There is a new trend in households. Out with the dining room table and in with the toys. Parents are turning their dining rooms into playrooms. I have blogged about being taken hostage by my daughters toys. But these people have surrendered. They are waving the white flag.
They have so many toys they decide to do away with their traditional dining room setup and their fancy dishes and hutches in favor of play houses and train tables.
To me that is the final straw – the kids have won. The house is no longer yours. It belongs to the children and their many many toys. You find yourself eating on the couch so your daughter has a princess play castle and you realize this is the real end to your old life. I am all for kid friendly but I am no living in Disneyland. I am living in a home. And a home has a table. At least for now.
I am that single friend…no kids…who swings by with CPK take-out and finds herself standing speechless in the foyer with Thai Chicken pizza and Waldorf salad in hand. I blurt out, “What did you do with the Ethan Allen “British Classics” dining room table and why has it been replaced with this miniature version?”
The response: “It’s Pottery Barn Kids. Cute, huh? We never sat at the Ethan Allen table or ate off the Ralph Lauren dishes so we’ve converted the space into a playroom.”
So that evening my friend, her husband and I ate CPK on the Pottery Barn chairs and table. The kids were thrilled to serve us wooden Melissa & Doug pizzas with velcro pepperoni to accompany our CPK…but then when I stood up…my hip was stuck!