Dining room disgrace: Can these castoff pieces ever blend?
Four years and four hundred combinations/arrangements later, I'm calling "uncle" in our dining room. The pictures show a few of many room iterations, not necessarily in chronological order. I could really use some creative or destructive advice. Even if it's "nothing works together, this room would be better empty," I need to hear it.
We've focused our priorities and budget in other rooms, so the dining room has to wear hand-me-down furniture and decor. Some items are boo-boos that we bought and rejected for other rooms and some items are carryovers from other houses and other eras. Everything except the rug is a candidate for removal. If possible, try not to be distracted by the monstrous chandelier, which I will gleefully murder some day when I acquire a new table.
Is there any way to make any of these items work together to create a room somebody would want to sit in?
Comments (179)
petula67
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Home office furniture fto blend into other rooms?
Comments (7)I recommend you Google up a lot of photos on "home office", and especially for multi-purpose rooms (guest room/office). Also look up similar themes in deco books in bookstores. Usually what you will find is attention to style, scale, and to using "non-office" items integrated into the group. The ideas above about rolltop desk or antique (repro) secretary, drop-lid types work well. Or maybe a narrow writing desk with trunks or baskets for storage. Above a desk might be some decorative shelves with family photos and collectibles. Attention to a furniture grouping--so, not a clunky desk off by itself against a wall, but perhaps the correct size of secretary piece, an adjacent reading chair, a basket of magazines or books. If you have any area that is a "nook" or set off, that works especially well, but if not you can experiment with creating a vignette of a few pieces that looks like it belongs on a given wall, in a corner, etc. When thinking of these arrangements, you will need to balance form with function-- a lot of non-office office arrangements and unusual storage ideas are cutesy but a pain to utilize. That's important because in a multi-purpose room, you will want to try to keep the area neat, otherwise it won't matter what you have arranged, so you want your stuff to h help encourage your organization. But if you can find a slew of photos as I mentioned, some of them will be in spaces similar to yours, will suggest furniture types and placement and get you thinking outside the box. You would need to complement your existing furniture unless you're doing a big makeover. For example, if you have oak LR furniture, you wouldn't plop a white Techline desk in there. But, you don't have to have a clunky oak piece just to try to "match"; you can integrate other woods, wicker, metal, glass in the right styles. If your furniture has curved legs or some more delicate or ornate style you would use some similar things. Second-hand shops, antique malls and estate sales will sometimes yield pieces inexpensively enough to be painted or re-purposed. Most commercial "computer armoires" are notoriously ugly, so you're trying to find something that doesn't scream particle board/computer. In some cases, your "office" might need to be split up--for example, you might have the table or desk for your laptop in one spot, but use cabinetry across the room for some storage. This idea can be useful if there's a wall or corner that can handle (in terms of look or even wall load-bearing) more extensive cabinetry and shelving but that is not the place you want to sit and work....See MorePlease help me 'refinish' my dining room table
Comments (33)Update: After doing more research on spar varnish and finding the post I will refer to below, I went to my local paint store and had a long talk with the owner about my project. I decided to go with minwax semigloss clear polyurethane and I was advised to use a lambswool device to apply the poly. Then I came home and read your recent posts, Richard - and yes, product I was talking of (the spar varnish) is a quality product but after more reading I just didn't feel right about using it on this table. I also found this thread on "woodjocks" website and found the discussion leading me towards poly even more. http://lumberjocks.com/topics/2565 So, I have a applied one coat of poly with the wool device. I am not sure how I feel about this wool idea - it seems to leave lint behind? I am thinking of switching to a brush, or to disposable foam brushes for the next 3 coats. Any advice on how to proceed from here onto my last coats of poly (even just some encouragement) is appreciated. I'm not sure how I like the semigloss finish - its nice, but I hope it will be waterproof and repellant to dinner sauces, wine, etc. I am also feeling concerned about my work environment. I am working in a free standing garage and the temps are supposed to dip down into 40s this week at night. Will that be a problem in between dry coats of poly? Here is a link that might be useful: thread on spar varnish I found...See Moredining room help
Comments (18)Funny you should post this as I'm helping GF with her DR and LR now. She has colors in her DR chairs that are very similar to yours, and (she's working with decorator at Ethan Allen) suggested wall color and chair rail and picture molding just like yours. And then she was trying to tie the two rooms together, but the DR rug has more red and no blue and the LR rug has no red but blue colors. She bought fabric to cover a chair that brings the DR fabric into the LR and it didn't look good at all. So we are changing it up and using the blue in the LR and isolating the red tones to the DR. So I guess what I'm saying is the warmer reds in the chairs doesn't go with the brightness of the blue. The print looks better because the colors tie in better, but the blue is still too much. If you really want a blue in the room, it needs to have more green and be softer...or at least it does in GF's case...like BM stratton blue. I do see some color in the chair, but can't tell from the picture exactly what shade it is, but it looks more green and much softer than your drapes. Maybe a close up of the chair fabric would help... Love the peacock picture!...See MoreWould you ever recreate a room?
Comments (30)When I find something that works I stick with it. I have living issues specific to me- enormous dogs that factor into every decision- the placement of every table (tails!), the width of passageways (stepping over sleeping giants), upholstery materials (200 lbs. of toenails do a number on bad leather!), the height at which things like televisions and shelving are placed (HIGH- these beasts can grab stuff off the top of the refrigerator, and open it, too), flooring- everything. I have spent decades fine tuning these issues and finding solutions to living with multiple Yeti and still having an attractive home that works at least equally well for humans. Of course when I moved the new place had the same concerns so I duplicated as many of my solutions as I could. So yes, it is much the same right down to the layout. Although I have been chasing Ben Cartwright's living room at the Ponderosa Ranch since I had a dollar to began decorating. That space, to me, represents the ultimate in durability and comfort. I need tables you can tap dance on in hobnailed boots and scrubbable furnishings, lol, and I got 'em. My furniture is nigh indestructible, suits my needs, and looks good- I chose well. You can walk in the door not even knowing Yeti live here and it looks good, so win/win. For me what works in the first house works in the second and third just as well. It's not a rut, it's a groove!!...See Morepetula67
4 years ago
PROFlo Mangan
4 years agoUser
4 years agopetula67
4 years agoUser
4 years ago
lynartist
4 years agoIt’s not that I don’t like over the top molding but I think it needs to be used judiciously! Egg&dart, dentil , corner blocks, hand carved molding used in all sorts of ways just because they can be ordered and bought probably shouldn’t. Put in proper historical buildings they are beautiful; put in inappropriate buildings they look strange . So before using overly fancy trim make sure your home is of the right era.
petula67 thanked lynartistpetula67
4 years agoUser
4 years agolynartist
4 years ago
Seajay Sparkles
4 years ago- PRO
Flo Mangan
4 years agoHere are some examples of how you could do this on your dining room walls. Smaller and not using $700 a roll wallpaper.
- PRO
Flo Mangan
4 years agoOne more. This is great DIY project. It could look great too and add some further interest.
petula67 thanked Flo Mangan petula67
4 years agoThis light fixture is soon to be homeless, once we start our kitchen project. It's probably on the small side, and perhaps not the right vibe, but it could be another temporary option if the current fixture still feels ponderous after the crackle paint makeover.
Kitchen · More Info- PRO
Flo Mangan
4 years ago petula67
4 years ago- PRO
Flo Mangan
4 years ago everdebz
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoeverdebz
4 years agoSeajay Sparkles
4 years agoeverdebz
4 years agoHaven't seen everything you're planning in the room - maybe when you hang elegant window treatment idk....
Chatrie Large Rectangular Distressed Gray Chandelier, 45" · More Infohttps://www.houzz.com/products/chatrie-large-rectangular-gray-chandelier-45-prvw-vr~123263372
petula67 thanked everdebzpetula67
4 years agoeverdebz - Although I haven't seen the two doors in person yet, I think they're a "yes." A single door alone was hard for me to place. If centered on a wall, it looked funny and too narrow. Off to one side, the balance always seemed off.
In terms of desired vibe of the room, it's tough to say. The country french/french country rooms and items posted here are appealing. In general, I tend to be more on the minimal end of the "frou-frou" scale, and more on the casual end of the formality scale. I like to incorporate vintage items when I can. In general, I prefer a light palette to dark. I love empty walls and nearly-empty shelves. Windows are usually my favorite feature in any room, and mirrors are my favorite thing to put on non-window walls and because they almost never seem "busy."
I like these kinds of fixtures a lot ...
Studio Country 6-Light Chandelier · More Info
...but I also loved this photo from Seajay ...
... so I think we'll probably delay purchase of a new light fixture for now. If we focus on the decluttering, painting, etc., then we might get a better sense of what we want.petula67
4 years agoWe tried out a few of the suggestions in the dining room today, and things are looking better. We moved the dark antique hutch and all but one banquette bench out of the room. We painted the chandelier (skipped the crackle effort since we've decided to buy a new fixture) and dropped it down a few inches. We flipped the hardware on one of the mirror doors. We borrowed some sheers from another room just to see how they'd look at the windows (good). And finally, we moved a large floral painting from another room as a "try-out." The picture isn't centered because we used an existing molly, but it's close enough for now.
This will probably be our last progress report for a while because the next few steps will take more time: choosing new light fixture, replacing the mirror in the door, repainting, window treatments, etc. But thought I'd post an updated photo just to share.
Dining room · More Info
shwshw
4 years agoThe doors look great. I love the cranes Flo suggested. Not sure of the size, but here's how they might look:
petula67 thanked shwshwlynartist
4 years agolynartist
4 years agoI think you can do a triptych or three different prints or just one large piece of art. The mirrored doors at a large presence though and I think you need to keep that in mind.
petula67 thanked lynartistpetula67
4 years ago
AC LB
4 years ago
pat1250
4 years ago
lynartist