House Tour :: Dining Room 2

I never feel like any of the rooms in my house are "complete."  There is always something that could be prettier, or flow better, or be more personal, or whatever.

Well, I can't say never any more.  I am now completely content with my dining room and have zero plans to change anything, until the bookcase can't handle another book.  And in that case, all I have to do is purge the book collection!  No need to expand the bookcase, though it is expandable.

When my friend Sarah came to do our 2012 mugshots this winter, she also shot the dining room. I just love her beautiful photography.  I sure wish I had her talent!

This past winter, I bought a sideboard at Stacks.  I needed some storage for table linens, vases, other glassware and entertaining items.  You can see the sideboard below the window.

 

Because the sideboard had very tall openings for the shelves, I used a West Elm store credit I had to buy four baskets (they are called "magazine bags") to store the linens and some extra serving utensils.  I placed them on the top shelf all the way across.

Years ago, my mother-in-law, Cheryl, gave me some fancy glass entertaining trays, along with glass punch cups.  I love them so much, but they have been stored in the garage for years... I had no place to put them.  So, they were never used!  Now, they live in the sideboard and I can't wait to use them some time... maybe the next time I have some ladies over.  There's even a little slit in the glass so you can rest your cigarette while you eat your food.

Also, please note the Nerf dart under the sideboard in the photo above.  These things are seriously everywhere in my house.  I am glad Sarah chose not to edit it out.  This is just the real deal.


With the addition of the sideboard, I added curtains from World Market.  The print is a floral on a greenish-yellow background.  I couldn't find the link, and I don't remember the name of the print!  The sheers are called Sahaj Ivory Curtains with Jute Stripes.  I removed the white vinyl blinds that originally came with the house and stored them in the attic.  I much prefer the look of the curtains versus the blinds.  Makes the room feel a bit more formal and finished, though both the print and the stripe lend a bit of funk.

Before I bought the sideboard, I had the small console table below the window. It is from Kirkland's (believe it or not) and I love the shape of it.  It was too small for the space I originally had it in, but we made it work.  Now, it lives on the short wall to the left of the window and sideboard.   It is nice for display and polish to the room, but even nicer to be able to set a pitcher of tea or extra dishes there when we have company.

Ever have a random thing that you think is cool but you have no idea what to do with it?  That's how I felt about my husband's old, old music book full of drum rudiments.  I liked it, but what do I do with it?  It ended up laying around and almost accidentally becoming a base for a little candle display.  Candles are from TJ Maxx.

Let's revisit the overall photo... see the Ikea Stockholm bookcases?

Sarah took close ups of the shelves.  A few of my favorites  ::

Hey!  It's a Cookwire shot of a Cookwire shot!  Black and white photo is from early 2010.

I like the shelf below because of the shallow silver pedestal bowl that houses several of Dave's fossils.  It's like a subtle surprise and when people notice it, the display itself invites them to pick the rocks up and take a closer look.

To the right of the bookcase is an antique church pew.  It is unusual in its size... it's just the right size to hold a single person.  Especially if a single person needs a few moments by themselves to settle down and refocus themselves after offending a brother.  Or a mother.  Or a father.  Yes, it has become somewhat of a time-out bench, but I think everyone in the family likes the piece.  So far, no one associates it solely with discipline.  :)