The Dining Room

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I revealed to you my living room makeover, and technically this would be Part II of that makeover. The dining room adjoins the living room, and so they, what is the word, coordinate? Is that the word? I used the same color paint, only less of it. Sadly for me, I'm not very happy with the dining room makeover.
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A big chunk of the dining room makeover was the new windows. Since we moved to this house 12 years ago, I have had white sheers hanging at the windows, covering ugly glass. The windows were efficient, but the glass was smoky and, hence, ugly, so, I never opened the curtains and we never saw the beautiful green (or golden, or white) outdoors from the dining room. I was so certain when the new windows went in that I would love having the exposure of naked glass, inviting in the light. I was wrong. Maybe I'll get used to it, but I don't think I will. The truth is, I love having fabric at my windows to soften the walls and the wood. More on that below.

This is truly only a partial makeover. I only painted the ceiling and the bottom half of the walls. The top half I painted about 10 years ago and I still love it, and because the kids don't use this room often, it doesn't need refreshing. I used a painting technique, white on white, to create the "pattern" and I don't think I'd be happy with solid-colored walls in here.

We did replace the chandelier, but it's a very sort of unassuming fixture, which I like, but maybe it needs a little something. I have my eyes open for tiny shades for each candle, which I think will jazz it up just a little bit, and tone down the bright lights. I'll get back to you when I find something. Maybe something with a little light-catching beading?

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I am going to keep my eyes open for something to coordinate with the living room drapes, but I don't want to cover a lot of the window, just soften them. I like the black iron rod in the living room, but since we changed the chandelier to a bronze-y color, I think I'll have to go with bronze. And the drapes in the living room are ivory, where the walls and woodwork in the dining room are very white. I may go back to a sheer that has a similar style as the living room, but softer and lighter. I'll get back to you on that, too.

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I think that my table needs some color. I'll have to keep my eye out for some flowers I can turn into a permanent centerpiece.

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The shelves to the left of the hutch holds my tea pot collection. Below is an closer shot. I love having this little bit of femininity in here. I think I may need to keep an eye out for a few more pots and add another shelf.






In the end, this really is not so much a makeover as a clean up. All the trim got painted a fresh new coat, as did the ceiling, and we changed the color on the bottom of the walls. The windows are fresh and clean and energy efficient, and we hung a new chandelier. It would not win any makeover contests, but it's done (well, except for those shades...and sheers...and maybe a teapot or three).





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