I live in this cute 1929 French style cottage and I love it. Hubs and I have been here 7 years and while some rooms have only recently taken shape or at least where I can live with them, the dining room drives me F’ing NUTS!
I don’t have a style, per se. I’d like to think eclectic but really my living room is an apothecary table short of being puked out of a Pottery Barn catalog, era Fall ’04. Same could be said of my guest room (though I LOVE THAT room!)
When we moved into the house we had this huge “painting” from IKEA hanging in the living room. It suited the room perfectly. But then Hubs had to go and buy a flat screen and hang it in the art’s place.
Thus we have my dining room for the past 3 years:
Yes, that light fixture does have a HUGE nipple. We are breast friendly in these parts.
While the art fills the wall nicely, its almost morbid. Certainly too dark for a dining room and since I can see this room from my seat in the living room or when I walk in the front door, I’ve been in hate w/ the damn thing FOREVER!
So I’ve upped and bought myself something new. Getting one the size of the IKEA piece would have cost up to $500 which is more than my budget for the whole makeover so this is what I brought home:
Here’s another, without the light in the way:
Nice, right?
The problem I have is that it doesn’t fill the wall enough for me. I need something else to make it feel finished. Oh, btw, these are my curtains I made a couple of years ago (and I LOVE them!)
Aren’t those “doors” gorgeous?!?!?! Now you know why I love this house, don’t ya?
So ANYWAY, I need your help. Do you have some ideas to “finish” this?
And I was thinking of changing out the light fixture with something like this:
This one is from Chandelier-mall.com Price is fine, nice and simple in design. I would hang it higher than the nipple light we currently have.
So please, give me some help here. Oh, and no offense but please no doilies or burlap wreathes!
Love the painting! I have always loved mirrors on dining room walls as well. Maybe a funky color or deep orange? The large stainless steel or chrome colored fixtures/chandeliers are my favorite.
I liked both paintings. But I am no designer type. I wish I was. Some one will ask where I want the throw pillow and I say where it will be most comfortable.
I love your house! SO jealous!
You home decor style sense is much better than mine. I do like Chandelier you are looking at. Also the rock horse is ADORABLE where did you get it? Oh and BTW – what is that BEAUTIFUL paint color in your guest room called again? See like I said you are much better at this than I am.
you need a little modern in there. it's all very wood and dark and heavy. shiny things. shinier fixture. perhaps something on the industrial side…like a schoolhouse pendant. think martha stewart. or a big oversized lantern could be good too. something big, that makes a statement is key. the fixture you have picked seems too predictable. and boring. also, not a statement.
the painting is fine but i hate that it matches the wall in a way. most people hate painting over wood, i don't. i think it could be gorgeous if you painted the whole room (doors, moldings and all) paint the walls titanium by ben moore, and the trim stonington gray also by ben moore. then the ceiling in a soft barely there blue…
the painting will pop on the walls..and the table will stand out.
however, i know most people hate painting over beautiful wood, and that's ok. the doors have a beautiful grain, instead just paint the walls a cool tone. the room is too warm. the titanium is a cool, soft gray white. it will make the wood on the doors pop. trust.
I dig your taste! The second painting for sure lightened up the room….can I move in? If you're breast friendly, you'd love me!
I agree with my favorite and my best. I'm not a wood person…unless it has color. Right now I have a round table that I'm in the process of painting purple. When I told the salesman that I planned on painting it purple, he almost had a fit!
And everything doesn't have to match, you know? I know lots of people are afraid to switch it up a bit, but have no fashion fear…just do it!
I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Hugs and Mocha,
Stesha
My favorite & my best has given you some good advice. I don't have a full sense of your decor personality yet, but I know you are fun, warm, and outspoken. Your decorating choices seem very traditional except for the painting, but the fact that you love your doors (I do too!) tells me you enjoy the look of beautiful wood. If you want a completely different room, go with white, gray, and titanium. It's incredibly "in" right now and will look modern and chic. If you want to keep the warm tones going, try adding a large lantern (like a PB one), a jute or seagrass rug under your table, and a different wall color. One quick and easy fix for a painting that doesn't have the right bulk is to pick a color out of the painting (Benjamin Moore's Audubon Russet might work, or you can ever take the painting into Lowes or HD and have them colorscan a match to one of the flowers for you), then tape off a large square and paint it on your wall. Hang your painting up over the square and it will give the visual effect of a mat around your painting. You can even buy a blank frame or construct one using molding around your square. Good luck!
Oh, I like Beth's idea of painting a mat and maybe adding a molding frame. I'm a keep-the-wood-natural person. I like Favorite and Best's comment about cooler walls, though I'd prefer warm white rather than going all the way to gray. I found a great fixture (well, one that I like, and think it would go with your art and your curtains, etc.) but I'm not sure whether Blogger will let me put the link here. Will try:
http://www.lampsplus.com/Products/Possini-Euro-Surface-Interplay-Opal-Glass-6-Light-Chandelier__85545.html
Hah! This has been way more fun that what I was supposed to be doing just now!
First of all….I so agree with you…get rid of the nipple light!!! Ewwww. And the new artwork is perfect. Maybe a pair of wall candle sconces? One on each side…something done in matching the new light fixture?
My 13 is posted, I do hope you can stop by sometime if you have time today. It's 13 catch phrases I really like. Have a glorious Thursday!!
I like the new picture, that is a good choice. Otherwise I am design-challenged and no help, though I was thinking a candle sconce might look nice.