When I was writing the post last week about the basement hallway, I noticed something: there was a stack of drywall behind the basement door. The same stack of drywall that was in a picture from a year ago. (The drywall was the main reason I never shared current photos of our dining room.)
That led me to look around at the rest of the room, and it wasn’t pretty. The buffet is our staging area for things we want to get rid of in our simplifying efforts. You know how it is when you have one pile of stuff in a room though…more stuff gets piled in. Like Martha says “Tidiness begets tidiness,” messiness begets messiness too. Everything had just been there so long that we didn’t notice it anymore. So, it got cleaned up on Friday and here is what our dining room currently looks like:
Meh. All that furniture looked great in our last house, which was a big, contemporary, open-floor-plan house. Not so much here in the Victorian. So now that all the extra stuff is cleared out, I want to take everything out and start from scratch. Starting with warm gray walls and big crown moulding to match the living room. Something like this maybe:
Greyson Fixed Dining Table | Custom built-ins | Settee
Nouveau Paisley Napkins, Set of 4Â
Natural Jaya Canvas Curtain | Van Gogh Print
Peacock Paige Round Back Dining Chairs, Set of 2
(Oh, and while I was taking photos of the dining room, I finally took some better photos of our DIY chandelier and updated the dreadful pictures from one of my very first posts.)
I like the hutch and the buffet. Just move the tall hutch to the wall next to it so that they make an L shape. I love your table and chairs. Go with it!
I like your mirror.
We like the pieces themselves too, they’re just not really us, you know? We just got them 5 years ago because they were a good price and functioned like we needed them too.
The mirror has been sitting on the floor behind the chair for 6 months, it just got hung up before I took the picture. 😉
I like the furniture there, I’m not sure they need to be changed, but ofcourse if you want then go for it.
but you are right it does need something, it does not look lived-in. Do you need a dining room at all? Just thinking of our dining table which we hardly ever use and usually it is just there to hold stuff. Could the room have a totally different main use?
Leena, you’ve hit on something that I think will help us. You’re right, it doesn’t look lived in. It will serve us well to address that before we get too radical in our makeover. (Which we enjoy, but in this case, it just seems you pointed out just the thing we need to consider)
Thank you Leena
Good points! It would be nice to turn it into a dining room/office…we have a lot to talk about now. I guess there will be a follow-up to this post soon. Thanks! 🙂
I love your inspiration! Can’t wait to see what you’ll do!
Thanks, Magali. I can’t wait either. 🙂
There are some changes you can do that will make significant differences and will cost very little or nothing. For starters, swap your chairs with the bench. That will add more visual height to the left side of the room. Currently the height is allocated to the right, making it feel off balance a bit. The hutch should be moved to the wall next to it, and then consider hanging the painting. The table could use a centerpiece to add some warmth and maybe a table runner.
Your inspiration is lovely, and I’m sure whatever you do will be beautiful and suit you and your family perfectly.
I really like the furniture you had. I think we can fall in love with our homes all over again when we can look at it with fresh eyes! I am about to change the material on my dining room chairs. I am on the lookout for some secondhand pieces that could add storage to the room too.
Your dining room looks good. Are you going for a minimalist look?
Thank you. Not exactly, there’s still a lot of work to be done here.