Happy Independence Day! Let's all remember the real reason for this holiday and be thankful for the freedoms that we have. Remember what our flag stands for and the proper ways to honor it. And lastly, never forget the men and women who have and still pay the ultimate sacrifice for our country, my husband included. God bless them all and always keep them in your prayers! I am proud to be a military spouse to someone who selflessly gives their life for their country. And I am still proud to fly the flag and to be an American.
Today, as I was setting our dining room table… I thought about how much my style has evolved. So I wanted to go back in time and take a look at a few different dining rooms that we have had in different houses. I thought it would be a fun way to compare how much I've grown into my own style. When I first started writing this blog, we were in Minot, North Dakota. Why not, Minot?! I went through many style changes in that house mostly because I hated the house. Looking back now, I had decent bones to work with, besides the pink kitchen… but here's what it looked like right before we moved and before I changed my blog name! It's the only decent photo that I could find but the table and chairs were yardsale finds as was the entryway table, mantle and chair. The corner hutch was in the family for years. Other than that, that dining room was done on a shoe string budget and still looked beachy/cottage-y even in the tundra of North Dakota.
Then, we got orders to Florida and moved into a rental home off of base. It was big for us and had a lot of wasted space. So, naturally, we just kept purchasing stuff to fill the home up when this actually made it really hard for us to downsize once we bought the home we are currently in. We went from almost 2,000 sq ft down to barely 1275 sq ft. But I LOVE our house now and wouldn't trade it for the world. And to be quite honest, I'm really glad we had to downsize because more than half the stuff we had, we didn't really need or didn't serve a purpose. And I'm all about functionality and being intentionally. There's nothing intentionally about a piece of furniture that just takes up wall space. I want spaces to have purpose and to be able to be lived in. In that house, I obsessed a lot about keeping everything clean and would constantly be picking up/cleaning. In this house, I'm finding the beauty in the chaos.
Towards the end, it was pretty simplistic and basic. I found myself evolving towards a more natural and neutral palette rather than a bunch of colors.
We sold that beautiful trestle table to a reader off of the blog… it was SUCH a pretty table! But it was too large for our space and quite frankly, we didn't use it as much as I thought we would. I used to hear people say that round tables were better for families because it brings you closer… ;)
All of those things above the cabinets were bought just for that, to be above the cabinets. Well, that was silly right? Maybe not silly because it worked for that house but in this house, we have 42" cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling so I sold off all of my plates along with the shabby cabinet, the barstools and some other furniture.
Enter OUR home. Yes, our home. We purchased this home in September of last year and I can't believe we are well on our way to being here a year already! So here's the old trestle table when we first moved in, in our space. I immediately took the chandelier they had down because I was eyeing new ones. It was beautiful! But really, too large for this type of space.
So, enter my newer-older table I found through a friend. And then I went out and purchased my new chandelier and the new Ikea slipcovered chairs. It was taking shape but something I didn't like. It wasn't until after we got our new couches in a light sandy beige that I knew, what I really wanted and had in my head was a more linen slipcover.
So, today here is what everything looks like now. The cupboard will always stay…I don't think that I will ever get rid of that piece. I love it, practically stole it and it has followed us since the last house.
I purchased the new dining room table off of Craigslist and used my old Ikea chairs with new slipcovers. We also don't have a rug in here right now because one of our dogs got sick on the other one. Jute and sisal don't clean very well unfortunately which left a stain on it permanently. I am currently searching for our perfect rug in here and sadly, I am still drawn to an 8ft round jute rug. I love the texture that it brings and the warmth.
These slipcovers were exactly what I had in my head. They tie up the back and have a linen, drop cloth material. I adore them. The wrinkles need to fall out some more or I need to get a better iron. Probably both… but I am still enjoying them anyways!
Overall, I am always pleased to grow as a person and find my style in our homes. It's never felt more like home until we got to this house because WE are doing all the work, WE are finding the character and finding the beauty in chaos. I am really trying to enjoy the process and am *trying* to remember that everything does not happen over night or "Rome was not built in a day" as my mama would say.
Now come sip sweet tea with me and let's talk about life.
