My dining room

Sometimes I have no idea why we bought our house; we've changed almost everything about it and still have big plans to change the things we have not yet. I suppose it was priced right, was the size we needed (at the time) and had good bones.

The people we bought our house from didn't do anything to it while they lived there for 17 years, so it left a blank canvas for David & my's vision for a home of our own.

As you can see from these pictures, the dining room left a lot to be desired; it was plain white (yes, with pink curtains) and one of the ugliest chandeliers from the 80's. It also had old carpeting that was buckling because it was not tight. I don't know about you, but I hate carpeting in a dining room; too messy with kids. And, because the walls were white like the ceiling, you didn't even notice the beautiful crown molding at the top.

One of the first things we did the NIGHT we closed on the house was started tearing up carpeting. We knew we were going to replace all the carpeting because the carpet there was horrible; every room had a different color and there was still some shag upstairs.

Anyhow, we found a wonderful surprise underneath the carpet in the dining room, well, actually the whole house (except the family room, because it was added on later); beautiful, original hardwood floors were hiding under the old carpet. Of course, we did end up covering it all back up, except for the dining room.

After looking at numerous paint swatches and trying to figure out what it was we envisioned for our dining room, I suggested that we put up a white chair rail and paint two different colors on either side of the chair rail. David liked my idea and we finally picked out two colors.

I was never really thrilled with the top color; it was way too peachy for me. I wanted something more neutral and brownish, maybe a lighter shade of the bottom color. Just a note, the color in this next picture makes the colors both look really peachy/orange. It's not really that orangey, but you can get the idea.

And, painting some color on the wall really brought out the original molding at the top.


So, fast forward 3 years. The dining room has been painted, the carpet has been ripped up, the chandelier has been changed, we put up a chair rail, and heck, we even put in new windows, so even the window opens differently than it used to. Still, I'm not happy with the color and never really figured out what to do with the walls or what to get as far as window coverings.

I hate picking out curtains more than I hate picking out paint. Of course, curtains can be changed much easier than paint. Still, I just could never find what I was "looking" for as far as what to do with the walls/window. (don't pay any attention to the mess on the table).


Well, I had a brain-storm. I will make my own curtains...what? Yes, I said "make my own curtains". Of course, I had to find material now, but that was so easy. When I saw this material, I loved it and it had all the colors I wanted. It had the peachy color from the top of the wall, it had the brown from the bottom, it had the red to bring in my family room and the green to bring in my living room; it was perfect.

Now...for a pattern. Yes, I knew what style I wanted, but had to look through numerous books of patterns before I found the one. But, I did find it. So, I spent about $48 on material, backing, thread and a pattern, oh and another $3 for a curtain rod.

I had to pull out the [brand new] sewing machine that has been in it's box for 4 years, ahem...at least I didn't have to buy one now. So, I called my mom and asked her to come and spend the night one night and help me (she lives about an hour and a half away).

After she figured out how to read the pattern (and 3 calls to my aunt in Texas who makes curtains for a living) we started actually pinning the pattern to the material, oh, and threading the sewing machine.

But, look at what we did...

(Notice the clean table - it does not usually look like this)

I think the colors in the material neutralized the room a bit. It definitely made the room more homey and warm feeling. I just love them. I love the fact that my dining room now has character and seems finished; it only took me 3 years.

Oh, and I bought the wall sconces at Kohl's for $17, half off! Thank you mom for my birthday money, you paid for my dining room make-over.

Of course, the bowl that used to sit in the middle of my table no longer matches, but that's an easy fix. I need to find some sort of wrought-iron decoration for the middle of the table; of course, I need to find something to do with the 2 stacks of mail/school papers that usually sits on top of the table, too.

Now, on to the family room, which still does not have window coverings either. But, now that I have the creativity bug, a pattern and the sewing machine out of it's box, I'm thinking it will take me half the time!

See, and you thought I haven't been blogging because I've been sitting on the couch eating bon-bons.

Thanks for taking a tour of my dining room.

Until next time.