January 29, 2013

Dining Room Tour: Some small updates & a DIY


Hey y'all! Happy Tuesday :) It is a beautiful day here in the sunshine state, almost 80 degrees outside and it's the end of January! Crazy right? So I haven't really taken any photos of anything lately, of our home in particular here in Florida because it's been going through lots and lots of changes. Remember that I said before, if we weren't renting and actually owned these, I'd probably have white breadboard ceilings and pretty hardwood floors. And these walls would probably be a nice light and airy grey or blue. Well we're working on that... if we're going to be here, I want it to feel like home. And I can't break the bank doing it. So...

I've put myself on a *ONE ROOM* limit. I cannot work on any other room in the house without first getting the room I'm working on at a good stopping point, i.e., basically where it has a bed, decor, etc and looks presentable ;) So... the whole to me has been in limbo since we moved in because we all know that I change my mind a lot. All I know is I want something where everyone feels comfortable when they walk in. A place where our puppies can run and I don't have to worry about them staining or making a disaster of anything. So.... today I'll give you a dining room update.

Awhile back, a lot of you saw that we got our new dining table. And I'm still getting emails to this day about where we bought it! I'm still just as crazy about it as I was before. If you haven't read that post, you can find it by clicking here.

I'm a pretty simple person. If I had to describe my design style, I would say traditional meets cozy cottage. I love white couches, fresh linens, lots of neutrals, natural elements with fun pops of color. All of that and it has to be functional. I will never see the point in buying something if it's not functional for your family so that is something that we always keep in mind. 

As you see below, this *WAS* our entryway table. Back in North Dakota, it also served as our tv stand. I am still in love with this piece, now over 2 years after buying it. It is *functional* serving both for storage and it looks pretty. I moved it into the dining room last week to serve as a semi-buffet table. I flanked it with my two shabby lamps I bought from Tuesday Morning a few months back.


The cabinet I actually purchased at Ashley furniture a few years back. I just changed some hardware and did some minor tweaks to it. The chalk board is a DIY project that my husband and I just finished yesterday! I saw the same one at TjMaxx for $40! Below you can see a before collage that I took with my iPhone. I love how it turned out and I can't wait to make more. I'll probably make a few for the sale as well because I've gotten a lot of compliments on it already!


 Here's a side view of the cabinet. The greens are fake and from Ikea. This house doesn't get a lot of natural light so Ikea saves the day. The old handheld tool box holds the greens. I picked it up at an antique mall here in Florida. I love it as well. You can use greens, candles, etc for it and it can be used like I have it or for a center piece for a table. There are endless possibilities. You could also use it in a restroom and fill it with toilet paper and magazines. Just a thought :)


I've also received a lot of compliements on this wreath hanging on my new DIY chalkboard. Sadly, I can't take credit for this beauty. I purchased it at TJMaxx about a month or so back. I kick myself for not getting the other one that they had! It was only $12.99! Crazy! If anyone ever sees another like this, you should let me know, mkay? Just saying.


Here's a peek at our kitchen. Nothing much has really changed, I've just moved a few things around. I'm still in search of the perfect 5x7 rug for in here. I want something with a pattern or some kind of floral or something. I actually DON'T want it plain, can you believe that? This plain jane girl is getting out of her element, woohoo! Seriously though... it's driving me nuts. I added a basket of lemons for a pop of yellow also. And there's some babies breath over by the window in a butter yellow vase that makes me swoon :) I don't really think anything else has changed much in here.


Here's a peek at our dining table again. I seriously can't ever stop looking at it because I think it's just so beautiful! And my $22 Lowe's chandelier that I love as well. I made a DIY lamp cord cover for it out of burlap. I should do a post on that soon because I'm sure that could help some of you out! My DIY burlap runner is also on my table with a twig runner from Target. If you want to learn how to make my DIY no sew burlap runner, you can see the blog post by clicking here. The huge creamy vase is from Lowes and was only like $15 I think? That's a steal for a vase that big. It has pretty green hydrangeas in it, one of my favorite flowers and definitely my favorite flower to decorate with. I've been searching forever for 11x14 frames or larger for both sides of that window. I hope I find them soon.


Here's another peek.


My mother in law offered to buy me the saw to start cutting monograms, handmade ornaments, etc for my birthday. How sweet of her, especially since my birthday is in July ;-) I still need to paint the monogram a brighter green so it pops more against the door. I also want to order a vinyl of our house numbers to go underneath the monogram. Ah, the things to do. 


Oh yeah and there's Tito having the hardest life ever.


Here's another view of the lighting from the window. I love having the windows open this time of year.







So, let me know what y'all think about my updated dining room and little details. I would also love to find a new rug for the door to the right above. It leads to the garage and is a high traffic area. Just a tip, don't use a jute rug for a high traffic area. They collect dirt quickly. I just needed something really quick when we moved in and I found that one along with my front door entryway rug on clearance too. 

I hope y'all are doing great and you locals are getting ready for my repurpose sale on March 2nd! It's only about a month away now and it's coming up quick so I better get to work huh?

Have a great day and talk to y'all soon!

XOXO,
Ally

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