Dining Room Dreaming

I love our home, I really, really do.  I love walking through it in the morning when the sun pours in and seeing all of the things we have collected, inherited, and bits and pieces of the family we have created.  One of my favorite places to stand is in the foyer where I can see the dining room, my office, the den and the stairs going up all at the exact same time.  Being home makes me so happy and having a house full of my people is just the icing on the cake. 

Since we have all spent many months in the house I have noticed things here and there that just don't work.  I  have moved things around, moved a bunch of things to the "sale" pile, and made a list of things that need to be changed up to make it flow the best it can be. 

One of the rooms that ended up on the "make changes" list was the dining room.  There is something about it that just wasn't working ... and after starting at it and walking through it for more than four months I decided to tackle it head on.  

Let me first tell you all the things that won't be changing, since this is the longer of the two lists.  

The pink color, I love it.  I found this color on the cover of House Beautiful years ago and immediately fell in love with it.  It is Benjamin Moore Pink Begonia and I am obsessed with it. I really love having a pink dining room! The chandelier is one million percent not changing.  I found this beauty during a lunch hour antique pick up at Dupre's on the Marietta Square.  I walked in to grab something they had set aside for me and immediately spotted it.  It is an antique piece that came from a home in Palm Beach.  Could it be any more perfect for us?  The furniture is all staying.  The table was my in laws and was a gift to them on their wedding day.  The dresser I use to hold extra serving pieces was also an inherited piece from the Minear family and is one of a pair of them.  The other one is in our master bedroom.  The china cabinet is staying, but will be changed.  Here is the biggest of the changes, in my opinion.  I found it at an antique store (more of a warehouse) on New Year's Eve day a number of years ago.  I had gone out to grab some champagne at lunch time for our dinner the next day and popped into the store while I was there and came home with it in our Yukon XL.  Well, half of it anyway.  I had to go back and get the rest of it and Lawyer was convinced I was crazy.  But ... I paid $99 for it and I loved it instantly. 

So now that you have an idea of all that is staying, let's talk about what is moving, or may be moving depending on how it feels and looks this week.  I have decided to paint the china cabinet and am picking up samples today to test.  I am going with a creamy white for the outside keeping the pink and green details and also the blue interior.  I am, however, painting the whole inside blue and not just the back wall. So creamy white with blue interior.  I think the china will pop instead of feeling lost which has been the case for some time.  I love the piece but the French yellow details aren't working for me at all. 

The rug may be moving to the guest room as well as the curtains.  I say may be because after I paint the cabinet they may be perfect.  The problem for me has been I feel boxed in with the pink and blue and as though the space doesn't have enough depth or color for me.  I know that sounds crazy, but I feel like it needs more in some areas and less in others.  My plan is to paint the piece and then see what works and what still feels like too much. 

Our guest room could easily take on the pink gingham curtains with all the tiny pops of pink added and might be ideal.  The blue ones that are there now would go to the second guest room where the drapes have been bugging me so it would be ideal. 

Lastly, the walls.  The one side of the dining room is perfect for me and the other three are not working at all.  I have so many beautiful things but I am not loving how they are all coming together.  The wall with the antique chest (below for reference) is a favorite of mine, but the others are a struggle.  

Lastly, I love the new chairs but they all need some love.  One of the brown ones needs to be repaired and they all need new cushions.  The blue Queen Anne chairs are perfect, but I will slip cover them and add a monogram and fun piping.  I am feeling something like this fabric which I love so much! I ordered a swatch so we shall see! The space needs some green, yellow and layers of color.  

Stay tuned ... I will update you next week and let you know what is happening.  I will get started on the painting this week so stay tuned for that goodness! 💙

Have the best Monday!

images by Angie Webb + Christina Wedge