Making it Lovely

Tag: chairs

  • The Wallpapered Dining Room

    The Wallpapered Dining Room

    I love it. It’s exactly what I’ve wanted since we first decided to buy this house, and I even chose one of the wallpapers I was originally considering.

    Wallpapered Dining Room

    Here’s a completely empty ‘before’ shot:
    dining room

    And a nice ‘after’ to compare it to:
    Wallpapered Dining Room

    Wallpapering a house that’s almost 100 years old (while being five months pregnant) wasn’t exactly the easiest project we’ve done. I wouldn’t say that it was hard, just very time-consuming. It probably took us about 15 hours, but we’re so proud of the job we’ve done.

    Wallpapered Dining Room

    I had ordered 4 yards of pink upholstery fabric on eBay for $10, so I used that on the chairs and along the back of the built-in hutch.

    Wallpapered Dining Room

    I love the way the living and dining rooms work together.

    Living Room and Wallpapered Dining Room

    Living Room and Wallpapered Dining Room

    So happy!

    Wallpapered Dining Room

  • Hey, That Looks Familiar

    Hey, That Looks Familiar

    I just noticed that Laure from at home at home and I have the same table!


    Laure’s table

    Hers has a white top whereas mine is wood, but that base looks identical. It looks pretty good with shell chairs, not that I need any encouragement to buy them! I’m filing that idea away…

  • Amy Butler Fabric in the Dining Room

    Amy Butler Fabric in the Dining Room

    Looks pretty good.

    Amy Butler Fabrics

    Ritzy Stripe (the zigzags) on the chairs, and Primrose (the other fabric) for curtains? It’s lacking some ‘oomph’ though. Maybe that wall color is too dark.

    I wish those zigzags came in hot pink. Or pink and aubergine!

  • Old Waiting Room Chairs

    Old Waiting Room Chairs

    They’ve been in the living room for a while now, but I don’t think they’ll be staying. I’ve had those chairs for years though (you’ve probably seen them pop up in other areas of my house too), so I thought I’d give them a try.

    Old Waiting Room Chairs

    I might not bother with making a slipcover for our ugly old bench either. I still like having our Eames LCW there, which is the way I set up the room in the very beginning.

    I do like the new (old) end tables I picked up though. The size is much better, and I love the little drawer (to store our bajillion remotes and video game controls). I just wish they were in better shape.

  • Another New Dining Room Table (& Chairs)

    Another New Dining Room Table (& Chairs)

    Whoops. Just over a month after I bought a new dining room table, I’ve purchased another. With six chairs.

    table and chairs

    Sorry for the poor picture quality – I only had my cheapie little digital camera with me. Look at that table base though!

    table legs

    I’m about a week too late to return the other table, so I’m not sure what to do. I suppose I’ll either be selling the west elm table or this new set, depending on which works out better. I’m going back next Saturday to pick everything up.

    The table and chairs are from Jubilee Furniture Co., which you can read about here. I went with my friends Genie and Sarah, and we scored a couple of other goodies too…

    Genie got this fab lamp, and I picked up two of these matching end tables:
    lamp and side table

    Genie also grabbed this adorable dining set:
    Genie's new table and chairs

    Sarah and I spent a few hours rearranging Genie’s apartment when we got back, and I think she’ll be writing about it on Apartment Therapy when the makeover is complete. Sarah will also be reviewing Jubilee Furniture Co. for AT, so be on the lookout for that soon.

    Um, this new dining set better be worth it. Brandon was a bit annoyed with me.

  • New Dining Room Table

    New Dining Room Table

    I alluded to our new table earlier this month, and my patterned vase was photographed on it, but I hadn’t taken any proper pictures until this morning.

    The Dining Room

    Brandon and I had a number of gift cards to west elm and Pottery Barn from Christmas, so we decided to combine them for a more spendy item. Not so fun fact: I knew that the gift cards were interchangeable because I actually worked at west elm briefly when they first opened their Chicagoland store.

    We looked around and finally settled on the parsons expandable dining table. Oh, and we were recognized by a girl shopping at the store! She saw Brandon first, and we later realized that it was probably because of the Christmas card! Tee hee.

    The Dining Room and Living Room

    Notice the absence of my pretty white rug in the living room, and the rumpled replacement jute rug from the basement. Eh. Not bad, but not very good either.

    Moving on.

    I love that three chairs can fit on each side now. The legs on our old table were inset from the edges and it was a little awkward with even two chairs on each side. Now if we really needed to squish, we can fit 10 people at the table when the leaf is in!

    Dining Room Chairs and Table

    I realized when I was taking photos that I had forgotten to follow up on the Tao console table I was considering from Room and Board. In fact, it’s been so long that Room and Board has since discontinued it. I did end up purchasing it for the dining room though! I hung my Amy Ruppel painting above it, and there’s a magazine butler for sorting mail (and keeping it neat).

    The Dining Room and Living Room

    Now we get to the truth, which is that I think the dining room is a bit boring. Blah. Ho hum. It’s nice, but I’m not happy with just nice. You all probably know that I’ve wanted wallpaper from day one, and I’ve also been waffling and indecisive since day one.

    Here’s what the vintage wallpaper that I bought on eBay looks like:

    Dining Room Wallpaper Mockup

    I think something darker would might look better. I want a little drama in the dining room, and I’m afraid that vintage floral may just give off ‘crazy’. I really should just make a decision already. Or slap some paint on the walls. Something.

    I do know that I would loooove to have these chairs:

    Modernica Eames Shell Chairs

    They’re Eames chairs without the official “Eames” name. They’re made by Modernica on the original presses though, and with the original fiberglass construction, so in my mind they’re more authentic than the polypropylene Herman Miller licensed chairs. They’re available at Velocity Art & Design in 16 yummy colors. I’m partial to mustard.

    I’m debating whether I should try to paint the chairs we have now. I don’t really mind the shape of them, I just don’t like the light wood in our house.

    So there you have the current state of our dining room. Suggestions are welcome, but I can’t promise I’ll commit to anything. After all, I haven’t done well with that in this room so far… ;)