We started a kitchen facelift on the first of January so while we’re on pause, waiting for counters to be installed, I need to focus on an area in our house that is complete! We have all the cabinets painted and hung, crown molding attached, hardware has been added, counters are scheduled for install on the 30th, then we need to finish up bead-board on the island and do backslash! We’re so close that I’m impatient! I can’t wait to have it complete!!
Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate half done projects, so distraction here we go…
All my life, since I was a little girl, I dreamed of having a formal dining room. The old lady in me loves china and pretty place settings, so the thought of having a space inside my own house for that purpose always made me giddy! I think the idea came to me from playing countless hours in my Grandpa’s dining room. It was so glamorous with it’s huge crystal chandelier and the giant dining table, with so many chairs, I was mesmerized. Of course my dining room is a different style, but it still gives me the same warm feelings I remember as a child. I honestly never thought we would have one, but when we toured this house it was one of the things that made me love this home so much!
When the movers came they put most of the boxes in this space of the dining/formal living room because we didn’t have any furniture for these rooms yet. It kept everything out of the way while I unpacked all 7,500 pounds of our junk. Once all of the boxes were cleared I immediately began planning decor and furniture for these spaces.
DINING ROOM: First of all I HAD to find an amazingly large dining room table and chairs that I loved. I wanted them to be vintage and interesting. They don’t make tables like they used to and I needed something sturdy that will last us our lifetime. Since living in Florida I’ve followed this amazing furniture refinisher here in Grand Junction. I’ve drooled over her amazing furniture transformations and knew I would forever regret it if I didn’t reach out to her first. Danielle just so happened to have the PERFECT table (from the 1800’s) and chairs in her project pile. She told me her ideas for them, which I loved, and I was able to help pick out the fabrics for the chairs. I love it more than I can express! The table sits 10 and I adore it’s double legs on each corner. I’ve never seen anything like that before! Definitely checks the unique box!
Danielle even created a custom table runner for me, because I couldn’t find one long enough, and it was a fabric I couldn’t live without! We had debated putting it on the chairs but….kids. White and kids don’t mix! This was such a good compromise to still be able to incorporate it! I’m so happy with the complete look! Thank you Soulful Collections!
Before we moved from Florida I found this amazing china hutch from a wonderful couple who was trying to downsize. Everyone thought I was crazy buying such a big piece of furniture right before our move, but I knew I would never find anything I liked quite as much again. I’m so thankful I snagged it while I could! It matches my china so well.
I finished up the room with prints of a spoon and fork patent. I thought it was a cute nod to dining with a vintage vibe. I also found a large “gather” sign to complete the look. I wanted to keep the decor in here simple.
People always told me I would never use a dining room, when I expressed my desire to someday have one, but I’ll tell you what…we do! We celebrated our first major holiday here in this room. We had space for all of our family and it swelled my heart to see us all together sharing a meal. THIS is what we’d been missing in Florida. Family all together and to host in our new home blessed me completely! For everyday use, I love to sit at the table with my laptop and blog or even pay bills. Sometimes we bring our fast food bags in there and pig out. I want to be in there as much as possible. Who says you can’t use it every day? I’m proving all those people wrong.
FORMAL LIVING ROOM: Attached to the dining room is our “Formal Living Room”. We call it the “Front Room” because although that’s the correct listing term it just sounds so silly when you say it. (Haha.) First thing I found was the navy blue couch. Um, did you know you can order a couch off of Amazon? I didn’t either, but when your husband is working out of the country and you don’t have a good way of picking up a large couch this was a heaven sent!! They delivered it right to our house! I love Amazon! Then I found these adorable hummingbird prints and worked my color theme off of that. Pillows and blanket are all from Amazon. The gray coffee table is another piece from Soulful Collections. All the decor on the coffee table was found at Pier 1. Gray chairs were ordered from Target. The “Let’s Stay Home” sign speaks so fully to my introvert soul! My favorite place on earth to be is my home so I knew it needed to come live with me when I found it.
The natural lighting in there is so good. It brings me joy to sit in the warmth of the sun either reading or just plain relaxing. But, my very favorite thing about this space is sitting in a chair watching the kids in their playroom while listening to my records. They love dragging their toys in and jamming out to The Beatles with me. This was a space I never anticipated loving so much.
When Scott was home the first time he hung the curtains that I purchased on Amazon. I chose the same curtains for both the Dining and Front Room so that the two spaces flowed together well. When Scott came home in December we hung the light fixture which was also found on Amazon. It was a pain in the tush to hang but boy was it worth it! The exact look I was hoping for was achieved. The fixture is the cherry on top! The final step to completing the space.
Hopefully the next time I’m blogging will be about our kitchen redo! It’s turning out just how I hoped it would and I can’t wait to share the finished look with you all!
The Dear Adventure 