Our Home: The Dining Room

Happy Monday, friends! Did you enjoy your weekend? I met with a friend for lunch on Saturday (hi Daniela!) and we spent so much time catching up that we basically got kicked out of the restaurant. ;) On Sunday we had C's swim lessons (she's loving them) and then went to a playground for a bit. As always, it all went too fast.

Today I thought I'd give you a little tour of one of my favorite rooms in our house: our dining room. Since moving into our home almost a year ago, we've slowly been adding our touches to each room and the dining room is one of the rooms we recently finished. There are two things that make this room especially fun design-wise: 

1. I really had no idea what direction it was going to go in, so the final result was almost just as much of a surprise to me. At first I thought I wanted to make this room more of a dressy/formal space, but the practicality of that with very young kids just didn't make much sense. Plus, I couldn't find anything that felt right. You'll notice that the room ended up going in a very different direction -- one I am so happy with!

2. There are some really meaningful pieces incorporated into this room that make it not just a pretty space, but one that feels special, too. One of my personal "musts" when decorating is incorporating pieces that have some kind of significance to us. You'll see what those pieces are below! I've also listed paint color and sourced other items in the room at the end, if you're interested.

The first thing we did (even before moving in) was have this room freshly painted. The top portion of the walls was hunter green when we bought the house. The wainscoting and trim were already there. Next thing on the list was to replace the chandelier, which resembled something you might see in a funeral home, with a Pottery Barn lookalike. Once we bought the blue curtains (a very out of character move from the Queen of Neutrals, yours truly) that set the tone for the room -- peaceful, simple, elegant. 

I knew I wanted a buffet or console along this wall the entire time, but it took me nearly a year to find the right one. Steve requested something slim so the space could still be functional (we could still pull out the chairs, walk by, etc.) and I wanted something with plenty of place for display and a bit of storage.

We chose a simple white frame set to put our family pictures from this past June in. It felt kind of strange at first to put ourselves on display but it is our home, after all. And I smile every time I look at the girls' sweet faces. The grass plant and lantern were pieces I already had and the sail boat and wood & marble coasters sealed the deal of the coastal feel -- they are from a shop in Avalon, a beach town Steve and I have visited every summer we've been together and now take the kids for a yearly getaway. The plate was a gift from my mom that fit in perfectly.

We've had a lot of fun dinners at this table, which we bought after we moved out of our first apartment and into our townhome, which accommodated a larger table. Easter, Christmas, Friendsgiving, birthdays and more have been celebrated.

This is the most special piece in the room. My dad painted this in 1981 (that's his signature and the year scrawled in the lower righthand corner). I always knew I wanted it, and when my mom sold our childhood house, I packed it up and moved it around everywhere we went. When this room went in a coastal direction, I immediately knew this painting had found its home.

This simple mirror is also really special to me. My grandma gave it to me for Christmas right after we moved into our first place. I think of her every time I walk by it, and the girls love when we lift them up to make silly faces in it and to smudge it up with their fingers. ;)

Thank you so much for visiting today! Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing more room tours and house posts -- like I said, I'm no designer but I definitely have fun with the process of making our home reflect who we are. I know I always enjoy glimpses into other people's homes and design processes (it can't just be me!). :)

SOURCES:

Paint Color - Benjamin Moore "Shale" 

Chandelier - Lowes (similar to but less expensive than this Pottery Barn one)

Drapes - ATG Stores

Curtain Rod w/ Lucite Finials - Home Depot (not sold online, but similar here)

Table and Chairs - Old

Frame Collage Set - Gallery Perfect

Sailboat & Coasters - From a store called Kitchen Home Makers in Avalon

Console table, basket, grass, flower centerpiece, and placemats all from Homegoods