A collection of places to sit and eat. Is dinner ready yet?

Some of these have been blogged before, but I wanted to sweep all our current dining spots into one portfolio for you:


1) Reproduction clawfoot oak pedestal table + 4 beautiful pressback chairs. $248

   

Table is 42" diameter plus a single 17.75" leaf. It is so tempting to put nail polish on those claw-feet toenails! Chairs and table are completely sturdy, with some surface wear.  Enjoy the detailing and the beautiful pattern pressed into the chairs.



2) Versatile, narrow-to-wide, drop-leaf table with center extension leaf. Beautifully refinished oak with 4 cushioned wood chairs. 36" length, starts with a narrow 24" width, extends to 33" or 43" partially opened, to 56" wide with all leaves in place. $265




3) Gorgeous, mid-century modern table by Drexel. 42" rounded rectangle, with 4 chairs and 2 sidechairs (one of which needs repair). Reduced to $340 for all.




4) Parson's table. Light-tone wood veneer. 31.5" x 47.5". Bolt-on squared legs. $65



5) Mission style, stand-alone breakfast bar with 2 bar stools. Tile top. SOLD





6) Drop-leaf coffee table with a surprise! Easy-lift mechanism raises to couch-dining height. Great for games or puzzles, as well. $80.

  


7) Perfect setting for teddy-bear tea! Little table and 2 bentwood, cane chairs in cheery red. Underpriced, for sure: $58




8) Very nice, hardwood table, country styling. Goes from 48" round to 66" oval with 1 big leaf. $125




9) Dark wood, 48" round conference table on single, huge pedestal. $250

10) 2 wrought iron counter chairs or bar stools (24" seat height, plus cushion). Very well made, heavy and sturdy. $150/pair




11) 3 country kitchen chairs in hunter green and hardwood. $35 each or $90 for all 3




12) Oh, how could I forget the amazing, one-of-a-kind faux-stone table, with its wall-hung storage and matching table lamp? $700
Someone had a lot of fun designing and creating these pieces! Big and sturdy enough for a myriad of uses: dining, crafting, artwork, study, sewing...

   

Table measures 46" x 78" and sits on two large pedestals decorated with palm trees. Constructed of wood and hand-painted to evoke ancient workmanship in stone and tile. With its own "broken" and detachable corner, to evoke ruins.


13) That elevating coffee table above would make a great relaxed dining spot paired with one of our 2 resident couches:

Fascinating patterned lobby sofa, very good condition. $295

Did a nauga give its hyde for this 1960's vinyl and tweed couch? $195.

    

Congratulations to Laughing Whale Coffee!

I'm tickled to share with you the latest news from Laughing Whale Coffee, my brother and sister-in-law's artisan roasting enterprise in Nova Scotia. Steven and Deborah have just launched their long-awaited website after several years honing their roasting skills and building their business in the Lunenburg-Halifax region. Their love of community, of humanity, and of excellence shines.

(Here my brain goes off in a digression, "Dangerous word, excellence. But think in life terms of balance, humility, and process, not perfectionism and performance-based acceptance.")

So, back at www.laughingwhalecoffee.com, enjoy browsing. Check out their online tour of Canada's first Eco-Roaster, which gives Laughing Whale's coffee the "Lowest Carbon Footprint per Cup". (I can just picture a coffee cup leaving little footprints.) Where did they find all the arcane coffee quotes on their website? This is my current favorite, pertaining, of course, to their support of fair trade coffee:

"I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process."  ~ Benjamin Harrison

More than his coffee, I miss my brother's puns. I so wish they lived closer to Kenmore! A cup of their coffee helps a little :^)

Shoppers need lemony sustenance. We have it!

Kittyhugs Baking Company in Shoreline has been our source for treats to go with our Davidson's organic tea, to rave reviews. Today, I'm trying their lemon poppyseed minibread, and I can gladly give it the same A+ as their cupcakes and ginger cookies: it's just perfect. A lemony fragrance is the first wave of sensation that greets you, followed by a delightful balance of sweet and tart flavors in a moist, come-back-for-more texture. As I'm scraping the baking paper with my teeth to get every last morsel, I wonder if there's just the slightest touch of ginger?

Well, that was nice. I hope you'll have an opportunity to come by for your own lemon poppyseed experience soon. Or try the banana walnut minibread. Or come with a friend and share one of each while you enjoy a pleasant cup of tea or coffee and feast your eyes on the new art from Donna Reed, Tom Traeger, and Linda Jacobus.

Hmm, let's try an experiment. Say The Living Room blog sent you, and get 30% off a Kittyhugs Baking Company cupcake or minibread. One discount per customer; good through Valentine's Day, 2010.

A busy day, even though we're closed Mondays

It was fun to be in the shop today, puttering around on Monday when we are closed. Shared a late breakfast of peach pie (not on our TLR menu, sadly) with one of our watercolor artists, Liz Marshall, and her dad, Bob Marshall, back from the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival. As the day moved along, had a string of people drop by for coffee, tea, cupcakes, and a look around. Glad I was here for them!

When you are up in the Bothell/Kenmore area looking for good quality secondhand furniture, original art and gifts, along with coffee, tea, and a cupcake or such, here's what our sign looks like:

We're a hidden treasure worth seeking, to the west of Grocery Outlet at 67th and 181st in Kenmore, behind the old city hall. In addition to the market items on our sign, our book selection is small but growing. If you come by when we are closed, check to see if we're in here working; you'll be welcome to come on in. Check our google listing for coupons!


We've tweaked our open hours:
Tuesday through Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 pm
Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sundays and Mondays: Closed.
Also, our lovely shop is available for special events by appointment after or before hours.

Exploring north of the Cupcake Belt

Do a Google search on "cupcakes 98028" and you'll see a string of cupcake vendors forming a belt across Seattle/Bellevue at 47.64 degrees latitude. But what's available for cupcake lovers searching for "a little something", as Winnie-the-Pooh would say, in the far north? Say, at latitude 47.76 in Kenmore?*

Look closer on that google map and you'll find us. Currently we are the dot (reminiscent of a cupcake sprinkle) at the top of Lake Washington. Help us turn our dot into a "letter A" listing by using our "$3.50 cupcake + coffee" coupon on google maps: www.tinyurl.com/tlr-map.

I don't think you can find a better cupcake than Kittyhugs' lemon. But then, again, there's the chocolate...
Pair either with our fresh-brewed coffee and dig in.

It's a win-win :^)

Especially if you bike. [We are so thankful for our new bike rack!] Take a "north" off the Burke Gilman Trail at 68th Ave NE in Kenmore, and head for The Living Room just across Bothell Way NE in Kenmore Plaza off NE 181st and 67th Ave NE.

*I was determined to find actual latitudes for this important Cupcake Report, and finally found a great interactive map at http://forecast.weather.gov/ If you know of a better option, please let me know. My fascination with these technical details has been stirred. Guess that makes me a piqued geek.

-KTR

We're open!

Actually, we've been open for 4 weeks, but have been too busy for blogging. So much has come together, it's good to look back and see that our hard work has been guided in steps of blessing.

We began our pilot opening on July 31, 2009, and hope to have our Grand Opening when our big overhead sign is installed and when we have all our administrative ducks in a row. Nice ducks :^)

I think my favorite part so far has been meeting so many people and finding favor. We really are each other's riches. I hope my co-owners will add to this blog from time to time, so you can get their perspective, as well.

Hope to put up more photos here because the transformation really is glorious, but meanwhile, check our our updated website: http://www.thelivingroominkenmore.com/

and the facebook page Elisha put together (I'm trying to add photos of our inventory):
http://www.tinyurl.com/tlr-fb

and check out our coupons on our google map listing:
http://www.tinyurl.com/tlr-map

Hope to see you soon in The Living Room :^)

Getting ready for The Living Room

Here's a picture diary of our progress at The Living Room in Kenmore, a consignment gallery for furniture and local art and crafts, with a tea room.

Dear friends and fam: Does anyone have a 10-foot metal step ladder that we can borrow, preferably long-term? Need it to finish painting up high, and change lights.

I'm not getting the hang of layout, so I'll just say, let the photos speak for themselves at this point :^) There's the staff of The Living Room, enjoying an outing in Arthur and Sydney's garden: Noah, Katie, Christopher, and Elisha Ann. [The four of us are RevivalTree, LLC, for income tax purposes :^)]