July 7, 2010

Dining Room: As Done As It Gets For Now

At long last, I can announce that with one exception, the dining room is finally done.

That exception is the doors: the double French doors going to the living room, and swinging kitchen door. I won't do the French doors until we finish the living room, and the kitchen door just isn't a priority right now. Other than that, the dining room is livable. Yay!

We started work on it last November, and finally got the pictures on the wall the last week of June. Most of it has been done for awhile, but we put all house projects on hold while we got ready for chickens and goats.

It's been so long since I posted anything about our dining room, you probably can't even remember what it looks like. ;) Here are before and after shots, along with a few extras.

Before

After

French doors remain white until we finish the color scheme in the living room. This is on hold until we put in the new front door, as it will require tearing into the living room and front of the house as the new door is considerably larger than the old one. Another shot of that corner...

The print on the wall, along with two others in the dining room, are originals from a Godey's Ladies Book. I have some close-ups of two of them here.

Next corner...
Before

After
That corner hutch...

Family heirloom tea set.... contains a family heirloom tea set. It was passed on to me as the eldest granddaughter. I have no idea as to it's age or maker. There are no identifying marks on the backs and bottoms of any of the pieces. I just remember it in my grandmother's china cabinet when I was a very wee girl.

Continuing around the room.....

Before

After
Eventually I'd like to replace the table, chairs, and hutch which are oak, with something a little more formal. I'm thinking cherry, but that may be awhile.
A neighbor handcrafted the hutch for me me many moons ago. Dan woodburned on it and I love it. Details and close-ups here. You can click on any of those pics to enlarge them.

And another view of that corner. And looking toward the kitchen...

Before

After

As you can see, the swinging door into the kitchen has yet to be re-hung. Actually, Dan started refinishing it but we set that aside for other homestead projects. In the scheme of things, the door can wait.

What you can't see very well in those photos is the floor.

We love the floor we put down and finished ourselves, but also bought an area rug for under the table and chairs. It helps protect the finish, adds a little color, and helps with room acoustics.

I know I've shown you the medallion and new dining room light before, but here it is again, in the finished room.

You might have noticed that I collect Blue Willow. I won't bore you with all those, but here's a shot both Michelle and Minikat will appreciate...

Lastly, here is our dining room project blog link list, with details and photos of we did:

Beefing Up the Dining Room Floor - adding support to the floor
Color For The Dining Room - choosing a color scheme & painting
Removing The Old Linoleum - & preparing to put down a new floor
Sort Of Like A Jigsaw Puzzle - laying out the new hardwood floor
Dining Room Floor: Getting There! - installing the hardwood floor
Dining Room Floor: Sanding & Staining
- & polyurethaning
More Problems With The Dining Room Floor - & what we did about it
Dining Room Details - threshold, baseboards, cabinet details, & swinging door


20 comments:

Theresa said...

It looks beautiful Leigh! The hutch is just lovely.
You two have done wonders and in just a year too!

Flower said...

You have done so much and it looks very charming! Sanding and finishing floors is a chore...but you have it behind you! Every touch is very,very nice!! It's always fun to see family heirlooms used! I wonder where that tea set came from?

bspinner said...

Leigh, You and your husband transformed your dining room into one of the most beautiful rooms I've seen. I love the floors and all the things you have setting around. I'm sure you and your family will enjoy it for many years to come.

Nina said...

Gorgeous! It must feel great to have a big project done. I love the hutch and table set. Isn't it funny,I have a fairly formal antique set that I'd love to change out for something a little more casual!

Benita said...

What a difference! Goodness that green light fixture was ugly!

The room looks warm and inviting now that it is done and I love the softness of the colors. It must be a joy to eat in there, now.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful room! I love the built-in corner hutches and the light and the dishes and....

Woolly Bits said...

it turned out great! it must be very enjoyable to sit down for a lovely meal, maybe with family or friends around the table... I'd go for a carpet under the table, too - nicer to sit on and kinder to the timber floor!

Cathy said...

Lovely!

I could dine in it!!

There are times I miss the old farmhouse because of the character. The dining room there had 5 doors + a corner closet + 12' window - not a whole lot of wall space.

Michelle said...

It looks GREAT! (Thanks for the bulldog. :-)

Sara said...

Oh,it looks beautiful! Think you did a wonderful job on it...

MiniKat said...

Such a beautiful room! I love how it has all come together.

Could you take pictures of the woodburned designs on the hutch sometime?

I have a special place my heart for Blue willow in its own right, but I collect enough as it is... thank you for letting me live vicariously through you. :-)

DEEP END OF THE LOOM said...

Your dining room looks fantastic and inviting!

Leigh said...

I want to thank you all for your kind comments. Would you believe we've only eaten in there twice! It's usually in the kitchen or watching re-runs of "Andy of Mayberry," or "All Creatures Great & Small".

I'm thinking that if I do get a more formal dining set, I can use the base of the hutch as part of my kitchen cabinetry. Maybe incorporate the shelves somehow too. That project is a few years down the road though.

Lee said...

I love it!

I'm so *over* the whole "everything must be white" fashion of the last thousand years, and so it's lovely to see such a warm, welcoming dining area.

Thanks for posting the photos. Now you're giving me courage to take "before" and "after" photos for our bedroom. Trouble is, we're only up to the "before" at the moment! *lol*

Tina T-P said...

Your house is just going to be a wonderful "nest" for you guys. I love all the built in shelves! Never enough shelves for me. :-) And it's so much more satisfying because you have done the work your selves. A job well done, for sure.

Do you have neighbors who will buy eggs from you? Love that double yolker - aren't they fun?

The Kitties sure are growing fast - it's amazing how they go from itty bitty to "teenager" so fast.

you've been in my thoughts - take care. T.

Leigh said...

Daharja, I'm with you on the white. I'm really happy with the room. It's one of the few "dones" we can check off the house list!

Tina, we're doing well. It's funny but missing Rascal hits at the oddest times.

I agree with you on those shelves! In fact, I have other neat stuff I'd like to display, but no where to put them. :(

My two closest neighbors have mentioned liking farm eggs. To sell though, I'd probably need certification, which would mean forms, paperwork, fees, and local gov inspections. Not sure if I'm up for that, especially since we probably won't have a lot to sell.

Anonymous said...

dining room looks great! i love your house, so cozy and warm. i can't believe how quickly you get things done. why not leave the door to the kitchen off permanently? both rooms will look & feel bigger. i was in lowes the other day and thought of you. they had 2 space saver ready to install shower stalls. one was a triangle and the other a half circle. both included glass doors and were very pretty. check it out. and last, sorry about rascal, he was a sweetie. what he lost in quantity he sure made up for in quality. you gave him a wonderful life. more kitties should be so lucky.

Leigh said...

Anonymous, yes, I have thought about leaving the swinging kitchen door off. I think the main reason we want to put it back is that it is original to the house (80+ years old) and it's unique. I have to admit that when it was up, it was always open. However, this summer with doing canning, I've wished I had it to close simply to keep some of the heat from invading the rest of the house.

Thanks for mentioning Lowes. had that same idea about the quarter round shower. (The squared shower is too large). When we measured for it though, the bathroom was a little too narrow! I was sooooo disappointed!

Kathy said...

Well done, Leigh! It's beautiful! Tea at your house? ;)
Lovely and liveable. Good job!

Leigh said...

Kathy yes! And ya'll are very welcome!