Christmas Decor - Dining Room

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent Cade's birthday and Thanksgiving out of town, so I have a LOT to catch up on. I did manage to get my dining room all ready for Christmas. The rest of the house has a long way to go...

 

I am not one of those people that changes my Christmas color scheme from year to year. I like to use the same thing over and over. I usually change it up a little and a new something here and there, but for the most part I don't purchase much Christmas decor each year. I didn't buy anything new for this table.

The reindeer plates belonged to my mother. I only remember her using them once, but they have become a favorite.

I really like having this chalkboard in the dining room. It's fun to decorate for birthdays and holidays when it isn't covered in spelling words.

Sources:
Green Table Runner - Pottery Barn years ago
White Plates - Pier One
Reindeer Plates - Belonged to my Mother
White Fox and Squirrel - Target a few years ago

Linking this post to:
Dare to DIY - Decor and the Dog
Motivational Monday Party - Curly Crafty Mom
Your Designs This Time - Little House of Four
Share Your Creativity - It's Overflowing

Dining Room/Homeschool Room Lightened Up

Dining Room Before - Glidden Totally Teal

Last week I mentioned that with the new school year right around the corner, I have been thinking about changing the color of our dining room. I really like everything about our dining room, but it was just starting to feel really dark for a school room.

We chose not to have a dedicated homeschool room. We "do school" at the dining room table most days, and store our school books and supplies in other areas. I am planning a post to show you how we store and keep up with everything in the near future. We finally have a system that works really well for us.

Now that you are all caught up, I thought I would show you how the paint turned out.

I am so happy with how this turned out!

I went back and forth about the color. I was really leaning towards Lime Light by Behr, but then I decided to back through my Pinterest Boards one more time just to be sure. I came across a pin that I pinned a year ago when Katie from Bower Power painted her office Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore. It was exactly what I was looking for. I finally felt settled on the color. I already had the swatch buried in my stash, so I went to Home Depot and had the Glidden Duo paint color matched to the Palladian Blue.(This post is not sponsored in any way, I just really like the Glidden Duo paint.)

I painted Friday and liked the color so much that I decided at 10 pm on Friday night to go ahead and paint the kitchen. There was a lot of coffee, berries to snack on, and Netflix involved, but I got it done. My MIL had my children all afternoon and evening or this would not have happened so quickly.

I still have to make a decision about this big, blank wall. I'm still pretty sure that I want a large chalkboard. I am also leaning towards a chunky white frame around it. Time will tell. I'm trying not to rush it.

You may have also noticed that I changed the curtains again. These were in here originally and then swapped when I painted the dining room teal, and now back again. Y'all, I just can't leave things alone.

What do you think about the new color? It still surprises me every time I walk in there. It is so much brighter! I think we will really enjoy doing school much better in here.

I'm Linking this post to these link-up parties.


What You Wish Wednesday
It's Overflowing
Liz Marie Blog
Off The Hook Monday
Love of Home and Family

Design, Dining + Diapers
Hit Me Me With Your Best Shot
Not Just a Housewife 
House By Hoff - Get Your DIY On
Thursday S.T.Y.L.E. Linkparty - Addicted 2 DIY
Little House of Four - Your Designs This Time 

Dining Room/Homeschool Room Plans

I have been trying to gear of for the new school year. I have been thinking about curriculum, schedules, planners, and our dining room.

 I really, really, really like our dining room. I like the color, I like the table that my husband built, I like the curtains, I like the artwork, I like the chairs I bought from my neighbor and recovered with a shower curtain panel. I like it all!

We are a homeschool family that tends to "do school" at the dining room table. We have the space for a dedicated homeschool room, but that really isn't our style. We have plenty of room for our books and supplies in a combination of closets/cabinets, and that works well for us. Sometimes we do different subjects in various places throughout our house, but we mostly sit down at the dining room table. I keep thinking that because this room does do double duty that it might be better for it to be light and bright. I like a nice dark, moody dining room, but I'm not sure that makes the best atmosphere for learning.

 
I am leaning towards Behr Lime Light. It looks like it will be one of those moody gray/blue/green colors that changes from blue to green throughout the day. Or, I could paint it the same color (or maybe a shade lighter) as the rest of the house. I'm definitely leaning towards lime light, but still trying to feel sure before I whip out the paint brush and roller.

If you have a color suggestion that I should check out, I am all ears!

I still don't want the room to look like a classroom with stuff all over the walls, but I am thinking about adding an oversized chalkboard to the space.

1. It would be super functional for school.
2. As long as it isn't covered in math problems and spelling words when we have guests over, it won't look like a school room.
3. Sometimes the mirror that is there now can be distracting during school. Little boys like to watch themselves make funny faces.

 (image source, Pottery Barn)

This one looks like several chalkboards all together, but I like the scale of it. I think I have a piece of lauan in the garage leftover from another project that might work. The biggest thing I will have to decide is if I want to frame the chalkboard or not.

I'm not sure exactly when this will happen. Ideally it would happen this weekend, or next, but that may not be how it goes. I will keep you posted.

What kind of colors do you like for your dining room?

Dining Room Updates - New Buffet

A few weeks ago when I revealed the changes to the dining room, I had no idea that we would be adding a buffet to this room.

This buffet has been one of my favorite pieces of furniture since we purchased it about seven years ago. When we moved to this house 3 years ago, I was looking forward to using it in the dining room, but it was needed elsewhere. It was used as a tv/media stand for a little while in our living room, and then it was used in our den by the back door. It held my camera, all of the boys' jackets, hats, and everything else we needed quick access to when heading out the door.

Two weeks ago I got a text from my husband with a picture of an armoire asking if I wanted it.  It looked really nice, so I told him to bring it home. I had no idea where, or how I would use it, but I was sure I could come up with something.

It didn't take me too long to figure out that the armoire would be perfect in the den by the back door to acting as a closet, and the buffet could go in the dining room. I was so excited to get my buffet back!

It was so nice to pull my glassware, crystal, and extra dishes out of the kitchen cabinets and put them in the dining room.

I like to keep it real, so just know that this basket full of fresh lemons and cloth napkins doesn't normally sit here. The basket goes in another room, the napkins go in a drawer, and the lemons stay in the fridge. This buffet is usually covered in schools papers and hot wheels.

Adding the buffet made it really easy to figure out the art on the wall situation. When I did the reveal a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to change the gold mirror and replace it with something, but wasn't exactly sure what. When we moved the buffet in, having the metal art on either side of the mirror above the buffet was too much, so I took the gold mirror down and hung the white metal art on the opposite wall. I am really happy with how it turned out!

I think the room is finally done. The only thing still on my radar in this room are the knobs on the buffet. They were originally an antique brass color, and I spray painted them silver about 4-5 years ago. I will either replace them or repaint them gold. I'm sure you will hear about it when I decided.

And just in case you forgot or haven't been reading long, here is the progression of this room. It has come a long way.

Want to know about our dining room table? We built it from Oak Flooring.

I am linking this post to these blog parties. Please go check them out.
It's Overflowing
The Pearl Blog - All Things Pretty Part-ay
Liz Marie Blog
House of Rose
Blissfully Ever After
Love of Home and Family
Tatertots and Jello
I Heart Nap Time
Lil' Luna
Somewhat Simple
Today's Creative Blog
Suburbs Mama
Making Home Base
Design, Dining + Diapers
Frugal Friday - The Shabby Nest  
House By Hoff - Get Your DIY On

The Dining Room Reveal

I am 95% done with our dining room! I am SO happy to finally be able to say that!

Monday afternoon I took pictures of the new dining room table so that I could show you on Tuesday. I also snapped a few pictures of the whole dining room, just to see how the progress pictures were looking. When I loaded the pictures on my laptop, I was kind of sad. The room was really close to done, but it still felt REALLY off. The only major thing that still needed to be done was to hang new curtains, but I wasn't sure that the curtains were going to bring it all together. I liked everything in the room, but for some reason I wasn't liking everything all together like I thought that I would. I had already convinced myself that the curtains wouldn't make enough difference, and that I would have to just repaint the room and do something different. Not a good feeling.

The new curtains arrived around lunch time on on Wednesday, so I stopped everything I was doing to get them hung. I couldn't wait to see how they looked. I stepped back, and the room finally felt like I was picturing in my mind. I didn't really goof, I just needed to finish the room. I was so relieved.

I'm not really sure why I told you all of that, but I proved to myself, once again, that fabric is so important in a room. You can have the right furniture, lighting, and stuff on the walls, but it will not feel finished until you have fabric. I think that is why, when I started the series "Got 200?", I focus on adding color and pattern to a room in the form of curtains and pillows. It makes SUCH a difference, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Let's move on to the actual dining room.

 I am really happy with how everything turned out. I am also really happy that it is mostly done!

Before

 
 Here is the most recent before picture that I could find of the dining room. The curtains had actually been changed back to the brown chevron, but I never got around to taking pictures.

 original before, just after we moved in

You should actually go way back to the very beginning and check out the original before pictures. You can see the progression of updates here. I have made a lot of changes, and been through numerous dining room chairs. 

The biggest change is the new dining room table that Asher built. I also swapped the red chandelier with the one that was over our breakfast table, added new bamboo shades, swapped the painted silhouettes for the metal floral art that was in the foyer, added new curtains, and added a gold mirror as a place holder where the chalkboard and sconces once were.

 I am still considering turning the large mirror into a chalkboard, but I'm not sure. My main reason for considering it is because we always have birthday parties in this room, and the mirror makes it hard to take pictures. No one wants to stand in front of the mirror to get a picture of the birthday boy/girl. We also do school in this room, so a chalkboard would be nice to have.

The gold mirror will get moved somewhere else, but I'm not sure exactly what I want here. It will stay until I decide. I'm thinking about a gallery wall (like this one), or maybe even just one picture or some type of word art framed in a white frame and with large white mat. 

 What is your favorite part of the room?

Source List
Table - built by my husband
Chairs - bought from a neighbor
Chair Fabric - Target Shower Curtain, no longer available on-line
Green Hurricane - Pier One, many years ago
Curtains - Target
White Mirror - hand me down, painted white
Metal Floral Art - belonged to my Mother, but were original purchase at a second hand store
Gold Mirror - Hobby Lobby
Chandelier - Came with the house, spray painted Oil Rubbed Bronze
Bamboo Shades - Home Depot

I am linking this post to these blog parties. Please go check them out.
A Bowl Full of Lemons
The Pearl Blog - All Things Pretty Part-ay
Liz Marie Blog
House of Rose
Blissfully Ever After
Love of Home and Family
Tatertots and Jello
I Heart Nap Time
Lil' Luna
Somewhat Simple
Today's Creative Blog
Suburbs Mama
Making Home Base
Design, Dining + Diapers
Frugal Friday - The Shabby Nest  

New Dining Room Table - Made from Oak Flooring

I have a new dining room table!

Asher and I have been talking about building a farmhouse table for over two years. I originally wanted a table exactly like this one from Decor and the Dog.

via Decor and the Dog

I still really like this table, but Asher wanted a table that had a completely smooth table top, no grooves. He lays and refinishes wood flooring, so he decided to build our dining room table from tongue and groove red oak plank flooring. He knew that he could make the top completely smooth!

I have to admit that when he first suggested this, I wasn't too sure. I also couldn't picture it at all, but trusted him. My requests were that it have nice chunky square legs, an apron that looked like a normal table, and really straight lines. I left the rest up to him.

He did such a great job! It really turned out so much better that I could have pictured. We purchased legs and piece of plywood for the base. The table top, trim, apron, and leg braces are all made from tongue and groove flooring planks. He ripped the tongue and groove off of the backs to make the trim and apron pieces. That was the part that I couldn't see without actually seeing it as he was doing it.

One of the hardest decisions was choosing a stain color. I normally like a really dark stain, but almost every piece of stained furniture in our house is a dark cherry color. I decided that I wanted the dining table to be a little bit lighter. We ended up using 2 coats of Minwax Special Walnut, and then finished it with 3 coats of polyurethane in a satin finish. And when I say "we", I really mean my husband. He did everything. I just kept him company while he worked on it.

I am not normally a fan of oak wood, and really wasn't sure about choosing a stain color that let the wood grain show through, but in the end I am so happy with how it looks.

Here is a closeup of how he did the corners.

Here you can see all of the worm holes in the wood. One of my favorite parts of the wood is all of the natural imperfections.

It is so nice to sit at our new table every night for dinner. We all admire it as we are eating.

There are several other changes that have happened in this room, and more that may happen, but I will save that for another post.

I have have question for you...what style table would you call this? I really have no idea. I think it resembles a shaker style table, but most of them have more of a tapered leg. Would you call it a farmhouse table? What makes a farmhouse table a farmhouse table?

I am linking this post to these blog parties. Please go check them out.

House By Hoff - Be Bold Challenge
A Bowl Full of Lemons
The Pearl Blog - All Things Pretty Part-ay
Liz Marie Blog
House of Rose
Blissfully Ever After
Love of Home and Family
Tatertots and Jello
I Heart Nap Time
Lil' Luna
Somewhat Simple
Today's Creative Blog
Suburbs Mama
Making Home Base
Design, Dining + Diapers
Frugal Friday - The Shabby Nest
It's Overflowing