My dining room

A formal dining room is a great room to have in a home.  It is a room where you can decorate differently from anywhere else in your home.  It's an opportunity to have a warm, inviting room, where you gather with friends and family sharing food and stories.  I enjoy using my dining room.  I am guilty of only using it when we have company.  However, we love to entertain, so it is used much more than just on the holidays.

This is my dining room now.

Another view of the dining room

This room has had several transformations.

This is what my dining room looked like shortly after we moved in.  Right away I bought the furniture.  The chandelier was from our townhouse and I knew it didn't really go, but we used it for a while.  It stayed that way for about a year or so. (The walls were white...I don't know why it looks like we had striped wallpaper...we didn't).

This is what my dining room looked like when I finished it the first time.  The mouldings were added a few years after we moved into our home.  I have 9' ceilings in the dining room, so the ready made drapes didn't go high enough and didn't do the room justice.

Last year I decided it was time to update this room.  I was over the pastel colors.  We debated back and forth about changing the red wall color.  I kept it because I do like a deep red/burgundy in a dining room (not to mention everyone I asked told me to keep it).  Technically, it's supposed to stimulate the palette.  I don't know if that's true, but it does go with the piano in the adjoining room.

It all started with Calico Corners having a sale.  The salesperson I deal with all the time sent me a postcard saying maybe it's time to update your dining room drapes (smart girl - am I the only one who calls back when they get one of those post cards??).  I agreed...however, I gave her a big challenge.  I wanted stunning silk drapes, but didn't want to break the bank.  I met her in the store and came across this fabric.  It is silk with a tone on tone subtle floral.   I needed a total of eight panels.  It was usually $75/yard, but it was marked down to $25/yard. Apparently it was slightly off from the dye lot on all the other bolts.  She brought it out to my house and as it turns out this "mistake" on the dye lot went much better than the right dye lots.  I'm not sure how the rest got set up, but by the time she was done with the sale discount and the end of bolt discount and who knows what other discount, I ended up paying only $15/yard for this gorgeous fabric.

I also picked out rods, rings and finials that we on clearance at 50% off plus another 20% off.  It was truly a great deal.  I sew, but with this nice of fabric, I wasn't taking any chances.  I let Calico Corners do the right job.  I love the pinch pleats.  My husband's favorite part...he didn't have to hang the rods.  One of the many benefits of letting the professionals do things once in a while.

While the drapes were being made, I knew I needed to replace the area rug.  My other rug was way too pastel for my liking anymore.  I didn't want to spend a fortune, but wanted a beautiful rug.  I was in my favorite store, Home Goods, when I found this rug.  It was the perfect colors, 100% wool, dense and the right price (I believe it was like $150 for an 8x11).  I couldn't get over how nice the rug really was.  When I got it home it tied all of the colors from my kitchen (in the adjoining room) in with the dining room.

I updated the artwork and the buffet lamps.  The art is from Home Goods.  $14.99 each - $60 total - you can't even buy the frames somewhere else for that cheap.  Most important...I love them.  Perfect colors.

The buffet lamps are the same inexpensive lamps I had gotten years ago from Linens and Things, but I replaced the shades with shades from Home Goods (of course, where else).  Now they look like expensive lamps.

This is the other side of the room.  The lamp was bought at this years Ethan Allen sale (it was the other thing I got in addition to my daughter's armoire - see here to see armoire).  I have lusted after this lamp for years.  I would have liked two of them, but someone else got the other.  Actually the woman had two of them in her hand and as soon as she decided she only wanted one, I grabbed the other.  It was 60% off it's usual price.  I'm not totally in love with my tablescape on this side.  I need to work on it.  I love the mirror, however, I've never been sure it's really large enough for the space.

How beautiful is that lamp!!!

The floral arrangement is the same as before.  However, I changed out all of the pinky/peach flowers for the burgundy flowers.  The candle sticks are from Home Goods, as are the battery operated candles (safety first).  I can't be trusted lighting candles in the house...I would never remember to blow them out. They had me in mind when they invented these.

Table runner from Pottery Barn.  It went perfectly with the set of four pictures above the buffet as well as the bird cage in the far corner.

Let me know what you think of my dining room.  I really love and appreciate your comments.

-Judy