UPDATED: An idea from my easy friend...I mean an easy idea from my friend

Don't you hate it when you find a really simple solution to a problem...after trying to solve it all the hard ways first?

Perhaps this will save you a bit of that frustration. The photo above is of my friend Marianne's dining room. She recently replaced her dining set with a round table and upholstered chairs in a pretty plaid to complement the yellow and blue toile wallpaper.

She searched all over for a round rug that would fit into the French country decor... and would have the same blue from the chairs and wallpaper... and would be the right size as well as shape. She thought she finally found one online, but it was wrong. That meant paying for shipping - twice.

Finally: The answer! She went to a local carpet store and discovered you can have a carpet cut and bound into any shape you want. Most of us know you can get a rectangle or square cut, but there are all sorts of possibilities. Marianne found several options that would have worked just fine, picked the best one and had it cut into the size circle she needed.

Here's one more trick you can steal from Marianne: While waiting to find the perfect round table for her dining room, she had someone cut a plywood circle and put it on top of her old, oval dining table (with a table cloth).

The carpenter put a little lip on the plywood in a few spots so it wouldn't slip. And you'd want to put a table pad underneath the plywood so you don't scratch the table.

Clever, clever girl, Marianne is. Think I'll hang around with her for another 30 years to see what else she comes up with ...

Update: I've added another photo of the room so you can see the wallpaper as well. I also got a few questions about the cost. Of course, the price of a custom job like this would depend on a few factors, including where you shop, how expensive a carpet you pick out etc.

But, in Marianne's case, getting the carpet cut into the circle in the size she needed added another third to the cost of the carpet. Getting exactly what you are looking for, though, is worth it sometimes.

Thanks for your interest!

My next trick: Turning 1 room into 2

Thanksgiving and Christmas are months away. If that means you have no use for your dining room until then, it might be time to rethink how you use that room.

After all, what fun is it to leave one room untouched most of the year?

About six years ago, we decided to create a dining room/library in our house because the dining room is a good size, but the house isn't particularly large and because, if my husband had a dollar for every book he owns, he'd go out and buy new books.

We added the bookshelves, a few comfy chairs and reading lamps. And, poof!, we actually use the dining room.

Need more office space? Consider creating a multi-functional dining room. This is especially easy now that laptop computers mean there's a lot less bulky equipment to store. You can hide paperwork and office supplies in a sideboard.

A dining room can be a great place for doing crafts and homework.

Need a quiet spot for a quiet conversation? Add a couple of comfortable chairs or a settee if you've got room.

Play music? Incorporate a small piano or display other instruments there. A dining room can be a peaceful place to practice and to entertain.

Who knows? You spend that much time in your dining room, you might even think to eat there every now and again.