Updating the Dining Room

My sister-in-law had a rug in her family room that used to belong to my mother-in-law, and now that she’s redecorating it’s ours. I’ve always liked it, and the colors are ones that I tend to gravitate toward — rust orange, pink, olive, and blue on a warm neutral base. (This rug has a similar color palette and feel.)

Ideally, for maximum before and after effect, I would reupholster the dining chairs. Practically though, the beige fabric is still in great shape and I have matching waterproof seat covers to protect the kids’ chairs. They’re fine! The fabric may be a bit on the boring side, but it’s fine.

Our dining room is always dark though. It faces North and our house is close to the neighbors on that side, so even with two huge windows, there’s not a lot of natural light. Not helping is the antique pendant which, while very cool, has only a single bulb. I’ve always wanted to add sconces.

I’ve also always wanted to add wallpaper, but sconces first. And now that we’re brining in a new (to us) patterned rug and more lighting, I’m thinking a coat of paint may be in order instead of papering. The walls are a subtle pink that I still like, but would be happy to change for something more fun or dramatic.

So! Sconces. Honestly, I keep coming back to the same one and have loved it for years. I could overthink this, as is my wont, or I could just move forward with a pair of Vendome double sconces. It’s a beautiful fixture without being showy, and a classic design that looks great in a lot of homes. I’m not beholden to period-appropriate lighting (my Victorian originally had gas lights), but I do like to go either very modern or classic. These sconces are obviously the latter.

The dog rose botanical print will go elsewhere and the sconces will flank the windows. And I’m excited! I love our home. It doesn’t need constant full-scale makeovers (as fun as those are), and these incremental changes over time always add up to something wonderful and personal.