I've been slowly updating our dining room since we bought our house in 2008. I've found it to be a hard room to design - in part because it's visible from both the TV room and the Living room, which means I wanted the design of the room to work with all rooms that adjoin it.  We've been developing a style throughout the house and I was I think deep down, waiting to see how other rooms came together which would in the end, dictate the look of this room.

One of the best decisions we did for this room was in 2011 we added a chair rail. After we did the chair rail, I had the best intentions but I couldn't decide on a colour. So the room has stayed Cloud White for the last two years (with the bottom half of the wall Chantilly Lace). And although I love white - this room desperately needed some colour - You see, the white made it too bright of a room to sit in for dinner, and it wasn't warm or cozy at all. You didn't want to sit here for long for dinner. Yeah, that's not great.

So knowing that I needed to do something I became set on doing wallpaper - specifically grass cloth - but indecision and cost were major road blocks.  Once I came to the conclusion that grasscloth just wasn't in the cards, I focused on paint.

I've been on a painting kick lately (more to come on those projects) and came across the colour Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore. After painting some furniture in it (and loving it) and doing the right thing by painting a swatch on the wall (See above, it's the top colour). I was positive I had found THE colour for the room. So I spent a great deal of time prepping and painting....

....only to decide it was NOT at all what I wanted. It was way less gray than I had hoped and more taupey in this room.  It also did nothing for my gorgeous dining room chairs that I adore, and it made our chandelier (that I have no budget or desire to replace) look dated. I was super annoyed because I had done everything right - painted a swatch, seen the colour in person. But it goes to show you sometimes colours just don't work.

I swore to Aubrey that I'd leave the room for 1 month and not touch it. As you (and he) likely guessed - I lasted seven days before I repainted the entire room. This time, I took a chance by going with Rockport Gray, again, by Benjamin Moore.  I looked over Pinterest and it seemed to be a consistently gorgeous colour in different lighting situations. This time I skipped the paint sample and just went full on into repainting...

And I'm SO GLAD I switched. Rockport Gray is sooooo gorgeous. BUT - what I love about this room is what I did on the ceiling....

Instead of stopping where the ceiling & wall meet - I continued to paint the ceiling in Rockport Gray. I took this risk for two reasons. The ceiling is pretty awful - years of plastering and bad fix jobs left it uneven. It was going to be very, very hard to get a straight line and it would have forever bugged me. Second - stopping the paint at the traditional spot of the ceiling made the room look more "dated" or, perhaps "traditional" than I wanted. We're young and hip (ok, maybe not hip) By bringing the colour up to the ceiling and all over the ceiling it made it slightly more modern, and, makes the room feel cozier. Also - your eye isn't broken up by start and stopping points that we would have had because we have the chair rail. Anyhow, it was a risk to do, but I'm SO glad I did it.

So there you have it. Rockport Gray - The winning colour. The room still needs some updates so a full out before & after is in the works. But I had to show this progress. :)

Posts of interest: Steps in transforming our Dining Room, Dining Room Chairs, Adding a Chair Rail Part 1, Chair Rail Part 2,  Chair Rail Part 3, Chair Rail Done, 

We've had a wall of plates in our dining room for awhile. I didn't love it, but I didn't dislike it enough to take it down. It was just there. At some point, I thought adding a few blue and white plates might help and I must have mentioned it - maybe even here - because my mother-in-law brought this beautiful blue and white plate back from Ontario for me. 

The smaller plate I bought for 50 cents at the 50-mile yardsale.

It's better, but I think I need at least one more blue and white plate. The hunt continues!

Last weekend Adam switched out the light fixture in our dining room (you can see the old light fixture here). We've been enjoying the new light all week, and yesterday I finally managed to snap a few photos.

It's quite different from my original inspiration, but Adam didn't like any of those options and he was ambivalent about this one (when it comes to home decor, ambivalence is sometimes a win). I love it, it works with the pendant light in our living room, and the price was great (under $60 at Home Depot). The old fixture replaced a boob light in the bathroom and it looks SO much better in there (I still have paint to touch up, but pictures soon!).

To be centred over the table, the fixture has to be swagged, especially with the addition of the settee. I purchased the old light before I found the settee, so unfortunately we cut it too short when we installed it :(

Mistakes happen, I'm just happy this one worked out!

There's still lots to do in here. The area will get a boost of colour and interest when we add built-in shelves around the window. I just can't decide if we should wait until we replace the floors to build the shelves. Decisions, decisions.

Happy Monday! xo

It took me long enough, but the dining room table is finally finished! The colour is Behr's Dark As Night and I used Minwax's Polyacrylic finish in gloss to seal and protect it (and give it some shine, of course).

I had some trouble with the gloss finish initially. It turns out it really is a good idea to follow the directions on the can ;)

Now we just need to replace the light fixture. I think Adam and I have finally agreed on one, but I'm not quite ready to pull the trigger yet. Anyway, our focus has shifted outdoors to the patio (formerly known as our backyard mud pit) - we're in a mad rush to finish in time for Hannah's birthday!

Sometimes projects don't go exactly as planned. My dining table makeover is nearly finished, but I hit a snag during the last step: applying the polyacrylic finish that will protect the new paint job and give the table the glossy look I want.

I've never worked with a gloss finish before - except in spray form - so this has been a "learning" experience for me (see also: frustrating, time-consuming). I used a brush on the base, which worked really well. I tried using a brush on the top, but the brush marks were really obvious and streaky, so I decided to try using a foam roller and...bubbles galore! Not good. So last night I sanded out the bubbles and went back to the brush. It went on much better this time - maybe the insane humidity helped? - so one more coat and I think I'm done. Lesson learned: don't rush to roll.

As soon as I can snap some decent pictures of the finished table I'll post them here. I really can't believe how much the colour has transformed our dining room - even Adam has commented on how much he likes it and he never notices these things.

Happy Wednesday!

{the baby seat makes quite the statement, doesn't it?}

It's funny how decorating plans evolve over time. What you once loved about a room can eventually end up driving you crazy. Like our dining room table. I wanted a white pedestal table. I got a white pedestal table. I loved it for awhile, but eventually the paint job started to wear and these days it's looking pretty bad. Overall, the room just feels bland and boring (the laminate flooring and teeny baseboards aren't helping; so happy we'll be replacing those soon!). So when I saw Lily's chimney makeover, I may have drooled over her cute and colourful dining space. Just a little.

source: birch + bird

In the same post, she mentioned that she's thinking about painting her dining room table navy blue. And then I realized: I need to do that. Now. Thank you, Lily.

Over the weekend, I popped into Home Depot and picked up a small can of Behr's Dark as Night. It's on the same swatch we used for the base cabinets in our kitchen, just a shade darker (we used Behr's Paramount on the cabinets and I still loooove it).

Unfortunately I've had zero time to paint, but it's the first thing on my to-do list when we get back from our vacation (plus, my mom is house/dog/cat-sitting for us and she needs to be able to use the table while we're gone). Number two is switching out the light fixture.

I still love the light fixture, but when we bought and installed it, we didn't have the settee. We had to move the table further out from the wall to accommodate the settee, so now the light fixture is way off-centre. Plus, we hung it way too high (lesson learned), so there's no swagging it. The good news is that I think it will look pretty cool in our bathroom, in place of the ugly booblight on the ceiling (and even better if we switch out the light fixture over the bathroom vanity for this one).

But back to the dining room...here are a few options I'm considering:

1/2/3

What do you think?

Earlier this week, we had my mom over for dinner to celebrate her 60th birthday. To pretty up my table, I turned a scrap piece of fabric into a no-sew tablecloth and created a simple centerpiece using a square of leftover burlap from my $15 neutral mantle, some vases, candlesticks and votives I already had on hand, and some white carnations from the grocery store. Carnations seem to get a bad rap, but I think they're so pretty when you stick to one colour. I also got to break out my cake stand! I went with a classic yellow birthday cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Oh, and that frame on the settee was a gift for my mom - it's filled with pictures of Hannah for her wall of fame (an entire wall in her house is devoted to pictures of her grandchildren).

For that little something extra, I made this DIY tassle garland from penelope & pip. The garlands were so easy to make and I love how they turned out. Apparently they could also work as Halloween decorations; my niece Caroline asked if they were "ghosties" over Skype. 

While editing these photos, I realized that I forgot napkins! Oops. Can I blame it on mommy brain? A linen hemstitched napkin would be perfect here, folded and placed on top of each plate. If you're not obsessed with neutrals like I am, this would be a good place to add some colour or pattern :)

source

In case you're wondering what we ate, I made butternut squash risotto for the first time (Adam and I are vegetarians) and it was delicious! I used this recipe from Martha Stewart, but I roasted the squash instead of steaming it. We served it with a delicious salad that my brother and his gf brought, roasted brussel sprouts, and plenty of red wine.

Have a great weekend!

Thanks to everyone who commented or tweeted with your two cents about my headboard dilemma. Almost all of you said I should paint it, so that's what I'm going to do. I even bought the paint this weekend :)

Remember that Kijiji find I teased you with back in August? It hung out in our living room for a bit, until I figured out that it really belonged in our dining room. The best part is that now I can stare at it while I'm sitting on the couch :)

I found the Dwell Studio pillow at HomeSense for a steal. I think it adds interest to the room and the colour of the applique ties in with our living room couch, helping unite the two spaces (now that I'm sure I love it, I should probably remove the tags). The vintage enamel jug was another Kijiji find.

 I've been wanting to add a snake plant to our house for ages, but for some reason I never buy them when I see them for sale, and then I kick myself later when they're nowhere to be found. Home Depot had a few tropical plants on sale for under $10, including one snake plant, so this time I made sure he came home with me. Still need to transplant him into a prettier pot.

How was your weekend?

I've ticked a bunch of things off my to-do list lately, although none are particularly blog-worthy. Since this blog is essentially my online diary of all things house-related, I thought I'd post a few snapshots of what I've been up to lately.

I finally got around to touching up the paint job on our dining room table. The sealer I used on the tabletop the first time around yellowed over time, not to mention the inevitable marks, scuffs and scratches that come with a well-loved table. I lightly sanded the top and applied a couple fresh coats of paint, but I still need to seal it. If you know of a sealer that won't yellow, please share in the comments!

In the guest room. I finished painting the window and door trim (we still need to install new baseboards and quarter round), spraypainted the window latch ORB and added pulls (the same ones I used on the nursery window). I also finished painting the closet. It's still not much to look at (not that closets usually are), but I have plans to organize and store all my fabric, craft and gift wrapping supplies here. I bought fabric to sew a "door" for the closet and a curtain for the window, which I'll hopefully get around to this week or next.

Speaking of closets, mine is officially de-cluttered! I was able to donate two garbage bags stuffed full of clothing and I still have plenty to wear (not that any of it fits me right now). Forcing myself to let go of clothing that I didn't actually wear, but kept because it was "nice", was key. I also packed away most of my summer and maternity clothes. I bought some linen baskets to hold my jeans, skirts, shirts and sweaters - basically anything that doesn't need to be hung. The basket at the bottom is my new laundry hamper. I still need to paint or wallpaper the closet and I have some fun plans to add jewlery and bag storage, but this was a HUGE first step.

Last but not least, I've been working on getting Adam's studio ready for a new year of teaching. We decided to go for the layered rugs and I've been slowly collecting Kijiji finds. The trick is finding something we both like without spending lots of money. The room's a teaching studio and rehearsal space for Adam's band, so I can't worry about people tracking in dirt, dragging heavy equipment around, or spilling food and drink. It's all going to happen. I love how the rugs we've found so far (3) instantly cozy up the space.

I also finally got around to painting the window and a few other touch-ups. I painted a black "frame" around the mirror (re-used from our bathroom) and we added some greenery. I also fixed up and hung a white board I found at Value Village (not pictured) and ordered a little something so we can display all of Adam's show posters. Can't wait for it to arrive!

We've made a lot of progress in our dining room since we moved in...

Except for that crooked, sad little light fixture. I came across the perfect replacement on theFoundary.com: a woven wire pendant light - for just $34. Unfortunately there was no shipping to Canada, so I had it sent to my dad, who not only drove it from Wisconsin to Nova Scotia, but also installed it.

Love.

I spent most of last week in Toronto on business, which was awesome, mostly because Toronto was awesomely warm and sunny. And since Toronto is a lot closer to Ottawa than Halifax is, I took advantage of the opportunity to spend the weekend with a couple of girlfriends there. It involved lots of eating, shopping, chatting, and a pedicure. In other words, it was an all-around good time and a nice break from house prettying-up.

So while I haven't had time to take on any big projects lately, I did tackle a couple of small but satisfying ones (posts to come). A couple of weeks ago, I found this super-cute plate at Homesense for a few bucks and knew it would be the perfect addition to my expanding hanging plate display.

I picked up an inexpensive plate hanger at Canadian Tire and in just a few minutes, my new plate was on the wall. It's quite possibly my favourite one so far, so let's admire it shall we?

My new bedroom lamps weren't the only thing I spray painted over the weekend. I also finally got around to spray painting a few plates I found at Value Village for less than $1 each - they're for a hanging plate display in my dining room.

Unfortunately I forgot to snap any "before" pics (oops), but here's an "after" shot of all three plates. The two on the left were already white, but different shades, so I spray painted them to better match (it's not perfect, but it's much better). The plate on the right had a pretty ugly floral pattern that I happily covered.

And here are a few shots of the whole shebang:

Like my gallery wall, I'm planning to add to it as I go. I just need more plates first.

I picked up some trimmable faux wood blinds over the weekend and after hours (and hours) of measuring, cutting and hanging, finally...we have some privacy!

Here they are open...

and closed.

Open:

Closed:

Yeah, I've been playing this game all weekend haha. I love the new blinds (hence all the opening and closing), but man they were a lot of work! First I had to measure the windows and calculate how much to trim off each side of the blinds. Next, I measured and marked the blinds, and trimmed each slat individually with a pair of heavy-duty scissors. Finally, I removed the extra slats, installed the centre brackets and wall mounts, hung the blinds and installed the valances (with lots of measuring and re-measuring in between). The entire process took hours, but it was worth it. The blinds look like they were made for our oddly-sized windows and I have to admit I'm pretty proud of my handiwork.

When we first moved in, we knew we had a lot of painting to do. We decided to start in the living room/dining room, since that's where we envision ourselves spending most of our time. While I tackled the huge chimney,  the future husband painted the ceiling, trim and walls (yup, I got off a little easy on this one).

For the trim, we used Sico semi-gloss paint in "cotton rag paper". And continuing the crazy paint name trend, we chose "clouds of volcanic ashes" for the walls (this time, in an eggshell finish). In the store it was a pale gray colour, but in our house it has more of a pale blue hue (which we love).

To add to the light and bright look we're going for, I picked up some sheer curtain panels at still-Zellers-but-soon-to-be-Target over the weekend - for just $8.97 each. I hung them about two inches from the ceiling to maximize the room's height. We're planning to add blinds for privacy (as much as we love our neighbours, they probably don't need to know what we're eating for dinner or watching on TV), but since our old windows are anything but standard, we're still figuring that part out.

Here are a few shots of what we started with (just to refresh your memory) and what it looks like now:

After seeing this picture, I decided to turn the wall behind the couch into a "gallery" wall - like one of these. Which means it's currently covered in paper templates, but more on that later. 

That's our cat, Henro (it's short for Henry Rollins and he lives up to his namesake - I have the scratches to prove it) watching a little Planet Earth. We're in the market for a new living room rug, since it turns out white shag rugs and pets are a horrible combination. Right now I'm picturing an 8' x 10' jute or seagrass rug, but we'll see.

Here's that second-hand table I transformed with a little paint - I love how it works in the new space!

Not bad for the first week, eh? The future husband is away on tour with his band this week, and I've vowed to start work on the kitchen in his absence. Those lime green walls really stand out next to our light and bright living room...