Home Tour: The Dining Room

It seems like formal dining rooms are becoming a thing of the past, as more people opt for larger eat-in kitchens where guests can be closer to the cook.  I noticed this trend slightly after purchasing a home with both a formal living room & dining room!  That’s alright though, we use our formal dining room on a fairly regular basis.  Occasionally for when we host a large group of family & friends, but most often as a place to work puzzles & sew!



This room was one of the first in our house that set the tone for my new decorating style.  After installing wainscoting & chair rail, I coated the walls in Dusty Trail paint & filled the room with a table & buffet from Craigslist.



I don’t think I really loved the room until I added the sunburst mirror over the buffet.



The pop of color in the orchid helped too!



I made my own table runner to cover a flaw on the table & added some cheap accessories for the top.





I also created some inexpensive & colorful artwork for the large blank wall opposite the buffet.



A lone chair sits in the corner, & someday I hope to have colorful plates hung above it, but that will have to wait until I find the perfect ones!



It’s amazing how a room can go from this:



to this:



with just paint & accessories (okay, & trim work too).



For more information on the project & sources from this room, please visit this post.

I hope you’ll stop back next Tuesday for another room tour!

The View From Here

Sometimes when I'm sitting on the couch & I see this view, I see past the imperfections & it makes me happy!  The cheerful pop of the blue dresser & purple orchid reminds me of how much I like our house & how fortunate I am to live in a home this beautiful.



When I see this after coming down the steps & turning the corner, it evokes that same feeling.



The living room & dining room are also some of my favorite views in the house.  The pop of pink flowers & blue pillows with the shiny sunburst mirror & unexpected (but neutral) zebra print on the chairs are just a few of my favorite things in this space.



Of course, this is one of my very favorite things to see in here!  Most people say they don't use their formal living & dining rooms, but we definitely use ours every day.  The covers on the dining room chairs make for a great hideout (much to my chagrin), & obviously there are races through these rooms, & Zeke usually lays on the couch to read, away from distractions in other rooms.



Another favorite spot... but I'm usually the one in the chair (probably a little too much)!



I'm so glad to have a few spots in my home where I can see past the linoleum floors, oak railings, & dirty carpets!  So, what's your favorite view at home?

The Dining Room

I really need to cross some things off my summer project list (since it’s fall ya know!) so I think I’m going to call the dining room done…for now!  Eventually, I plan on adding some plates or artwork on a couple of small walls & I definitely want to add some pattern through pillows or a table runner, but I think I’ll wait until I find something that speaks to me, rather than rushing out & finding something I later don’t like, which I’ve been known to do once or twice or a gazillion times!

Here are some pictures of the space now:

















I’m hoping to find some pretty plates or other art to hang above the chair in the corner.  I found the Hudson Camelback chair originally $419 from Restoration Hardware on Craigslist for $60!





And a look back at how the space looked before:




Here are links to all the projects for the room:

Flower Photography
Styling the Buffet
Sunburst Mirror
Transforming Tab Curtains
Chair Covers
Table Accessories
Chair Rail & Wainscoting

I’m really happy with the way the room turned out & so glad to get to focus my attention on some more noticeably unfinished rooms in the house!

Sharing here:

Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Showoff, Home Stories A to Z, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, House of Hepworths, The 36th Avenue, DIY by Design, At the Picket Fence, Serenity Now, Tatertots & Jello, Simple Home Life, Thrifty Decor Chick

The Art of Accessories

Before I started blogging, I really thought I knew how to decorate my home.  I felt confident about my style & I knew how to put it all together.  Once I started blogging, I quickly realized I had a lot to learn!  (I also realized I was clueless as to what my “style” was…but that’s another story!) 

Any who, since summer is quickly coming to an end, I decided to spend some time accessorizing the buffet in the dining room.  I was stumped!  Nearly every dining room buffet in the world is flanked with matching lamps.  Unfortunately, in our haste to get our house built, we opted to skip the meeting on electrical outlet placement (since we were on vacation but wanted progress on the house to continue) & there is nary an outlet in a good location!  We have two outlets on the buffet wall at least two feet away from it.  I spent hours searching the internet for styling ideas.

Here are some things I learned about accessorizing console tables from my searches…

1. Group in odd numbers.  Placing an even number of things is visually boring!



I found this faux orchid on clearance at Target for $6.14!  The best part is that I will never kill it!


2. Grouping several of the same items together creates a dramatic effect.



Here, I grouped five candles & candle holders together.  The candle holders are by Better Homes & Gardens for Wal-Mart.


3. Add items of varying shapes & sizes to keep the eye moving.



Here I grouped together some plates & a tea cup from our wedding china, a cheap vase from Wal-Mart (that I spray painted black), & some salt & pepper shakers that I found in the dollar section at Target.


4. Adding different textures & materials makes it more interesting.  (I didn’t do so well on this one!)



Thankfully, I found this article from Belle Maison!  Julie does a great job explaining the elements of interior styling.  I’m really happy with how the buffet turned out!

I’m finally starting to figure out the art of styling!  In case you ever find yourself in my situation, here are some other things you can accessorize with that aren’t lamps!  (All images from Designed To Dwell.)

1. Hat boxes

2. Picture frames



3. Plates (either stacked, leaned, or on a plate holder)

4. Silver Platters (from Dollar Tree!)



5. Books

6. Baskets

7. Plants (Fake ones count, right?)



8. Ceramics



9. Candles & Candle Holders



When I’m accessorizing, I also try to use items that are functional & fitting for the space.  I didn’t want to put books on top of the dining room buffet, since I don’t typically read in the dining room.  Using plates & salt & pepper shakers seemed more functional for the space.  I also try to think creatively & use things in different ways.  For instance, instead of placing candles on the holders in the photo above, I put moss covered balls on them!  I also used some adorable white baby shoes as an accessory in the nursery (which you can see a few photos up).

So, what are some other things you like to accessorize with? 

Linking To...

Another Shopping Trip

A few weeks ago I was able to leave the big kids with Mark & head out to do a little shopping on my own.  I stopped by one of my favorite spots, Garden Ridge, specifically to check out their mirrors & art work for the dining & living room.  While I was there, I thought I would share a few pictures of what I saw.
I loved this sunburst mirror.  It was 33 inches in diameter & around $80.

At $60 this next mirror was also a contender for the dining room.  Eventually, I decided it looked too much like a flower that should be in a little girl’s room.

I really liked these round mirrors too.  I believe they were both around $50.  The price was right, I just wasn’t sure about the size.  They were probably around 24 inches in diameter.

This black mirror was nice for $60. 

They had these ornate mirrors in different colors.  I can’t remember how much they were, but nothing I looked at was over $100.

Any guesses on which mirror I picked out?

I ended up going with this sunburst mirror!  I like the way the round mirror softens all the rectangular pieces in the room.  The size was great & it adds a bit of fun to this otherwise pretty traditional room.  As a bonus, the finish matches the one on the frames across the room!
Next up, I headed to the art department.  We need to hang something above the new couch.  After watching an episode of Four Houses on TLC, I decided I wanted a large piece of art to hang there.  (One lady was commenting that the only thing on the homeowner’s walls were either family pictures or initials.)  I thought she had a good point, which is what brought me to the art department of Garden Ridge!
I’m thinking about going back for this piece.  I wish I could remember how much it cost.

I also liked the other three below, but I wanted something with more color I could incorporate into the room, something that was already framed, & my husband said, “no flowers”!



I had $30 in rewards money from Pier One after purchasing our couch, so I decided to use them before I forgot about them!  Here’s what I ended up getting for the money:
I thought this set of owl measuring cups was too cute to pass up!

Here’s a picture of the whole family!  I loved the way the colors matched those in most of our downstairs area.

I also bought this pretty flower candle holder to add to the book shelves in the family room.


All in all, I felt like I had a pretty successful shopping trip.  Now, to find the time to exchange a couple of things & see if that print is still available!

Transforming Tab Curtains

The dining room has needed window treatments since we moved in.  A few weeks ago, I picked up some Lenda curtains from Ikea for $19.99 per pair.  The curtains were the right color & size, but I wasn’t exactly loving the tabbed top.  Originally, I purchased some curtain hanging clips with the intention of cutting off the tabs & using the clips, but I decided to ditch that idea when I realized I didn’t buy enough clips.  Instead, I decided to transform my tab curtains into rod pocket type curtains & today I’m going to show you how I did it!



Here is what the curtains looked like before the transformation:



First, I pinned each tab to the back of the curtains.


Next, I simply sewed a few stitches in each tab to hold it in place.  Make sure to use a strong thread & knot it a few times to ensure a good hold.



Finally, hang your curtains by sliding the rod into your newly created pocket & admire the transformation!



Here’s the finished product (sans steaming)!



Although this project was pretty simple, hand sewing all those individual stitches was time consuming!  Using a machine would have been much quicker, but I was afraid the stitching would show through the front.  What would you have done?

Linking here: