A Place to Eat

The dining room was one of the first rooms I thought I could tackle since we owned a formal dining table set already. How much really is involved in a dining room anyway?

Riiiiiight.

Here’s how it looked on move-in day:

While separated with partial walls from both the formal living room and the kitchen, the space isn’t all too large and really functions also as a passage through to the back of the house. But it fits a regular sized table and chairs with some extra wiggle room. What more do you really need?

As with every window in the house, these fugly floral-y, pastel-y heavy drapes graced the window. The chandelier was made of brass and dusty thick glass panels. And of course builder-grade white walls. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Honestly, anything I did would have been an improvement.

Early on we changed out the lighting to a brushed nickel and alabaster white fixture that was much more our style. Total score from Costco for something crazy like $60. Even as brand new home owners we knew that was a good deal. Eventually I was brave enough to commit to some new drapes. I got the same as in the living room-a thermal-backed faux silk in navy.

But just like all other rooms in the house, it sat like that for a few months. I had no idea what else to do with the space.

Eventually I painted it the same Navajo Sand as the living room, then realized I already owned the perfect artwork, then realized I already owned the bookcases that would work wonderfully as two mini hutches, then I realized I now had a place to display all my servingware. I was in business and I didn’t even know it.

May I present to you my formal dining room-

 

Left “hutch”- vase and Margo servingware from Crate and Barrel, crystal candlestick holders,  vintage silver plated footed bowl from a thrift store (even came with an awesome golden tarnish), seagrass baskets from Target that hold bud vases, bar tools, pillar candles, etc.

 

Right “hutch”- vintage white and red wine glasses, vintage liquor decanters and mirrored tray (gifted, thrifted, and estate-saled), large popcorn bowl (totally matches my Margo servingware, but subtly says POPCORN in raised letters, total thrift store score- love, love, love it), a matching basket that holds napkins, placemats, and rings.

I originally bought this three-panel beauty to be over-the-headboard art back at our old place. But then we moved into La Casa de Turquoise where a window had become our new over-the-headboard “art”. So my tree art got demoted to the living room. But then George came along and he had other plans……. Wait…. How did I not realize it sooner? Duh. Perfect for the open wall in the dining room.

And then there were the accessories:

A super simple centerpiece- hurricane vase, seashells, chunky white pillar candle. Done.

A little vase arrangement I pieced together from a zillion inspirations out in the blogosphere. Again, it was all just another vague idea in the back of my head, and then there they were- sitting on a thrift store shelf like right next to each other, all three, whispering to me. 

How could anyone else not see how gorgeous they were??

Thrift store serendipity, I’m telling you. It really does exist.

Actual vintage containers (at least I pretend they are :). The squaty decanter is stamped with some winery’s name, the middle one has some monogram looking stamp it it, and the tall one has a grape branch etching.

Here’s to you again Pottery Barn and your crazy ridiculously-priced vases.

  Mine are cooler anyways :) Two ovesized flowers, two oversized leaves, and a left over pussy willow branch from my mantelscape arrangement.

 

Clean, simple,  functional with functional pieces, mix of old and new, mix of formal and casual. Love.it.

Dining room- Done.