Yes, we do have more than just Joyce and I in Pumpkin now and then. But, most of the time it is just us (and Ditto) so we decided to make Pumpkin handier for just us.
First I removed the old dinette and filthy old green carpet.
Next, I re-carpeted with remnants left over from carpeting our living room. I had to seam it, of course, but did not have a seaming tool so the seams are not perfect. But, Joyce hand stitched them with almost invisible thread. Looks good. In this photo you can also see the sheet of Luann plywood I added to the wall. There were a lot of holes and other damage in the old wall board that just would not patch well.
I built a counter top from Luann. It is a couple of sheets of 3/16" plywood sandwiching 3/4" framing. That makes it strong yet still light.
Mike has a mate to the chair in this photo, so we will have a pair. With some kind of folding stools (yet TBD), we should be able to seat up to 4 along the counter and with the two folding TV tray style tables we have, 2 more can eat from the 2 chairs along the other side.
It is difficult to see in this photo, but I drilled 2 small holes in the edge trim in the center (align just about where the ends of the box on the counter). My plan is to make a small 20" x 24" panel (built like the counter top). This panel can be mounted to the front edge of the counter (dowels plugging into the existing holes) with a folding leg to support it. It would make a big "T" out of the counter top for playing Scrabble or if we just had to face each other while eating.
I plan on making racks of some sort along the wall underneath to store the folding tables and the add-on table panel when not in use. Also, the step stool Joyce uses at the bottom of the steps will be stored along the inside of the wall next to the steps.
One drawback in this modification plus the one where we replaced the sofa with 2 office chairs is that we lost 2-4 sleeping spots. But, we still have the big cabover bunk that can sleep up to 3 large kids and our own bed in the back. Maybe reducing sleeping head count isn't such a bad idea after all.
Edit: I finally got to finish the knock-down table that goes with the new counter. I used the old tabletop folding leg and made a 24"x20" top to match the counter. A couple of dowels along the edge and a sash window lock to hold it in place and here it is.
Then I added a storage mount for Joyce's outside step stool.
I still need to make a storage mount or lock to hold the new tabletop in place when it is stowed away under the counter.
