Home Tour - room #2

I'm so excited to share this room with you. We've been getting new furniture lately and making our house into a home and it's just making my heart flutter!

The Dining Room...

I've never had one before, just always had that 'extra space' attached to the kitchen where you place a dinette set. We had a decent pine table with one leaf that could seat the 5 of us but it got way cramped beyond that. Our chairs were mismatched cuz the table came with 4 and we needed to buy a couple more. Then, one summer, we had a party and I was too lazy to bring the chairs in off the deck and we had a huge storm and they got wet and then the wood swelled up (swoll up?) and cracked, and plus the kids are kids you know? So, the rungs are cracked, some are broken, the table is marred and marked... etc.

But as of today I have a dining room. When we moved into this house last spring we used the dining room as a computer room. I hated it but hubby needs lots of convincing once his mind is set on something so it only took me 7 months to get it back to it's original purpose.

So... here we go. Standing from the front room and looking into the dining room you will see straight back to the kitchen. The carpet in the front room and dining room is very light and very stained. The kitchen is wood laminate flooring. The entry way into the dining room is bordered by an old beautiful grandfather clock on one side, and the stairway on the other. The chandelier in the dining room came standard with the house but is pretty... round with a gazillion clear glass tiles hanging in tiers. The window is on the far left wall and looks out onto the side yard which is mostly a raised bed garden with some shrubbery along the fenceline. The curtains are tab topped and a soothing grayish blue. They cover light oak wooden blinds and the rod is a silver rod with pretty leaf finials. I currently have a gorgeous strand of fall leaves in orange and red and yellow (fake!) entwined along the curtain rod.

On the wall you face as you look into the dining room is a picture of Cape Cod from space - the great hook of land in the dark blue ocean. On the wall with the window is a small Ansel Adams print (framed) of a bare tree in the snow. On the interior wall is a large print, also framed, of Mt Rainier peeking above a layer of clouds and on the wall opposite the window is a very large framed topographical map of the Pacific Northwest Coastline. All these photos have elements of blue in them.

The table is rectangle, seats 6 regularly and comfortably, and comes with a huge leaf. A dark distressed oak plank table with black border and legs. The chairs are black also with the same dark oak seats. This table is slightly wider than standard so it's great for keeping the kids away from each other! It's a solid flat surface but part of the distressing was to create plank lines along the length of the table. It should look fake, but remarkabley does not. It's a grand, heavy, solid table and the chairs are heavy and sturdy too. We may have this to feed our grandchilren at and then pass on to someone when we downsize and move into retirement housing. Since I'm 36 it seems a bit premature to think that way, but I'm just so pleased with the table that I can't help but project into the future about it!

I already bought new linens for the holiday season. I went with a lovely ecru color and berry napkins. I have napkin rings with little cornucopias on them and I bought berry colored candles as well to fit into the three clear votives that will sparkle down the center. Sigh... such bliss! I have some pretty placemats already that will blend and contrast nicely all at the same time. For the Christmas season I found fun plastic kid placemats and coasters that are big happy snowmen. I can't wait to break 'em out!

We'll still keep the other table, it's a great place for the kids to have snacks and do homework while I'm prepping dinner, or maybe for me to lay out scrapbook stuff without having to clear it away for meal time. I'm so excited to have my first meal at our new table!

D