From Man Cave to Dining Room

I hate it when I read a blog that starts with an apology for not blogging forever.  So, no apologies to my few friends who read this.  Lord knows I have like zero time available to get shit done and then find more time to actually post.  So people, this is a rare day!

Although the room is not yet completely done, I will show you that I am making progress.  I keep saying I just want 1 room in the entire house to be done.  Just ONE....is that asking too much?  probably, since I am working on the entire house.  I skip from 1 room to the next and think:  Good God will this place ever be pulled together?  So you know what I decided to do?  Throw a party at the end of June.  You know how hosting a party kick-starts your ass to accomplish an attempt to at least try to pull it together?  Hoping it works.  It at least forced me to order some furniture this weekend.  It's a start. 

Now for the room I feel I have made the most progress in - The Dining Room.  Remember it started out looking like this:

Loved the rug, hated everything else and the room was NEVER used.  I promised if I converted it to a DR, we would actually use it and we have.  Not as much as I would like to....remember the woman with zero time to throw fabulous dinner parties.

Anyway, when I do find some time for those dinner parties, we now actually have a place to host a group for dinner.  Take a look:

From this angle you can't see that the fabric still has not made it to the upholsterer to have the window seat cushion and pillows done.  Let's just say - it's on the to-do list.

 

Sorry for the glare, but when I took the shots the sun was blazing.  I also thought that the bright glare might just keep you from noticing that very bare unfinished window seat.

 

Some details:

 

 

An old favorite I have had stored forever, in hopes that one day I could again use it.

My framed Hermes scarf with a beautiful slew of tassles.  Loved it long ago, love it still.

This piece will be mounted above an English pine hutch, also dragged out of storage.

 

And another piece of pine from storage was mounted to the other end of the room.

 

 

The sideboard trestle table (which flips open) was originally white and blended into the wall.

I decided to paint it to match the base of the DR table and it looks 100% better.

Gotta give it up to Martha Stewart metalic paint selections now available. 

 

I was trying to match this table base:

 

 

And a detail of my CL rug!

 

 

This might be my bargain of the year and I LOVE it.  It's really beautiful in the room.  I found it on CL, went on my lunch break to see it.  The woman selling it had many rugs in her home and said that this was from her grandparents collection and made in a village in Afghanistan about 50 years ago.

Negotiated Price: $125.00

Can you believe that?  I left and felt a bit guilty.  I mean I think the rug pad was close to that.

It has 1 imperfection, but I think it adds to it's character.  And only 1 imperfection after 50 years.....well, we can all only hope to be so lucky.

 

The only thing I needed to purchase for the room was the DR table and chairs, which I found at Arhaus in Atlanta.  Ok, I know that's sort of a big thing, but I love the fact that with Arhaus there is 1 flat fee shipping price.  Buy 1 piece or a room full, the delivery fee is $299.

On top of that, I ordered everything when they were having a buy 1, get 1 free deal on the side chairs.  Add to that the deal on my rug and the fact that I had everything else, I think the room came in at a very affordable price. 



 

So here's to progress.  Still need to hang the art, finish the window seat, bring in a few odds and ends that I have - just have not yet taken them from storage or the other house - and oh yeh, then find the time to actually host a dinner party.  When I do, I'll take pics and send you the completely finished room.  That's IF that ever happens.  A woman can dream....