Sunday

Dining Room Upgrades

Our house projects were put on hold when we realized we didn't know exactly what we wanted to do. Neither of us really feel like this is our "forever home", so we don't want to put a ton of money into upgrades. 
We do, however, think we'll be here for several years, and it makes sense to make our house comfy and ours. 
I have always loved the look of wainscoting, and when I showed several pictures to M, he was on board. If it were up to me, the whole house would be done (I'm an over-doer), but we started with just one room- the neglected dining room.
Now here's the deal. I told our real estate agent that I HAD to have a dining room. Why? I don't know, a lot of new houses don't have formal dining rooms. I just really wanted one. 
We've used it maybe three times in the last 4 months. 
It's a collector of coats and mail, but hey, it came with the house and it's what I wanted. 
Ready to see the transformation???











We went to Home Depot with a  general idea of what we... erm... I wanted. We walked out with pre-cut pieces of wood that M cut down to the correct sizes at home. He did all the dirty work, I just told him where I wanted the "batten" boards to go.
The gray color we went with is the same as what we put in the downstairs hallway and bathroom. 
The rug was a Christmas gift from my Mom, which seriously could not be more perfect.
We are still unsure of what we'd like to do with decorations.
The chandelier must go, but we really haven't looked that hard to find one. Also, the table is a hand-me-down, so we'll eventually replace it. For now, we're thinking about doing something cheap like sanding it down and staining it dark.
Also, I picked up these glass balls at Hobby Lobby a while back, but I'm still searching for the right dish/basket/??? to put them in.


You may have noticed from the background in some of the pictures that the foyer was a darker shade of purple.
We decided it was time for a drastic change. The shade of Barney just wasn't working for either of us.
It's hard to capture how awesome it looks now, but it's seriously a whole new foyer. It looks less like a nursery and more like a dramatic, regal purple.
Here's the before shot of our foyer.



So, that's what we've been up to since Christmas. I hope you all are enjoying the new year (and sticking to your diet and exercise plans - that's what we're all doing, right?!).

XO