Home DecorDining Room Progress November 15, 2017Thank y’all so much for all of the encouragement and kind comments on my last post. You guys are the absolute best. Our kitchen is getting so close to a reveal! We’re just finishing up a few details now and it feels good to have that room coming together. I was most excited for that room in this house, I think. But while we’re waiting, I decided to go ahead and share a look at our current dining room. I realized I haven’t shared anything on this room since the befores and the progress shots. Let’s take a look back at the journey of this room so far. First off, the before. Remember, we opened up both of those main “side” walls and installed beams. Here’s an in-progress shot: I’ve always wanted a built-in banquette, but in this house, it was a necessity. This space is only 13.5′ wide and 10′ deep. And it is the pass-through from the front of the house to the kitchen and the bedrooms, so I knew we needed some floor space. I didn’t want to be constantly weaving around a table and chairs out in the middle. In came the banquette I’ve wanted in every single house that just hasn’t worked out yet. We decided to echo the shiplap from the kitchen walls on the back of that bar and then wrap it around the banquette as well. I love that little detail! Now, let’s take a look at how this room looks today! There’s still a list of things to do before it’ll be fully finished in my mind, but it’s made huge progress and we’re loving it! After deciding on doing a banquette, the next thing I nailed down was the light fixture. I really wanted something clear glass that you’d see through to the kitchen. Since this house is so open, I didn’t want to block views. But I really wanted it to have some interest as well. I came across this light at Anthropologie and fell in love. I immediately fell in love with the super interesting shape and brass details and knew it was perfect. At $400, it felt a little steep when we were spending money on the rest of the house at the same time. I searched and searched elsewhere and couldn’t find anything that felt right and considered buying it several times. I mentioned this place before, but I took a trip to Final Cut Georgia with a friend as we were renovating. They sell a lot of Anthro home items at a discount and it’s amazing! I could furnish an entire house there. Rugs, all the furniture, lights, everything…it’s so good! But I walked into the lighting section that day thinking maybe they’d have something I could make do with and save some money and guess what light I saw first? Yep, the exact light I wanted, but in the rubbed bronze color. It was priced at $125 and I knew it had to be mine. I do love the brass version more, but just couldn’t justify the extra cost right now. I considered painting the metal parts of this brass like I’ve done with chandeliers in the past, but then the cord would still be dark. I may tweak it over time, but for now, we’re loving it and it achieves exactly what I wanted in this space! Glass so it doesn’t take up too much visual space, but still interesting. Okay, now let’s talk about this table. Y’all, Chris and I have a love affair with this table. We’ve always dreamed of an actual old, aged farmhouse table. We were at Route 276 looking for a vanity for the bathroom and looking for a table wasn’t even a thought. But then we saw this beauty. It’s a 100 year old primitive work table. It has notches on each end where old clamps were installed and you can see age spots where hinges were. Maybe it was an old door turned work table? And the patina. You just can’t re-create this. I’ve tried and tried and the old, actually worn look is hard to come by. We sanded it lightly and added several coats of poly to seal in the finish and make it fresh and clean to eat on. Oh, I love her. We got it for $125. Still pinching myself over that one. Now, shibori! I knew I wanted this room to be mainly neutral because there’s a lot going on in the living room and kitchen. At first, I was thinking all neutral with different finishes and textures like the table and the metallic cowhide. But I just felt like it needed a little something. I got foam cut at a local fabric store and couldn’t decide what to cover it with. After spending $150 on foam, I didn’t really want to spend more on fabric right now and didn’t have a vision for what I wanted! I definitely didn’t want to buy anything until I was sure. So I started thinking about things I already had that could work. I immediately thought of curtain panels because they’d be big enough for these large pieces of foam. I have some white curtains saved that didn’t fit in this house, but I envisioned this being a place Rosie eats, colors, etc. and I figured white would last about a day. Then I remembered these shibori curtains I dyed for my office two houses ago. Gosh, I still love that space. They’ve been stored ever since because I loved them so much and couldn’t bear to get rid of them, hoping I’d have a future use for them. As soon as I remembered them, I got excited. I was using blue as my main accent color in this house. And this space was feeling pretty rustic to me with the cowhide, shiplap, and table. Don’t get me wrong, I was loving it, but it felt like it needed a little quirk, a little whimsy, a little special punch. In came these DIY curtains (you can find my tutorial for them here). I used safety pins and wrapped the foam in them sort of like a present just to try it out. And I love it! And just like I suspected, Rosie LIVES on this bench now. She colors at the table forever, she eats here. She pulls all her toys up here and plays on it. For the first few days, I kept trying to smooth out the wrinkles, then thought, nope. I’m going to wear myself out doing that as much as she is up there and I don’t mind it one bit. There are already plenty of stains on them (anyone spot the purple and orange marker stains?), so I love that they’re easily removable so I can wash them. I initially thought if I liked them I’d sew them into “official” covers, but for now, this method is working perfectly. And it took about ten minutes. This pattern and subtle color with that table just makes me so happy. And I love how they tie in with the living room’s blue fireplace. It just makes the house feel cohesive. One of the things that’s still left to do in this room is to fill this banquette with pillows like I always envisioned, but I’m taking my time to find just the right things at the right price. Here’s a look at the banquette without chairs, so you can see the shiplap detail and hint of pattern. The cowhide was in Rosie’s nursery in the last two houses. I liked the idea of using a neutral rug here since there are a lot of colorful Persians in this house…almost like it gives a little breathing room. I love the rustic shape and texture, but the flecks of metallic that make it a little different. And I loved that something I already had worked well. Another thing on my to-do list for this room are chairs. Once this space started coming together, I envisioned a modern take on white windsor chairs. Something like these: That still feels like the right thing and we may add them at some point. But for now these white metal chairs that have followed us from house to house to house will do just fine. It’s so funny, in the last dining room, they were my placeholder until I figured out what I really wanted and I never changed them! My plan is to use these outside with a picnic table, so maybe in the spring that switch will get made. But for now, I am absolutely loving this space. Rosie climbs up on the bench and stands at the island, watching me cook and talking. It’s exactly the family-friendly space I envisioned and I love the style.
AmandaKB says November 15, 2017 at 12:23 pm That is the sweetest little spot. Such a good use of space. Also, that table?! Great find! It looks like it was made just for that spot! I love that you used the curtains to cover the bench. I’m all about using what you have. 🙂 Reply
cassie bustamante says November 15, 2017 at 1:35 pm oooooh i am loving that banquette! it’s gorgeous! Reply
Kathy Mulsow says November 15, 2017 at 4:33 pm I love all of it! That light…and that table!!! SWOON!!! It looks so welcoming and homey! You are amazing and inspire so many…me included. Great job! PS: I spy an Aria. (Another SWOON). Reply
SAMANTHA L HOOPER says November 15, 2017 at 5:12 pm It is darling! I love it all! Table, seating, light, & that rug!! All so put together nicely. Love the idead for the banquette seating coverings.. perfect! I love seeing what you have accomplished while with two little ones! Reply
Sherri says November 15, 2017 at 6:44 pm Everything looks amazing! Divine intervention on that light fixture! And what a steal on that table! Love the fabric that you repurposed and that you used those cool chairs again. So much better than breaking the bank! Keep up the good work! ??? Reply
Katrina says November 15, 2017 at 6:58 pm The banquette and table look so pretty together! Get thinking on turning old curtains into your new seat covers! Reply
Rachel Winchester says November 15, 2017 at 8:43 pm Loving the simplicity of this space & how you’ve reused so many things from previous rooms/houses. And, great find on that table!! Route 276 is so good! Reply
LeAnn says November 16, 2017 at 8:21 am I think this might be the cutest dining room you have ever had….you scored on that light! I love when that happens. As a lover of small spaces….this one is so charming. Reply
Dina says November 16, 2017 at 9:15 am That table is fabulous!! I love the light fixture just as it is. I just put in some new light fixtures and can’t believe how happy it made me 🙂 I am so happy for you and your sweet family. Reply