Tinam61, thank you! Susieq07, thanks so much for posting your buffet. Stinky and Kitchendetective, thank you so much for all of the suggestions and advice .. they helped me out tremulously. It really helps to see what I have here through new eyes, and see how you all would go about designing the space. Persnicketydesign, your dark wood sideboard up against the white wainscoting is beautiful! Mldao, I don't think it looks busy at all, you've set up a wonderful vignette. I love, love, love your trumeau mirror, it looks wonderful with your sideboard. Lynn, thank you so much for doing a mock-up for me!! I'm a very, very visual person and it helped me out so much. Seeing the different colors and shapes introduced really gave me a much better idea how to proceed with this! That lamp is too cute. I love the 'pop' of red with the flowers. I agree if the shelf stays, something very simple, like the black framed mirror you put up would look great. Now I just need to pull together my thoughts, start searching and implement all of your help and great ideas. :)

You're welcome Anele. It may not have worked, but knowing that can be a big help. Although who knows? Sometimes the "wrong" things can work perfectly in the right settings. I find that until you try something, you are never sure if it will work for you or not. That's why as I didn't stop when making the virtual. The main thing is that it makes *you* happy and works for *you*. Not everyone here at GW. Because if you try to do that you'll never get anything done. Personally I like a wide variety of styles of furniture. Mid-Century Modern, Art Deco, Victorian....Basically anything older than MCM. Newer furniture just doesn't have the woods or is built like the older stuff was. In my opinion anyway. I also think it's very important to reuse. I'm not saying I don't like some of the newer furniture, but I'm not passionate about. You'll know when you find the right piece. I just hope it fits your space! Since we're on the subject of dresser being used for other purposes I bought this piece pictured below a few weeks ago to turn into an entertainment center if I ever talk my hubby into getting a flat screen TV. Once cleaned up I'll stain it dark walnut, freshen the hardware with spray paint if Brasso doesn't work first then convert the drawers behind the doors to hold the cable and the sound system boxes. The other drawers will be used for storing movies. This could easily work for a buffet too. I only paid $5.49 for it. Half price furniture day at a local thrift store. Do you have a picture of you dining room? I'm thinking I've seen it, but I could be mixed up about that. My brain is much better with long term memory.

Absolutely. You also have a lot of options about how to decorate it. A large mirror, picture, or collection above. The surface can hold a collection or seasonal vignettes...especially since we are getting close to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Or one large piece, maybe pottery with branches. So many possibilities! My grandma gave me the buffet from her old dining set that I used in the LR for our TV. It's in the dining room, now, waiting for harvest inspiration from me. As long as you have room for them, they can be quite versatile. The defeated army under the side table made me laugh! I have the same thing in my living room :D

I did a built in 8 ft buffet in our dining room that I love. It has 27" drawers on each end flanking a very wide (44") door-cabinet. Behind the cabinet doors, I have two deep ROTS (with heavy duty glides), I think it balances things nicely. There are "furniture feet" on either end, too, to pull things together. The drawers on each end hold linens, and the ROTS in the center hold TONS of serving pieces. (Are you doing anything up top? I did, and I like what I did . . . see images for details.) FWIW, I went with standard 24" depth and it allows for lots of storage space. I think 18" depth would be somewhat limiting, so I'd suggest going with 24" depth if you have space. The buffet is the part on the right of this image.