Dining Room Reveal and a Review

Before I show my (*90% complete) dining room redo, let's look back to how the room looked when we moved in.

Before:

Boring, builder-grade chandelier: check!

no artwork on boring beige walls: check!

no window treatments: check!

After:

Details:

Our biggest change was adding the wainscotting trim. Our dear friend Dave installed this for us, a huge thank you to him! I had planned on painting the entire section white but really liked how the trim popped against the wall color, so we kept it like this.

I framed doilies that my great-grandmother made and hung then on either side of the doorway.

The frames are from Michael's.

They took 2 coats of paint for complete coverage.

You can read about the new chandelier and window treatments here and here.

Review:

The trim that we used was already primed but needed to be painted. Our builder left us tons of paint (exterior main and trim, interior wall color, stain etc) but NO trim paint!?! Luckily, I was able to contact him and find out the name and sheen of our trim. (white umber and glossy) I headed to my home away from home Home Depot and had the color matched to the new Martha Stewart line.

I must say that I really enjoyed this paint and would recommend it. It's low-VOC, offers great coverage and very easy to clean up. I'd definitely use again.

Good food, good friends, good wine, good life:

Our dining room redo finished just in time, as it was our turn to host the dinner party rotation that we have going on with our friends. We hosted 17 people, whew! Everyone brought sides, dessert, wine etc, and  we tackled the main course.

                                     

What a great night! I'm blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. love, S

*I say the dining room is 90% done because I have one more project to add that I'm still working on. Pics soon:)

Deep Thoughts #8

I’m all about exuberance.

 We only have one short life to live,
 and we shouldn’t waste it
being tasteful.

—Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, March 05

Everybody Loves Free:AllModern.com Giveaway!!! *Giveaway Has Ended 3/3/10

Before I share the details about my very first giveaway (yay!), I wanted to share with you a great site for kids bedding. Ever since I completed a nursery mood board for my expecting friend, Megan, I find myself still visiting baby/kid sites and lusting over the sweet decor. I'll also admit that even though J and I aren't quite ready for our own bundle of joy yet, it doesn't stop me from dreaming about our future kids' rooms.

I'm loving this-

and this-

and also these-

Yikes, I got a little carried away! Back to the main reason for this post,

my first giveaway, which means free stuff for you!

A huge thanks to ALLMODERN.com for giving away these 2 lovely accent pillows to 1 lucky reader.

How to Enter: Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment on this post. Please include an email address, so I can reach you if you win.

Details: The giveaway will end on March 3rd at 2pm CST. A winner will be selected by Random.org and notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected.

good luck and good day! -S

*disclaimer: I received no compensation for posting this. I was contacted about the opportunity to provide a giveaway for my readers and I couldn't deny one of you of some fabulous pillows:)

Gorgeous Tablescapes

Now that my dining room is almost complete, I've been looking for a fabulous tablescape to complete the look. Here are some of my favorite designs-

Oh and I'm also collecting inspiration pics for an upcoming event. More on that soon:)

love, S

Deep Thoughts #7

flickr: walt s

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You're on your own.

And you know what you know.

You are the guy who'll decide where to go.

-Dr. Seuss

Let's Get Organized

Ever had one of those days weeks months that feel like you'll never get caught up and you're just running around in circles,

but all you want to do is slow down, breathe and relax?

It's been one of those months, not bad just BUSY. I have my dining room final reveal to show you all but need to get batteries for my camera and simply have not had time to get any . Ugh. They're coming soon, I promise.

I dream of one day having an organized office that looks less like this-

and more like these-

apartment therapy

bhg

                                                                       my home ideas

A girl can dream, right? Hope you are having a fabulous week! love, S

Stripes and Sheens and Polkadots...Oh My!

I'm trying to become more daring in my personal design choices and incorporating some bolder colors and patterns into our spaces.

Here's some rooms with bright colors, fun prints and otherwise funky style.

HomeLinkDesign

Elle Decor

roomremix.blogspot

Decor Pad

Domino

eleganceandsimplicity blog

RoomLust blog

housetohome

TGIAF! -S

Everybody Loves a Good Knockoff

Recessionistas everywhere are looking for deals and just because we are spending less, doesn't mean we'll settle for boring decor, dated items or lack of style. Here are some great budget options of some of my favorite pieces-

Budget Buster #1: West Elm Bronze Ceramic Table Lamp $149, can be found here

Knockoff #1: HomeTrends Asher Lamp base in Bronze $25, found here

                      

                                       

Budget Buster #2: Cb2 Boxes Wall Sconce $49.95, found here

Knockoff #2: HomeTrends Asher Votive Sconce $12, found here

Budget Buster #3: Pottery Barn Hamilton Lamp $139, found here

                                       

Knockoff #3: Canopy Pharmacy Lamp $27, found here

Budget Buster #4: Pottery Barn Emerson Rug $99-$699, found here

                                    

Knockoff #4: Target Fieldcret Luxury Jacobean $34.99-$379.99, found here (This is a bit darker but simialr print/style and it's half the price.)

                          

Budget Buster #5: West Elm Organic Cotton Pin-Tuck Duvet $99 Queen, found here

                                     

Knockoff #5: Target Home Kissing Pleat Bedding $79 Queen, found here

                                        

I'd love to hear about other people's good deals! Have you found a good knockoff of something you love?

Have a great week. -S