Dining In Progress

My Momma is here! Yay! She got here last week and we are enjoying her visit very much. Of course she’s a southern momma so she’s been cookin! Homemade pretzels, bread, and gumbo ya’ll! It was delicious!

Don’t you wish you had some? Today I wanted to share the progress I’ve made in my little dining room. The first time I showed it to you it looked like this.

There was a dark traditional rug and the dining set was also very dark. That’s when I broke out some paint and lightened things up.

It was refreshing to see it looking more like a cottage but it still needed some style and a personality that was more ‘us’. So I added some.

Here are the little changes.

The most dramatic change is turning my table in a different direction! Something so simple has opened the area around the chairs and makes the whole room so much bigger! Before there was a slim sofa table with a wine rack under it and even though it was small it still felt crowded. You always had trouble getting in and out of the chair against the wall and the over all traffic pattern around the table was very congested. That small change alone makes me love this room even more. I feel like its a brand new space. Can you feel all of the extra room?!

I moved the green sofa table to the living room, shoved the wine rack in the attic and there was pa-lenty of room for my french server. Whoa! It. Looks. Awesome. Not to mention it has functional storage. Which my life needs in a bad way.

The second tweak is the curtains. The original blue ones were okay but they weren’t rockin my world. Yes, curtains can indeed rock my world. I love the chevron fabric I put on my chairs but to have it on my windows too felt like an overload. I have been in love with all things Ikat (who hasn’t?) but it was difficult to find a good bit of fabric at a reasonable price. These gorgeous curtains are…hold on to your socks…$500 for a pair of panels.

via

So I was in a holding pattern while looking everywhere. On black Friday I went into JCPenney’s and (finally) they had some cute stuff. I found these panels and paid a whopping $16 a piece for them! What?! I know! They have an Ikat feel and while I wish they went all the way to the floor, I really do like them.

Don’t be afraid of pattern! This I am slowly learning. Its really fun and adds a lot of character!

If you missed my post on this burlap wreath be sure and check it out. I use it everywhere, not just my front door! Something must be right when chevron, Ikat and burlap are in one room. Its enough for me to implode with giddiness.

The art has also seen a change. Even though Long Island is my home I want to incorporate some things that remind me of Louisiana, this 73 year old map is a perfect little detail that makes me smile. Could the colors be more perfect?!

Oh, this map makes me so happy. If you’re good you can find my hometown, its at E6 or is it 6E?

Then, there’s this adorable print I purchased from this Etsy shop. I blurred my address for obvious reasons. It is so fitting for our little cottage. Both the map and this print cost me under $40, so affordable for personalized art!

So with the room feeling bigger, adding the french server, new personalized art, and Ikat inspired curtains I have to say we are very close to it being complete! I can’t wait to show you a few changes to the living room as well.

These few simple and affordable changes are saving me thousands of dollars in investing in new furniture that would ‘work’ in my little cottage. And that makes for one very happy hubby. Which is a great side benefit!

So what do you think? It turned out well? Any turning furniture for a whole new roomy world? Have you spruced something lately to give it new life?

Thanks for stopping in!

Kelli

Linking to:

East Coast Creative

traditional circa 2002

Here is my dining room as it has been for the passed several years.  Dark furniture that was very popular circa 2002 and a traditional rug.  Now, the blue curtains were not a part of this original look but an update knowing my future plans for this room.

As my style is evolving and I’m honing in on what I want things to look like around here, I’ve decided that my current furniture is way too dark.  We bought this furniture over eight years ago and I have enjoyed it, but its time to go.  Of course, I would love to go to Lucille’s Beach Barn in Westhampton Beach and order a custom farmhouse old but new dining room table or collect an assortment of mismatched chairs like my friend Lizzy.  But, that is definitely NOT in the money or time budget.  Maybe some day…

So,  I perused Craig’s List and garage sales trying to find something that I  liked and that was affordable, but all I found was others trying to get rid of their dark stained furniture too.  So…that left me the option of keeping what I had and trying a way to make it work and that’s when I decided to paint it.  This was not the choice Danny was comfortable with.  Paint nice furniture?  You must be crazy!  That didn’t deter me…this was happening.

Well, if you know me at all, then you understand I made it my full time business researching how to paint furniture and the funny thing is, I discovered lots of gals my age repainting their dark  furniture.  I guess every couple that got married around ten years ago and bought furniture all got the same stuff and now we’re sick of it and ready for a sprucing.

So what color can I paint my table and chairs?  I also needed new fabric to recover the cushions, so this helped me narrow it down to a few colors.  I read a ton of reviews and became addicted to some awesome websites that helped me decide to try some new fangled paint.  Annie Sloan chalk paint and I have to say if this was ice cream I’d be in big trouble.  I LOVE THIS PAINT!  I will talk more about it in a separate post because well…it needs its own post.

As this picture reveals I decided on Old White, a creamy white that is clean but not too bright.  After two coats and some distressing I had a brand new table.  I covered my chair cushions in an aqua blue and cream chevron patterned canvas that I bought on Etsy.  My mom helped me painstakingly ironed on a really thin matte vinyl to keep the toddler messes at bay.  I didn’t want to add a second coat to the chairs because they were a huge pain to paint.  So I distressed them really well and they look beautifully worn and weathered.

Now, I’m NOT a professional picture taker but it gives you an idea of the transformation.  I replaced the dark heavy rug with a jute one from Ikea and we hung some bamboo shades to help finish the look.  While the blue curtains are ok for now, I’m on the hunt for something with an Ikat pattern.  But overall so far I’m very happy with how it turned out!  Light, bright and just right for this little cottage.