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Home Decorating

Progress Pics of Dining Room

13 years ago

Hi all,

Just wanted to post some progress pictures of our dining room based on some of your great comments. I've been struggling with tying in the wall color with the curtains and the open great room, but I added a bunch of accessories, and I'm liking it a lot better. Thoughts? Almost everything I added was stuff we had in boxes, etc. The plates are the china we received for our wedding, which we sadly have never eaten off of! I told my DH, if we aren't going to eat off of them, I'm putting them on our walls! I reframed the flower print and changed out the mats in the framed/signed menus above the fireplace. I have been on a very long search for new dining chairs that match and aren't broken. I would have reupholstered the dining chairs if I thought I was going to keep them long term.

So, here is what I started with:

Here is the dining room now with some accessories and a few tweaks:

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Comments (14)

awm03
13 years ago
What a cool dining room! So much great stuff to look at: the interesting color combos, the mirror arrangement, the 3 pictures over the mantle. Homey & intriguing at the same time.
cooperbailey
13 years ago
You have done a beautiful job! I think it is gorgeous.
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Thanks so much for the feedback everyone. Teacats- Thanks! Hubby and I aren't big champagne drinkers, but we've been spending a lot of time outside with BBQ food and a cold beer, so that counts, right? :) Mrose- I agree... monochromatic would be my first choice. However, hubby really wants color (when we started doing work on the house, he insisted we don't be a "beige house family") and I am trying to find a happy medium, lol. I like color but I don't know how to introduce it. I actually found a painting that I LOVE at Ballards, but it's too much money for us to spend right now. http://www.ballarddesigns.com/sunrise-on-the-reeds-giclee/paintings-prints/contemporary-prints/204037 Roarah - Thank you!! Cyn- Thank you! It was a challenge convincing hubby to paint the cabs at first. And the first time we did it, it was a disaster! I actually had to strip them all down and start fromt scratch. They are not perfect... but they look soooo much better than the first time. And the finish has been incredibly durable. I am definitely a fan of INSL-X cabinet coat after seeing how it wears. Prickly- Surprisingly the rug came from HD. It wasn't very expensive (about $100) and while I think it's a lovely rug... you can tell it's not the greatest quality. I am having such a hard time with it "rolling" and the little bumps make it hard to vaccuum. But it looks nice! :) It has chocolate brown, charcoal gray, cream, and a rust red in it. Lukki- Will your DH not let you paint your cabs? Mine was very hesitant and when I hated them the first time around... he was NOT happy. However, now I love them, and he doesn't really feel one way or another about them, haha. As long as he doesn't dislike them... I am happy :) gmnolen- thanks! The dining room is BM's hot spring stones. It reads a gray beige at night and almost light purple in the morning. A very interesting and complex color... but I really like it. Didn't like it in the beginning because of the purple cast, but I like it now! Kadydid- I don't know, but that yellow was glaring!!! It was the first thing we painted because I just couldn't deal with it, lol. When I would come down the stairs half asleep and walk into the room with the sun shining in, I felt like I was being assaulted! Haha, when my Dad came to visit and see the house for the first time, his reaction was "Wow, this is a nice little house. But man... that is YELLOW!!!" regina - Thank you! Loribee- Thanks! I really do love the mirror. I was originally going to silver leaf the rim to get rid of the coppery color... but now I think I am going to keep it. Mixing metals and finishes adds dimension, right? Jeannie- our DR is 11'5" x 12'7". The table is 40"W x 62"D x 30"H. The set is from Macy's (got it on sale on Black Friday) and the name of it is "The Bradford Collection". It was a splurge for us, but I have always wanted/needed a dining room (family never sat around the table for dinner as a kid and I always wanted that for my own family) and when I found that set, I was in love. Good luck! :)
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redecor8
13 years ago
I wish your pictures were clearer! I'd love to look at it in more detail. It looks like you've made some great changes. Have you considered rearranging the chairs along the table so the pattern is offset (one side short-tall-short and the other side tall-short-tall)? What are your plans for a centerpiece or other interest on the table?
gobruno
Original Author
13 years ago
Ha! redecor8, you and me both on the clearer pictures! I need to get my act together and learn how to get the photos off my camera and onto photobucket instead of these horribly blurry phone pics! Not only am I technically challenged, but we just converted to Mac, and I feel like things aren't compatible between the camera, the Mac, and photobucket. I know it's just me. Plus, I have so many things to do on my list, that I can't devote any time to learning this stuff! We are going to take some more photos once the house is ready for xmas, and I promise to post pictures from our good camera at that time!

There is no deliberate placement of the chairs in this photo. The short chairs are just folding chairs that we had out when we had extra people at our house for dinner the other night. Our only thought behind their placement was that they have cream seat cushions; so, they were placed where none of our kids would be sitting. We'd rather have our kids ruin our daily dining chairs than the "nice" clean folding chairs!

As far as interest on the table, we may put something temporary there for the holidays. We eat at this table everyday, and with 4 boys, we would need something sturdy and easily movable. I'm thinking of some kind of bowl, but nothing has inspired me yet. Any ideas?
sergeantcuff
13 years ago
I thought the room was nice before, but with the changes it is really wonderful - especially the artfully placed turkey. It must be a great space for a party!
hilltop_gw
13 years ago
Very pretty! I remember your initial post and the subtle changes are great. Can I ask about your table and padded chairs? Brand and/or where you got it and how well it holds up to your kids? Is it a wood top or laminate? I've been looking and that's exactly what I'd like.
Sueb20
13 years ago
Love how the side panels on the baby seat coordinate with the wall color ;)

Very nice room. Love that runner on the sideboard -- did you make it? or do you mind if I ask where you got it? Whenever I look at runners in stores, I find them to be really blah or too traditional, or tacky, but I love yours!
sis2two
13 years ago
Love that room! It has such an inviting feeling and I love the way the curtains coordinate with the adjoining wall color.
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
13 years ago
Very lovely and a GREAT improvement. The white plates on the wall are a wonderful idea and I really like your decor over the fireplace. You have a dining room with great bones which now has the accessories it needed, and hopefully you will finding the right piece or pieces for your table soon.
kjmama
13 years ago
I really like the mantel change and the white plates! Beautiful!
loribee
13 years ago
Very warm and inviting~ Love the turkey, too! :)
sandra_zone6
13 years ago
I think you've done a wonderful job! It is amazing how putting those prints over the fireplace pulled in your color without painting? Everything looks great!
gobruno
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks again for all the nice comments. If anybody has any suggestions to make it better, please let me know! I am always tweaking. This is a dining room that we eat in every day, as you can tell from the "coordinating" baby seat. ;) Don't you think the turkey ties it all together?

Hilltop, the table is made by Drexel. It is the Richardson double pedestal table. We love this table. It is gorgeous, and also has some other features we like. It has not apron so that you can comfortably cross your legs without bumping the bottom of the table, and since it's a pedestal, you can squeeze a lot of people around the table without having anybody hitting a leg of the table. We got the DH shield on it, which is an extra layer of protection for the table top. Unfortunately, that is no match for my family. Sigh. Our 3 year old put some scratches on the table top within 2 weeks of getting it with his fork. This week, our dog uncharacteristically jumped on the table to steal some food and put 2 other scratches on the table top. But, in a normal family, I think the table would be very durable.

sueb20, the table runner is a mud cloth from Africa that my MIL brought back from one of their trips. I'm glad that you think that it looks good in the room. I didn't put a ton of thought into the stuff on the buffet. It kind of landed there when we moved in, and that's where it has stayed. I've been meaning to tweak it some, but haven't had time or inspiration yet.

Thanks again!
nicole__
13 years ago
Very nice! Good job!

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