Sigh. I've mentioned my space problems before. Here's what I'm dealing with:
As you can see, it's pretty cramped. Michelle has been patient about my taking away almost all of the available space in the bedroom long-term and having to squeeze through the narrow space in the dark to get to the bathroom or the closet.
My new topper has been working great for board gaming, but as you can see, it blocks my painting desk completely. I'd planned on just sliding it aside when I wanted to paint, but what I didn't count on was just how heavy that topper is. This thing probably weighs close to 50 pounds. It's sitting on a discount card table, and it's heavy enough that, sooner or later, sliding it will result in the legs buckling or breaking off. That means that in order to paint, I have to completely pack up any game I've been playing, remove the topper, and move the card table. As heavy as this thing is, that's a huge pain (literally and figuratively.) Not to mention that if I get in the mood to paint and I'm in the middle of a game, I've got to either finish it first, abandon it, or document/photograph it. By the time I'm done with all of that, I'm in no mood to paint. And then I get to turn it around if I'm set up for painting and want to play a game.
I'd considered moving the desk itself to the right, swapping it's location with the cabinet in the corner, but then I'm just creating a variation of the problem. I would be able to sit down to paint, but I wouldn't be able to access my painting supplies without breaking it all down.
It's frustrating. In the two years since Michelle and the kids moved back in full-time (which is when I lost most of the free space), I've been brainstorming and playing furniture tetris non-stop, and this is the
best solution I've been able to come up with. And now that I've implemented it, I'm finding it doesn't really work. I can either play the games, or I can paint, but not both. I'm about a hair away from just giving up and saying that this hobby doesn't work for my situation. Board gaming takes time, money, and space. I have time, but no money or space.