The Den Du Jour

My buddy Frank was telling me the other day about a newly-learned husband skill: Compromise.
He said, "Here's how it works. I want something one way and she wants it another way. We compromise and do it her way." I believe we can all read between the lines of that one, but just to be sure I asked him, "So, when you 'compromise' you really just end up doing what she wants? You're the one that's 'compromised'?" "Exactly," agreed Frank. Good man!

This rearrangement was a compromise, but not like the one described above. The piano isn't as convenient to access as the other way, but the Reading Station survived. And since I didn't want as much focus on the TV, my comfy chair got placed completely out of its view.

The Family Room

This den arrangement is already outdated, but I have a bit of a different perspective and thought I'd lay it out for my audience.

The Reading Station
You can tell that the babies have become interested in reading, because we dedicated an entire section of the den to that very activity. Space is limited but there's always room for a good book.



The Social Club
With the couch and the comfy arm chair facing each other, and the piano to the left, Family Home Evenings were wonderful. We could all interact nicely and the piano was (for once) convenient. And one of my favorite things was that the role of the TV was minimized, downplayed even.


Unfortunately, this arrangement didn't last long. Look for another post with the latest setup soon.

Hey, Rob - I rearranged while you were at work, so you have time to fix the toilet and sink when you get home!

I think there must be some kind of group for people who constantly rearrange their houses...if there were, I'd be in it. "Rearrangers Annonymous"

We're backtracking on the toddler beds - they do great getting into them at night (not so much for naptime), but they don't understand that they do not HAVE to get up at 6 am! So, until they learn that, we'll use a crib and a playpen - we got rid of that other crib - not enough room for that much stuff!

The original with cribs:

(Toddler beds replaced the cribs, with the one by the door way perpendicular to how the crib is now.)

How I changed it to squish in a bed, a crib, a playpen, and one toddler bed (for transitioning one twin at a time)! Seth and Carolyn transitioned at this age, and were super easy! (but then again, everything for them was super easy compared to twins...)
(The playpen's only temporary and the remaining crib will be replaced by a bed later...)

On to the den next (yes, in the same day - when I'm on a roll, I can't stop!)

I told the missionaries we rearrange about every three months. (They had been here about that long, and corrected me.) "You've changed it three times since I've been here!"  So, on August 14th I took this...

Another angle....

Then on September 26th I took this: (OBVIOUSLY, you can see why this did not work out - we constantly had to move the couch so we could see the tv, then put it back...)

And this is today's arrangement (October 6th). 

Two notes:

1. I say "Today's" arrangement, b/c who knows if I'll change it tomorrow! and 

2. Did you notice that I DID change once a month, and the dates are getting closer!? 

(maybe I do need therapy...haha...actually, this is therapeutic for me! It has saved me the trouble of packing up and moving to a new house every time this house feels cramped. I just rearrange and it's like I've got a whole new living room...nice, huh?) You should try it. Actually, invite me over - Can I help?? :)