirt.” He’s pretty darn cute himself!
I just realized that it was not you but another Big Mama who stopped by my blog. I should have checked! Oops! Oh well!
Your coffee table is decorated exactly like mine. You think it’s out of style? Really? I thought this was the epitome of the finest a living room has to offer.
I have no advise as I have been waging the same battle forever. At least you can see the top of your table. Mine is covered in Star Wars guys, newspapers, yesterdays sox (hubby’s and son’s) 2 glasses, 2 plates, , a T-shirt, 3 remotes, a bag of pistachio’s, pad of paper 3 crayons and variuos spilss and crumbs. On Tuesday I had cleared off the dang thing and washed it and put a cute t Patty’s day decoration on it. Which is now on the floor.
This post made me miss South Texas. We moved from Corpus Christi to New England 2 years ago and I love having 4 seasons now but miss eating popsicles on the deck in March.
I have no advice on the coffee table, we haven’t had one since my dear, uncoordinated husband tried to leap over it to get to the couch and crashed right through it (it was wood too, not glass so we still can’t figure out how he demolished it)
Flowers? I always love flowers.
You could always use your “toss pillows” from the couch. It is a novel idea as I know in my house there is some sort of law that requires that they live anywhere but the couch….
Carol in NC
PS – the snow has just about melted! : )
That looks just like my cofee table and my son is only 6 monthes old. What does that say about me????
Yes, baskets are good. I have a large blue and white platter on mine and it holds favorite photos. A friend of mine has one of those large Chinese bowls on the little wooden stand and it holds remotes and other misc items that find their way onto the table and looks great in the process. I’ve also used wooden boxes on the table top to corral stuff, but the lid discouraged its use.
I love the fruit bowl idea from one of the commenters, too, except I really try to discourage eating in the living room.
Our coffee table is an old trunk (flat not rounded) I bought a nice lined basket and my husband puts all of his crap….oh I mean important stuff in the basket.That way when we need to clean the top off when we have “real” company NOT family we can just hide the basket.
I read the whole post, but couldn’t get over the fact that my dog is always licking himself in pictures too!
Or pooping. One of the two.
First of all… for nearly 39 years, my entire life, I have thought it was ROD iron, and not WROUGHT iron… you truly can learn something new every day. (apparently I cannot afford too much reality TV either…) and as for the coffee table pic, add a couple “boys toys” and it looks just like mine!
I have to go with the tray idea. When we had a coffee table (had to get rid of it due to space issues) I used a basket type tray I found at Target. I put a plant in one corner for to add texture, heigth and interest, some coasters and what ever else happened to find its way to the table. It was very easy to move when ever we needed more space and always looked great.
Hope you find a solution that works for you.
Does ANYONE actually put coffee on the coffee table?
I noticed in my newest Pottery Barn catalogue that you can put ANYTHING on a coffee table, as long as it’s contained in a tray.
Go wild!
oh man, i wish i only had that much on my coffee table! right now i’m looking at: a huge mess of papers that i know i’ve tidied multiple times, a basket of laundry, a remote, a hotwheel, a big decorative box thing that needs to get hung on the wall, two coloring books, crayons, a paperback novel, some mail, some scrapbooking paper, cd’s, coasters and earphones. oh, and a sunday school craft. don’t even get me started on what’s UNDER the coffee table!
Melanie, I wish I could offer you some sage words of coffee table wisdom, but I can’t. Flat surface = piles of stuff from books & lotions to nail polish and the latest hunting magazine. My decorating advice — go for non flat surfaces only.
Go with me here — sort of domed style ottoman. Then attach velcro to the remote and stick it to the ottoman (’cause isn’t that the only reason we need a coffee table?)
I’m so sure this little idea will sweep the country and we’ll see these domed, velcro friendly ottomans in the next Bachelor mansion (ohh, sorry flashback)
TJ Maxx….large rectangle basket….dump all stuff into it when company’s coming…or each night before going to bed.
our current compromise is to have my mom sew a cute cushion that will fit the entire top of the coffee table, great for hubby’s feet propping. then i will use a decorative tray or large silver platter type thing to house some candles, etc. that can be easily removed in one swift motion for said feet to be propped.
I’m feelin’ a carnival coming on! Don’t you want to see what MY coffee table looks like?? Nevermind. Trust me. You don’t.
Like the wooden bowl or tray idea, throw a few magazines and the remotes in it. Easy to remove by husband and easy for you to put back! I clicked on your blog through a link yesterday, so when I tried to go back I just typed bigmama, try it see what you find pretty funny!
LOL, I’ve always said that about reality shows! It’s good to hear someone else thinks it makes your IQ drop. (I must have lost a lot of points from watching The Bachelor this season) I really like your site! It has gotten hot in S. Texas, hasn’t it? What happened to spring?
-Ale ’05
I agree 100% with the tray or basket idea! Usually putting stray things all in one place makes them look like they have purpose. Another great idea is to find a table runner that is not being used and use it on the coffee table. It will add softness without adding clutter. I do this on my mantel as well….re-purpose things from other rooms of the house!
First…you have dogs and there are still edible things on that table? They wouldn’t last 10 seconds in my house (and it would be a toss-up between my husband and the dog as to who could chow them down first). Second…we haven’t had a coffee table since our now-23-year-old was 3 and bashed his head on it. Put the coffee table books on an end table and then do what my husband does…he just pulls over my big exercise ball (the one that’s in there so we can use it while we watch TV) and puts his feet up on it. And then you can put the goodies someplace where only you can find them!
We just have two candle holders (wide ones) in the middle of the coffee table (which is actually a Pottery Barn trunk with everything I don’t want seen inside of it). I clean up all the inevitable clutter every night, and it magically reappears the next day. Wish I could figure this trick out for the socks in the laundry that disappear on their own in the washing machine…
We keep our remotes in a wooden basket on the sofa table (behind the sofa).
If Caroline’s old enough to not mess with the candlesticks now, I say bring ‘em back! They don’t take up much room, and all the feet and clutter fit around them!
Congrats on the backhouse
I’ve been married for 32 years. Kids, 29 and 25. Just looked over at my coffee table. A variation on yours without the chocolate. We like our chocolate cold. Sorry no help here in Indiana. House looks nice.
(As a recipient of those lunches at a small office of a solo doc, many many thanks. No angry nurses at our office, just grateful ones. We’re a rep’s dream for calls.)
how did you sneak into my house and get a picture of my coffee table?
They only difference is that our basket of m&m’s is empty!
good luck
1. I have a 1960′s simple “ottoman” with a sturdy, flat top that sometimes gets the feet pushed off to house other useful items. that’s me, though.
2. not to sound to 1980′s country cute, but how ’bout a basket? a simple, un-fro fro, possibly fabric lined (if you’re so inclined) kind of catch-all basket. not too big, b/c then it “needs” to be filled up, and not too dainty…b/c let’s face it, dainty doesn’t seem to live at your house. i don’t know what the underneath is like, but you could do a coordinating larger basket for books, magazines, bigger bags of sour patch kids. . .and the best part, if you need to clean in a hurry, take your arm, drag it across the top (dusting as you go)wipe it all into the basket, and stash in the nearest closet. is this the longest comment ever??
i meant froo froo. fro fro is my hairstyle from ages 13-17.
I had to look closely at your picture to make sure you hadn’t snuck in and taken a picture of my coffee table but my table also has littlest pet shop animals and some dance shoes on it. I personally have given up on said coffee table because it seems the minute I clean it and put something nice on it the mess comes back often multiplied. so good luck with this and post pics of the new and improved table to inspire us all
We have all that on our coffee table and more, PLUS a big wicker basket. With a lid. Because if you put things in a pretty wicker basket, then all is right with the world!
I have a (mostly) vivid memory of cleaning off our coffee table one particular night, and thinking,”This could not be weirder.” I distinctly remember a rolling pin, I’m sure there were lots of books (grown-up and kids), school papers, hair elastics, a brush, clothes (not sure if clean or dirty, often a pair of socks or pj’s), and lots of toys (Tinker Toy parts, or Legos, or something of that sort…probably several different things). It’s the rolling pin that really threw me…
Kids really change the dynamic!
I bought a cute little trunk at Hobby Lobby that houses all four remotes. When we put our feet up we just gently push it out of the way with our toes as it’s just ONE item. As for the rest of the STUFF that likes to accumulate there, I clean it off every morning and enjoy it all day long until the girls come home from school and my husband comes home from work. Then DVDs land on it, remotes come out of hiding, homework folders end up on it, etc. But every morning it’s clean again and the trunk is IDEAL for the remotes because they are HIDDEN completely, not just in a cute basket but still seen.
I hear ya! My issue however, is our end table, which looks much the same as the top of your coffee table. I try to clear it off about twice a week and dust it. We had a coffee table at one time, but with the entrance of children that liked to climb underneath of it and smack their heads on the corners, we got rid of it. It really opened up our living room! And space for my kids to run in circles is so much more important then my decor needs, right??
We ditched our coffee table, too- left it in Ukraine far far away in case its original owner had giver’s remorse…I, on the other hand, was simply gleeful.
I have no decorating tips whatsoever… but I loved your Luara Ingalls reference. I just got home from a meeting in Southern Missouri and had the chance to stop at the Laura Ingalls Wilder musuem. It is at the home where Laura and Almanzo lived for most of their lives together. It was awesome. I am glad to know you are a fan!
I have a wonderful square This End Up coffee table that has 2 large drawers underneath. At the end of the day I can open a drawer and scrape everything into it…..good times!
Ditched it. Took up too much room. No Wii space.
It now sits at the foot of our bed, under a pile of clean clothes that I cannot seem to put away. And books.
Man, you are on fire with the funny posts! I mean, you’re always funny, but these last few have been spectacularly witty. Thanks for the laugh! I think my favorite was the God Bless America line.
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