New House: The Afterish Dining Room

     When I last I left you, you were staring at our boring brown box of a dining room.  Since then, I’ve managed to steal away time for a few pictures and a mostly completed look.  Just to remind you, this is where we started…

This is taken from the opposite angle, but I think it gives the best view of what we’re working with.  Also it’s the least blurry and yellow.  I am hopeless with a camera.  Flash, no flash, lights on, lights off, windows open, windows shut…doesn’t matter.  My pictures are always yellow and slightly crooked.

     I realized when taking these pictures how empty it still looks in here, but there are plans in place.  Those plans just don’t include me spending all the dollars to get some more furniture.  I’m kind of looking for chairs…but kind of not in a hurry.

The church pew was the first piece of furniture we bought for this room, and it may be my favorite piece in the house.

     We stumbled upon the pew at a local antique store and snapped it up.  I have been wanting one for such a long time, and they can be really hard to find and really expensive.  The table came from another local antique/junk store and I love that it’s dinged up without being “distressed.”  The light fixture came from my grandmother’s shed, where it had been my whole life…waiting on me.

 
The valance matches one we put in the kitchen and is made of foam board!  The armoire had a former life as an ugly television cabinet until it was painted and antiqued by a family friend.  Now it houses our files, printer, and computers.

     The platter is lettered with one of my favorite hymns – Come Thou Fount.  This room is by no means finished.  We’re still planning on redoing floors at some point, and I would love to get matching upholstered chairs for either end of the table and a bench for the front.  I say it every time, but I really like how this room turned out.  I use it more than I thought I would when we first moved, and once we have a little more seating, I think we’ll get even more use out of it.  It’s a nice light balance to the living room, but the accents really complement each other.

New House: The Before Dining Room

     When we were looking at houses, it was not all that important to me that we have a dining room.  We are not entertainers, and if people do come over, they are welcome to eat on the furniture just like we do.  When Davis is a little older, we can all sit at the kitchen table.  In spite of all that, the house we found (and love) has a dining room.  It opens to the kitchen and the living room.
     We knew we wouldn’t use this for dining all that often (although we have occasionally), so I was envisioning more of a dining/office/workroom (you know for all my crafting lesson planning).  That is not what we moved into.  In my haste to get some paint on the walls, I did not take a single before picture, so these are from the listing photos.

     That’s all I’ve got, folks.  The previous owners left the window treatments and the light fixture.  We promptly removed both.  I knew going in that we wanted to rotate the layout (just like we did in the living room), so that everything was facing the front of the house.  We used the same paint in here as we did in the kitchen, and it really helps the navy living room not feel quite so dark.
     We had no dining room furniture when we moved, but rather than buying a whole suite, we found some pieces here and there to make this space more functional.  I’ve been doing my blogging, lesson planning, and the occasional craft in here.  It’s like I’m a supermom…   I’m still on the hunt for some more chairs, but I will be back soon(ish) with an after(ish) post.

New House: The After Kitchen

     We are 92% done with the kitchen!  We still need to add a ceiling fan, a window treatment, and some art (and possibly do something with the table), but other than that, it’s brand spanking new!

Gray can be so hard to photograph!  The walls are a warm gray…not at all purple or blue.

My plan is to put a cornice board over the windows here that matches one I want to put in the dining room.  I need to go fabric shopping!

That hideoferous light fixture you see to the right there will be going shortly.  We’re going to put a ceiling fan there because #thesouth.  Also, it’s much brighter in here now.  Previously there was an ugly fixture that was teeny tiny and dim.  We picked a much larger, brighter light, and it has made all the difference.  It’s not the most beautiful  thing, but it almost disappears into the ceiling.  I can actually see to cook now!

I do not love the googly eyes above the sink, but I don’t know what the plan is for them yet.

It is just so much lighter in here now.

     I love how this room has turned out, and it’s not even done yet!  The laundry room also got painted and it feels so much nicer.  Keith did all the painting (because he’s a hero), and my mother put that yellow gourd on the vintage scale (because she’s a genius).  Assuming we ever actually buy that fan and make the window treatment, I’ll be back to show them off.
     We did our dining room this same color, and it looks so clean and pretty.  There are still quite a few things I want to do in there, but I’m loving it so far. Aaaaaaand we just finished painting the living room this weekend, and I don’t ever want to leave it.  Hold on to your hats people…I’ll be back soon.

Pouf-a-Palooza

     In case you haven’t heard from my last 27 posts, it’s officially summer.  In addition to more sleep, a cleaner house, more mindless TV watching, and vacation, this also means I have time to put finishing décor touches on my house.  You may remember from last year that my living room was sort of a constant work in progress (here, here, here, here).  Well…things have mostly settled down for now (remind me to do a house tour), but I am still having a love affair with furniture of all sorts.
     Insert a super fun promotion from One Kings Lane – Pouf-a-Palooza.  (Are you as obsessed with that name as I am?  Around our house everything is a Palooza.)  If you’re looking for fun furniture or décor sales, One Kings Lane is a great place to start.  I spent tons of time mousing around, and have found some of the cutest things

Chair, Pouf, Couch, Rug

     This room is pretty similar to what I’ve got going on in my own living room – white couch, colored chair, fun accents.  I love the Mexico meets Denmark look of that pouf!  While I was busy  making a spruced up version of what I’ve got now, I took a few extra minutes to put together a “just for fun” board.  Keith probably wouldn’t go for this, but I’m in love.  I would read in here and drink cokes and watch so many Lifetime movies.  That cat lamp is me (if I were a lamp).

Couch, Blue Chair, Pink Chair, Pouf, Table, Lamp

     If you haven’t signed up for One Kings Lane, click here for your free invite, and get browsing.  Signing up is totally free, and there is never an obligation to purchase…which is especially great if you’re a hopeless window shopper like I am!  If you see something you can’t live without, snap it up; sales don’t last forever, and right now there’s free shipping!
     What does your dream room look like?  Is it for watching Lifetime and reading…maybe crafting or family time?  Whatever you plan on doing, you will definitely find some inspiration over at One Kings Lane, and if the furniture isn’t doing it for you (riiiight), take a peek at their Home Decor Handbook or style blog for even more pretties!

New Year, New Look

ew year, new look!  

    About this time last year is when I started kicking around the idea of starting my own blog.  I didn't have much of a plan or any real intentions, but I jumped in anyway.  Over the past year, I have learned a TON about blogging, crafting, and the whole blog world.  I think that's what I wanted all along.
    As I've found a few blogs to follow regularly, I have really started to take notice of what a good layout can do for a blog.  That was the motivation behind this major change.  Although I don't expect my new layout (thanks to Miss Pickles Design Studio's free templates and tutorials) to make me some sort of blogging superstar, I do hope that it will draw in some new readers who will respond to my new posts. 
    I'm so excited about this year, and I am looking forward to sharing every bit of it with you.  I'll have a lot to post about school; as I get closer to graduating, the craftiness of my assignments increases exponentially - I love it!  I'll definitely be posting more and more about weddings.  Every second I'm engaged I get about a billion times more excited.  Of course I'll share all my little crafties with you too!
    I know I already told you, but I am so excited about this year, and I hope you'll all be along for the ride!

P.S. Let me just brag on Miss Pickles for a minute.  How cute is her template?  I love the characters, and this little cutie is perfect for me - she's sitting by a wedding cake...and cupcakes!

Allyson