Dining Room

The statement of the dining room is our new table. I've been dreaming of a formal dining room. Sergio's only input was that he'd like a table that was distressed, heavy, solid, and looked like it belonged in a library. I was also in love with rustic and distressed tables, but had always pictured an elegant, sophisticated dining room. My new vision and goal became making a rustic table the centerpiece of an elegant room.

I instantly fell in love with this table. I loved the unique stain and the detailed legs. My mom and I found the table at a high end consignment store in Carlsbad Village. Normally this table retails for about $1500. I paid $495. If you remember the bench on our front porch, it goes with the table and was included in the $495. Since I wanted upholstered chairs, the bench was perfect for the porch.

Once I had picked out the table, it was a matter of finding everything else. I knew to get the elegance I wanted I'd have to either do dark or white furniture. Since the table was light itself and I already had the tall corner piece we chose dark.

I have a couple black and white photos from our SF trip that I may frame in the gold frame. I have two matching green boxes, that I painted. You can see one on the buffet. I'm still working on the other. I'd like to do a stencil design on it. Once it is done, I will stack it underneath the other.

Once we bought the blue chairs, I envisioned patterned curtains to add dimension. First I envisioned something bold, but with trial and error figured out that bold was too much. Others we tried clashed with the stripes on the chairs. And others took the room from light and airy to dark and drab. I was determined to find something that would not block light, but felt rich and sophisticated. Of all things, these are actually fabric shower curtains from Target. I liked the softness of the colors, and the design added elegance to the room. The shape of the pattern also mirrored the pattern of pillows in the living room, the table legs, and the wall candle holders. Such a small detail can bring rooms together with an open floor plan, while allowing the rooms to be different in design. I bought them with the intention of cutting the 2 panels in half and hemming the side, so I would have 4 panels. I may still cut them and place 2 of the panels in the corner. At this point I'm still undecided. To hang them I bought round drapery rings from the window treatment department. If you've never used them they just clip to the fabric, and the ring hangs around the curtain rod.

After I bought the table, the biggest dilemma was finding affordable upholstered chairs. In store they start at $100 each. And once again the quality is poor at the low end price. So to craigslist I turned. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you I bought these chairs for $5 each. Yes I did! The catch was they did not look anything like they do now. I will definitely be doing a DIY before and after blog about these chairs. They were not tufted. There was fabric covering the legs. They also needed new support in the seat.

The last thing I want to add to the room is a rug. Since I could not do, bold curtains I'd like something bold on the floor to add layer, texture and contrast to all the browns and blues. At the same time I don't want the table leg to get lost in the rug design. I'm keeping my eye out for a rug I love.