DINING ROOM UPDATE.
Well folks, Thanksgiving has come and gone. And the dreary, rainy weather is not helping at all with my post-holiday break depression. But I am pleased to report that our very first attempt at hosting Thanksgiving was a success. The brining method we used to prepare our turkey turned out delish — we used a pre-mixed brine in a jar (talked about that here) and followed Pioneer Woman’s instructions for roasting a turkey post-brining, which involved lots of periodic butter basting. Mmm yeah, it was reeeal good and thankfully not that difficult, so I highly recommend it.
We also managed to get our dining room in order before the big meal, too. It’s by no means complete, but thought you might like to see where things are heading in this part of the house. Here’s how our empty dining room looked when we moved in:
And here’s our progress:
First, we painted the room Inch Worm green (a Waverly Home Classics color from Valspar Signature at Lowe’s). We first mentioned this color here for an accent wall in the living room/foyer area but later decided against that idea, so Inch Worm went up in the dining room instead. I took these photos on an overcast day, so some have natural light while others have the overhead light on — the wall color appears more true-to-life in the natural light photos. It’s bright yet subdued (not as yellowy as it looks in the pics with the light on).
Our dining area is on the smaller side (about 9.5′ x 11′) so we’re keeping the furniture at a minimum: our Mission-style table with four chairs, small bookcase (all from an unfinished wood store), and buffet (from Target).
On the table I have a runner made from brown polka-dotted fabric leftover from another project, a leafy metal bowl (Target), and decorative pears (made from strips of cornhusk, I think). I bought them from Pier 1 a few years ago but you could definitely make them at home.
To the chairs we added the reversible seat cushions I mentioned here.
For anyone wanting to see the pattern on the flip side, here it is. Cute!
The buffet displays a few small dining room-ish touches: a tiered plate stand and pillar holders, all from Target. The mirror above the buffet was given to my parents years ago by my late grandma. The frame was originally gold, but we thought the vintage-y scrollwork would look dope in a coppery metallic color against the green walls. Yep, Grandma would be proud.
The small bookcase on the opposite wall is purely functional. It holds our stereo, cookbooks, mail center, and basket for Allie’s things. Sometime down the road, I’m envisioning a shallow china cabinet here.
Next up were the curtain panels, which we found on clearance at Pier 1. They’re a pale sand color with a cool sheen and brown, rust, and coppery polka dots. All this coordinates with the colors in the living room, BTW. We hung the panels on a dark brown curtain rod we already had on hand.
In front of the french doors leading out onto the deck, we laid out a long, neutral doormat. It was super cheap ($15 at Home Depot) but really priceless for those times we have to dry off Allie’s wet paws after being outside. There’s plenty of room for our shoes and whatnot to dry out on the mat, too.
And lastly, let’s check out the light fixture. It’s original to the house, I think, so it’s got that whole mid-century modern thing going on. I’m ambivalent about it though — not sure if I like it or hate it. Thoughts? Either way, we’ll most likely replace it with a drum pendant because I love them and need one in my home. Other future dining room updates we’re planning: adding crown molding, possibly a chair rail, possibly some type of trimwork on the ceiling, framing out the doorways, and some wall art.
Now before I wrap it up, I’ve got to show you some pics of my Thanksgiving table setting, which may have been the funnest part of hosting.
I can’t tell you how gratifying it was to finally use the china place settings and serving pieces we received as wedding gifts. It’s the Chirp collection by Lenox, and it’s glorious. The table cloth matches the china — I bought it later myself because, ya know, I had to have the set. I laid my brown polka-dotted runner on top and whipped out some gold chargers leftover from the wedding. Nearly everything on the table was being used for the first time — glasses, flatware, you name it. It was pretty much like shopping in my own house. Yeah, like I said: the funnest part!
So that’s what’s up in the dining room so far, and we owe most of it to our Thanksgiving hosting duties. Did this holiday light a fire under you to get a house project done, too? Here’s a scary motivator: it’s been over five months since we moved into our house. Huh?! On that note, I hope to have some more “where are we now” room updates for you soon. But first thing’s first…Christmas is coming! More on that later.
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Katie! I love the dining room. So awesome. And your table setting looks so professional! I guess it would help if I got some matching plates. All of mine are mix and match from Anthro.
Thanks, friend :) And oh, I like the mismatched look too, especially if everything’s from Anthro!
Everything looks great! Beautiful dining room table. Love the room color too.
Thanks, Mom! Let us know when you want to come back & see it in person. We’ll even break out the china for you, too. :)
Katie — I LOVE your table setting!!! I’m pinning it now :) And we so missed you at the ornament exchange— bummer :( Hope you’re feeling better!
Hey, thanks! :) That could be my first pinned thing?! And I know, I’m bummed I missed it — I had my ornament all wrapped up and everything! Boooo. See you tomorrow?