Our altar is different, but I think our whole chapel was designed for a different purpose.

It's not so much a small, cozy altar set up for family use, but rather the central part of a complete, out-and-out Resistance chapel.

I look forward to making everything more warm and aesthetically pleasing as time goes on -- I have to wait for things to grow around here.

We're not "well heeled" so we can't afford to equip an entire chapel. (We're making monthly payments on the workshop. We needed the building because our house has no other space for "storage". No basement, attic, or garage.)

I've always wanted a home chapel though.

This is a picture of an altar that a new priest  set up at his parents house.  The items on the altar are from a mass kit I made up for him before his ordination.  However, the crucifix is one his parents had

This is a picture of an altar that a new priest  set up at his parents house.  The items on the altar are from a mass kit I made up for him before his ordination.  However, the crucifix is one his parents had

beautiful

Here is the image

I will answer the cat question first.

I have two lamps with candles in them suspended on either side of the shrine from braces on the wall.  You can get them from any Byzantine or Orthodox religious goods store.  

I am afraid I don't have a picture.  Ever since my wife and I bought our first house, we have been lucky enough to have a room devoted to prayer.  The room in my home now is fairly small, as I live by myself.  There is a high rectangular table covered with a cloth, and with my mother's large family DRV Bible and two candles I can light when I am actually in the room on top of it.  There is also a hand thurible on the table  (This is a small thurible with a handle rather than a chain.)

There is a large wooden Latin style crucifix on the wall, with icons of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts on either side.  To the right of the table there is a large statue of St. Joseph, out family patron.  On the left there is a statue of St. Michael (my patron) on a shelf, and icons of the patrons of my wife, all our children and their spouses and in-laws, and all the grand children.  I am currently searching for an icon of the patriarch Adam for my newly adopted grandson, but I have not found one yet.  Fortunately his is taking the name Philip when he is baptized and chrismated tomorrow, after St. Philip Neri.  He read a very old children's book about him that for some reason was in our local public library and fell in love with him.  I won't have any problem finding an image of St Philip Neri.

There are other icons and statues of the patron saints of other relatives of family friends in the room as well.  

...

Well, I don't have anything quite so grand as that.  It is beautiful.

Telesphorus,

I leave the door to my chapel (if it can really be called that) closed when I am not in there.  If the home alter is in a place where you can't close a door, yes, I suppose that would be a problem.