Miss Ruth's Profile

My worst experience was due to taking my sweet time to tile my bathroom walls. 6 months after starting the job I went to finish it, only to drop the box of tiles, breaking all of them. The store where I bought them no longer carried them, but I lucked out when they found a last box hiding behind some shelving. Happy ending.

Wow, that chair has gorgeous lines. What era is it from?

I love the dumb waiter idea - I've always loved them. Laundry chute would be good too. Here's what else I'd have:
A butler
A dog
A library with a wood-burning fireplace, a wing back chair, and ladder too reach all those books on the higest shelves.
A backyard with room to play croquet, screen movies, with a firepit, and a dock on the water.
One of those pools with a current to swim against that's wide enough for a rowing shell.
A spacious art studio.
Le sigh.

I love the art - where can we see more?

I like it. I'm in my early 40s and I did use tech like this when I was younger. It's ugly in a way, but it's also fun - you can also see the design elements with the metal panel and even rows of holes for the speaker. It reminds me of a Start Trek tricorder. (and yes, I totally lust after those retro record players)

If you go the seat cushion route, you could add a pleated skirt to it to cover the trunk and soften the look up (or is that so '90's?).
Another option is to stand it on end, put castors or legs on the bottom to raise it off the floor, and use it like a small armoire. You could put hooks, shelves, or a bar inside for storing clothing, accessories, or books.

I grew up in a napkin-ring family - we used cotton napkins at every dinner, and had personalized napkin rings so we knew which one was ours for the next meal. We have a washing machine, but it is still wasteful to wash your napkins after every use.

We use napkin rings when we have guests, too, but they are more likely to all match and we would never put out a used napkin. Until today, I'd never heard of the opinion that napkin rings at a formal party implied that the napkins are dirty.

I saw the film version of this every year in grade school as a kid - it was a class favourite. I remember Atalanta and "Ladies first, ladies first" fondly. It made a big impression on me. Of my female friends from University, those who'd seen it had a more independent attitude and kept their names when they married; those who hadn't all took their husbands' names.

The top half of the room looks pretty. The bottom half looks like a bathroom. I'd keep the one but not the other.

I'd do curtains wall-to-wall on the bedroom side of the half walls, which you can close when you have guests, or leave open when you don't. Then, so the half walls don't look awkward from the patio when the curtains are closed behind them, I'd put some open shelves on top of the half-walls and use them for decorative objects (OK, nicnacks) that look good from both sides.