I know the way we do it is not for everyone, but I will tell you what works for us! We do not homeschool, but we do believe that education happens all day long, and much of it comes from us as parents. We keep educational things all over our dining room. Our dining room is also the main eating area for us, since our kitchen is not an eat-in kitchen. Almost everyone that comes to visit sees the dining room from where they are sitting or standing, or has to pass through it at some point. The underlying décor in the dining room is nicely done and the school materials are fairly well organized. There is no one that would visit here that would not understand why our dining room looks the way it does, and we have never been embarrassed by it. Our kids have grown up with placemats that have maps, math, presidents, etc. on them, and have learned many things from the conversations we have at the dinner table while using these placemats. We have had conversion charts, periodic tables, maps, money charts, clock posters, and number lines on the wall over the years. The kids have learned from them because they are where they can see them any time of day. The room is constantly changing as the kids grow. The kids also have their desks in the dining room. We don't really have another place for them. We have an extra room, but we use that as a craft room, which is usually somewhat messy...their desks stay clean and useable when they are out where we can see them. They do use the craft room for school projects, and that way the projects can stay out until they are completed. Our dining room is never in magazine-worthy condition for sure, but I know that the kids are only kids for a short time, and it is so fun to use every opportunity to teach them new things. Also, this is our own home for raising them, so I don't really think about how the décor looks to other people that might stop by for a visit. I will have a beautiful dining room later in life, when the kids are grown and gone. To me, at this stage in our lives, this is beautiful décor to me! This post was edited by myfoursquare on Tue, Oct 8, 13 at 13:31

I have BM peanut shell on my dining room walls & hallways. It's a rich warm color. As far as pale yellow, there is BM Windham Cream, which I used in my kitchen. I like the transition between it and the peanut shell.

Busybee, you are right, a more appropriate place for the DVD's would be closer to a TV, which is in the family room right around the corner. A re-do of that room is coming soon (which will be a whole new post), so the DVD's will probably stay parked here until then. But I like your idea of storing them in a basket or something similar. A thought *did* occur to me to transfer the discs to a CD holder (like what you might carry in your car), something nice, maybe leather-bound and looks like an old book. Like this one I found on Amazon: But would I *gasp* toss the plastic cases??? I just threw out a bunch of old plastic butter bowls -- oh, the waste... That wing chair is awesome, isn't it? Looks like it would be small enough to be comfortable as a dining chair, yet big enough to be comfortable for a few hours of studying, or even just reading. Re: retraining the family -- oh, my liver! LOL. You see those French doors across the foyer from the DR? What would it take to open the door and drop the backpacks there instead? One would think... But noooo, it's more fun to leave it one step inside the door, so one's parental unit can trip and break an ankle after coming home from a long day at work. :-O The lesson here is that my darling children will probably be off to college before they'll be trained enough to lift the lid on a storage bench. I've thought about it, and that's the conclusion I've drawn. A settee, however, is open underneath, and I can just kick the backpacks under it when I walk in the door. :-P Tablecloth and curtains -- I will probably need some serious help here. I should probably get the rug and chairs in place first, and then I'll solicit opinions on those accessories. I admit, I tend to put something up that I like, and there it stays for *years*. (Wait 'til you see the living room curtains...) It's time for a change. I like your ideas about floating shelves and using the wooden chairs to "bookend" the china cabinet. However, I like the china cab where it is because it looks nice through the window from the street. :-) (But I am always open to hearing fresh ideas!) Looking at my pics, it becomes glaringly obvious to me that the upper fourth of my walls are quite naked. I think the chandy that I've honed in on, however, will add some interest higher up. I thought this would coordinate well with the other wrought iron accessories in the room: It still has curves, but not all the scroll. I guess it just feels "old world" to me, which is why I like it. I wish my budget could keep up with my mind; this would be an awesome room already if it could! I work full-time in a male-dominated field, so I am sorely lacking in access to female opinions. It is so cool, being able to bounce ideas here.

Hello so we have a open living room, dining room and kitchen with wood floor we trying to get the transition on the color on the walls with the rest of our living space so we’re not changing anything else the furniture stays the color in the kitchen floor everything stays good just need to create a warm and cozy transition to the whole living area thank you Adriana