Opinions please

16 years ago

I started on this small 16x12 dining room this fall (sorry no before pics) and had to tear out a built in closet where the china cabinet is now that was probably installed in the 40's (not much closet space in a 100 year old home)

Please pay no attention to my early xmas decorating attempt on the chandelier as the feathers and ornaments were taken down per your advice and my partners demands.

My partner prefers apartment dwelling with no yard to care for and had white walls and contemporary (white)furniture in his former space, so we went round and round on paint color choices. I would have prefered bolder colors but settled for the lightest gold to compromise.

When I bought the table and chairs it came with the off white damask upholstery and for now I bought some runners to match but I think I should have them reupholsterd soon, do you agree? Do you think there is too much negative space above the buffet or is the tapestry enough? I left the blinds up for now as this window is located near a road that also gets foot traffic and I don't like to keep the drapes closed however I'm not sure if this looks alright, any suggestions? I like the muted colors in these St. Clement plates but I'm not sure if they should be displayed this way, any suggestions here?

Sorry I've gave too much info and made this so long but any guidance would be appreciated.

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Comments (10)

kathi_mdgd
16 years ago
You have nice things~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~But,if this were my room i would do the following.

Take the feathers and greenery off the chandalier.As you look at it in the picture,they all look like they collide with each other.Maybe add some greenery and a nice fat candle or 2 to the table instead.You want it to pop,not blend.

Right now your walls and decor all seem very light,while all the furniture is dark.You need to bring in some color to liven it up and make it pop.

Move that plant that's in front of the mirror over to the corner on the left side of that tapestry/buffet.

Take the lilies off the top of the hutch,they really throw things off balance.Instead add some xmas greenery/garland,white lights,etc there for the holidays.Then after the holidays replace it with some NICE artificial greenery,and some nice pieces of pottery,glassware,ceramic,ya know something pretty and colorful.
What is that dark color stripe in your drapes,is it gold or rust.What ever it is,try to pull some of that color into the room,or that dark color in that center plate,(goldish)maybe find a piece of fabric that color to play around with to see how it will look.

Good luck to you,don't rush.
Maybe get a bunch of magazines from friends or the library to help in your selection,and watch HGTV decorating shows.Lots of good ideas there.

Let us see what you do,ok
Kathi
susanlynn2012
16 years ago
hosta_house, I just love your wall color, blinds and the drapes. I think it looks wonderful. What color is the wall color?
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straitlover
16 years ago
I am no decorator, but here are some things that stand out to me:

1) yes, I agree that the upholstery on the chairs needs to be changed to something richer and warmer. Maybe that gold or reddish color in the drapes?

2) Maybe raise the tapestry up higher over the buffet

3) agree w/ Kathi about the top of the hutch. Love the hutch! Wish I had room in my house for one. :(

Pretty rug! Is it new? I am looking for a rug in that vein for my LR once my laminate floors go in.
mclarke
16 years ago
I love your room! Very subtle. You can't tell there's a war of tastes going on, LOL!

I have no advice, except for this: when you decide to reupholster your chairs, save some money and do it yourself. The seats will come off with a screwdriver, and all you have to do is stretch new fabric over the seat and tack it down with a staple gun.

Here are some good instructions:

Here is a link that might be useful: recovering dining room chairs
pugga
16 years ago
I agree with the suggestions kathi made. I also thought that you could "sneak" a little more color/depth into the room by taping off an area around the plates you have hung and painting some sort of contrasting color/s, depending on how fancy you want to get with your taping off. (so the plates would have a different background color than the rest of the wall)

I think it would make the plates stand out better and make them look more like a collection.
anele_gw
16 years ago
I like your room. Is their peach in the curtains that I see? I think covering your chairs in that would be pretty.

The only thing I might change is to add more to the walls. I'd probably go for some worn vintage framed pictures, but maybe that's because I am getting out of my simple/sleek stage.
anele_gw
16 years ago
Sorry about my typo! ("their")
patti_bee
16 years ago
I think you're off to a good start and I truly love the St. Clement plates. That's what I love about this forum, I'm always learning about new things!
annzgw
16 years ago
Love the room and the artwork! I have 2 questions......is the door with the wreath the entry door? For a functioning door, things look pretty crowded around it so I'd suggest finding a new location for the decanters and move the plant to a corner.

Are the plates in the DR? It's difficult to get an overall feel for the room but I con't think the plates mesh well with the rest of the decor. Do you have a place in your kitchen you could hang them?

I don't think there's a rush to get the chairs recovered, but I would add colorful runners in place of the white (sorry, I know you just purchased them!)
If you don't want to replace the runners you can add more color to the table centerpiece by sticking some fresh sprigs of cypress, fir, and berries around the base of the bulbs (so that they fan out horizontally). If you don't have berries, add some colorful ball ornaments instead.
hosta_house
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions! I agree more color is needed and I will probably start with reupholstering the chairs and getting new runners, pulling color from the drapes. The door leads to a screened in porch but there is also access from the kitchen so it's hardly ever used. The paint I compromised on was Lowe's Valspar Pale Gold. The rug is new and I purchased it from Rugsdirect.com. Again the xmas decor had been removed some weeks back and I did find some great items like 5 multi tired candles with rings for the top of the china cabinet from grandeinroad.com and some great greenery from Petals. I will be starting a kitchen remodel this spring so I'm glad I discovered this site, I'll probably be lurking all winter.
Thanks again.

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kathi_mdgd

susanlynn2012

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