Your new kitchen and DR spaces are so pretty! I can't offer anything as to the table, but just a word of caution about a bench. They seem to be trendy now and my son and DIL just bought a table and bench/chair set from CB for their new house. They had both sides of the family over for a housewarming and her brother (early 30's) said to me...under his breath....that the bench was very uncomfortable for a longer, family dinner. Think about it....how long would you be comfortable sitting at a picnic table on a hard bench with no back support? I say get nice chairs with upholstered seats....if you have kids you can always cover them with Sunbrella fabric for easier cleaning.

Hi, Sarah.. I am coming into this thread late in the game but I did read through all the posts. I wanted to share a couple of thoughts and experiences but I am short on time so I will apologize in advance if I sound short or harsh. I have a red dining room and I have grown to hate it. My wood is a medium to dark oak and I think it does nothing for it. I think it will do much less for your darker and more formal wood. My sister just did her dining room in a blue (leaning towards teal) and it looks smashing with her dark wood. I am the LAST person to choose blue.. it's just not one of "my colors" but I have to say I think it works very well in your room. I tend to green and I still prefer the blue mockups over the greens. You keep referring to this as the "formal dining room" but the southern living elements you are wanting to decorate around are much more casual to me. I think you need to stop and take a breath and think about whether you want a formal dining room as your furniture suggests or a casual family style dining room like your bowl suggests. If you want the formal dining room then I'd use the tuscan bowl and the other southern living pieces in the kitchen. Whether the dishes in the china cab are valuable monetarily or or personally, they are on display for a reason, I'd presume? Are they family heirlooms? I would never suggest that you store them away-- if for no other reason, because they work much better with your furniture and with the gorgeous shutters. I strongly recommend that you look at pictures in the gallery and review the ones shared in this post with similar furniture and see if you can find a style that is cohesive and approaches what you see in your minds eye. I don't mean this disrespectfully (because I have been there myself) but you are going in the direction of a real mish mash of styles and your furniture is such a strong element in the room I don't think it's a room that will gracefully accept the eclectic look. I agree with all others on the shutters-- love them! They look beautiful as they are.

Regarding your wall art. It is important that you select art which sings to you! Fall in love with a piece of art and don't rush it. Our home is filled with art we found on vacations. Create your own story in your home. Just work on getting the scale right. In the living room, a long horizontal piece would work well. Approximately 2 ft less in length than the sofa itself. And can fill the wall 2 ft from ceiling or less. These are just estimates for scale to help you avoid buying art that is too small for your spaces. Finally, resist the urge to fill up all your walls. Be strategic.

I'm sorry, but that mirror is much too heavy-looking in that space with the delicate chairs. Frankly, those chairs look terribly uncomfortable and also rather flimsy and the first thing I would do is to find some that have upholstered seats and a more comfortable back. The ceiling light is not attractive and also casts a very harsh light. Some sort of pretty chandelier with a more yellow light and that you could possibly put on a dimmer switch would really help. I'd also buy a pretty rug to give this area a softer look. Instead of the mirror find some paintings to hang on the walls. I'm not so sure about the clock and cabinet, and more pictures of this room and surrounding areas would be really helpful.