Dolling Up A Dull Dining Room

First of all, WOW!! You all really love my beads! I thank you so much for snatching them up. There are just a few sets left (5, I think, some of which are favorites of mine actually). I plan to package everything up today and send out a flurry of white boxes this afternoon. Which, in most cases, I expect will arrive on your doorsteps by Monday or Tuesday.

So what to do with my sudden, unexpected, earnings from this big de-stash? I am guessing y'all are thinking I will splurge on Christmas goodies, but nope. I have something else in mind. But first, to celebrate, I bought myself a tub of Ben & Jerry's Mint Cookie Chunk Peppermint Ice Cream and rented a movie *I* wanted to watch. (Yeah, Mom rarely gets to choose around here... if it isn't a highly rated kids flick or an action packed space odyssey, we don't see it, ha!) While watching my movie and spooning my ice cream, Ron found a box of cds we had been looking for ever since our move in the summer of '08. We sorted threw them all and after the movie sat up listening to some of our favorites on speakers that are apparently as old as I am and still worth a pretty penny, whatever. (LOL, my husband has a speaker fetish, ask anyone who knows him.) But I digress.

The whole situation gave me a seriously busy brain. I couldn't sleep. And why? because I was designing our dining room in my head until 1am. Yeah, I am weird like that.

I have been disappointed with our dining room since the day I painted it last year. I wanted a rich gray color (if gray can be rich) and instead I got something that looks a little on the lavender side. The room is on the east side of the house, so it gets good light when the sun comes up but by about 10am it is very dim and dreary in there. I have been stewing on the idea that I want to add a darker richer color, but still keep the room bright. Hmmmm... think on it... enter the idea of a chair rail. My plan is to paint the upper 1/3rd of the room a color called "Aqua Joy" from Valspar (which my friend used in her bedroom) and the lower 2/3rd antique white.

I am hosting book club on the 17th so there is no time like the present to doll up another room in the house before having party guests right? I plan on painting next week, picking out some pretty prints for the walls, and changing out the ugly seat cushions on the chairs. Oh, and maybe I'll make some quick curtains. Before all that happens though, you need a "before" tour.

Check out my dining room... today, and as it was on Thanksgiving.


The details: The table and buffet are an antique set that Ron found on Craigslist. Both are solid oak (his favorite kind of wood furniture). We don't intend to keep the chairs, but rather swap them out as time goes on with unique ones we find at sales. We want a whole set of unmatched chairs.


The mantel will get changed up a bit. The trays and plates will be hung on the wall, and the artwork too. I am a little worried that my glass pieces will get lost against the new color, but we will see.


The empty frames are getting moved and prints will hang there. The china cabinet is antique "Empire Style". One I found at another estate sale. I love it. It will stay where it is. And I am making a very conscious effort not to over stuff it. I want to be able to see what is it in.

Now to get the paint and new roller heads and moulding while I am out today mailing off your packages. :)