Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Before and Afters [not so formal dining room]

We have been in our home for about 2 months now and it seems like we might be running out of steam.  The good news is, we finished most of the first floor before getting lazy.  Above are before and after photos of our dining room.

After ripping up the horrible Berber carpet, we were left the hardwoods underneath that were a color we both absolutely hated.  So after refinishing and staining a dark chestnut brown, we moved on to painting.  We bounced from green to yellow to blue, finally deciding on a dark (actual name chambray) blue that would compliment the dark floors and the ivory chair rail.  We also decided to paint the wall under the chair rail ivory as well, that weird taupe color just had to go. PS- I have a VERY strong feeling that these walls are going to be dark gray within the next year, you can quote me.

So once the walls were painted, we put our table and chairs back in and realized that they looked so small in the room.  The light fixture was left in the house by the past owner- I by no means love it, but for now it does the trick.  I am looking into a beaded type lantern, sort of like the one found HERE.  We picked up the sideboard from craigslist- it has tons of storage space and matches perfectly with the floors.  It has become a home for our silverware, since our little kitchen doesnt have a good silverware drawer as of yet.  On top I displayed some of our (my) favorite vases and an old sugar dish from my mom, as well as our wine rack and a photo from our wedding.  I saw the chandelier curtains on some blog (i forget where now) and promptly bought them- they were super cheap and i love the way they look.  The yellow Eames chair (also a craigslist steal at $30!!!!) is an original from the late 70s.  It needs to be cleaned up a bit but it is by far my most favorite thing in the room. 

I am still trying to figure out what type of window treatments for the bay window, but since we have new windows (yeah!) coming next week I guess I can hold off for now.  Dont mind the school bag in the corner of the window seat, my husband is a pack rat and likes to display everything he owns for days.

My plan for the big wall leading to the kitchen (not shown) is to either hang some vintage china in a funky pattern (plate wall if you will) or maybe paint chevron stripes across the wall.  For now I am leaving it blank until the right inspiration hits me.

On the other smaller wall, I am thinking either some sort of china cabinet ( that wont actually display china) or maybe something like the last photo- a hat rack of sorts.  I love hats and want to hang mine all over the house.  
So, thats the dining room in all its glory.  Trying to keep it clutter free is a challenge but I am looking forward to one day entertaining in this room and hosting our first Thanksgiving Dinner later this year!

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