dining room redo

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It all started....

When I found a farm house table on craigslist. The owners were so hospitable, and took an immediate liking to the kids - that somehow managed to take off their shoes, and make themselves feel right at home. We spent hours just talking... and also learned that the table was pieced together from reclaimed wood over 100 years old. Once it was delivered, it was time to empty out the room and take on a very ambitious redo - that had no plan, a less than desirable budget, and less than 2 weeks to complete.

That night, Aaron rolled up his sleeves and started removing the popcorn ceiling... between the two of us the first two days, we emptied 11 spray bottles of water. This process was actually a lot easier than I thought - but the clean up was overwhelming! {mental note - use drop cloths next time!}

We then contracted the work to float and paint the ceilings... while we scoured the city {and beyond} for the remaining details...

And as luck would have it, there was a conflict of interest with the contractor - we parted gleefully, and called upon another contractor to help us finish in time for Noah's home birthday party - that was at the end of the week! Choosing the color proved more than difficult. 9 paint samples later, I came up with my own perfect gray... {although some of these photos make it look more beige} it really is gray. I painted the table legs white over the brown paint the previous owners had. Several confusing applications later, I stripped it with paint remover, sanded, scraped, peeled, and gave up.  The brown still peered through, giving it a more tattered and reclaimed feel. After we got this jute rug from Pottery Barn, I knew there was still hope - and tried again. I'm so glad I did it.

We found the console table at Philbeck's Antiques in Forney, Texas, and the chair underneath it is actually a special piece - we picked this up on one of our "explorer" trips in KS with Aaron's parents. It was the only thing that was left inside of the boarded-up school house that MIL went to.

We ordered a custom bench for the kids {which I knew they would love more than the slip-covered chairs} while we were there... the other 4 chairs came from World Market.

The blue Ball jars we found in Canton at the First Monday Flea Market {flowers from Whole Foods on this day}... The entry way looks the same {other than re-texturing, painting, etc} - so I have yet to find that sweet welcoming lantern to replace the ceiling light with.

We found the small round table {on right} in Fredricksburg a few months back, and is also an oldie. My favorite tabletop book waits here for me, and a silver dish carrying some left over dominoes pieces I found...

The wall candelabra {and zinc metal console table not shown in the pics, but sits in the bay window} were purchased from Gray Living in McKinney. These 2 pieces were a splurge... so unique - absolute eye candy.

I previously had pictures framed on this wall behind this blue suede wing-back chair in our sitting room, just off the dining, but I haven't found the right replacement yet. {Maybe some beach photos of our recent trip? hmmm....}

On the opposite end, we slip-covered our very traditional brown sofa with a beige cotton, and fluffed some gray goose pillows to make reading time more comfy here. I brought the coffee table back from my parents' storage room -  I always liked its bones - but plan to replace its top one day with something heavier {and perhaps doesn't require windex to keep me sane}.

The two wooden shelves that flank the couch on both sides came from World Market. I love its worn-grayish look. And more so, how it holds some of our collected pieces over time. Like very old copies of Life magazines... a typewriter from the first flea market jaunt to Roundtop.... and this sweet green globe bank was a recent birthday gift from Aaron... sea shells are hidden in a glass jar, a brownie camera sits on top of poem books, and pictures of my favorite moments {like Ava and Noah's first birthdays, the beach...} are displayed affectionately on both shelves.

On the other side - more collectibles... This picnic basket actually holds Noah's toys, and on the other shelf {forgot to take pic}, a large woven basket with a lid holds Ava's puzzle sets. These were things I already had, but here they fit right into the decor, and double as efficient use of space, organization and access to activities the kids enjoy most after dinner.

The middle silver tea pot was my Mom's, and the small ones are hotel silver pieces we found in Roundtop.

Replacing light fixtures took several trial and error purchases - and was a bit stressful due to the time constraint, but the longer this piece dangles here, the more I've been falling in love it. It's made of glass, is light as a feather, and casts such a feminine glow up towards the ceiling.

So this is where we are with it now.. and as with any other room in our home, it'll see more changes down the road I'm sure. But until then - I am so happy with our new space, and the kids love having meals here while sitting on the bench {and stall by doing puppet shows with their fingers}. The color feels like we've gained room to breathe, and everything else... just fell into place.

Here's a quick before shot:

and another look at our new dining/sitting room now:

The one thing that sticks out from this experience {other than trying to wash ceiling acoustic out of my hair} is how gracefully the look came together in the end. I had a vision - but I had no idea what it would look like. By finding and pulling together our "favorite things" - this part of the house - is now our absolute family time favorite!