dining room redo

May 2007

When we first moved into our house in October 2006, one of the things we were really excited for was the separate dining area. Hurray, we thought! An end to eating in the kitchen! So we joyfully ripped down the really heinous wallpaper borders (hearts that said "peace, love, hope" in all sorts of nauseating pastels), filled all the holes, and picked out paint colors. We hosted an enormous Thanksgiving celebration the month after we moved in, and I was so excited about having a room big enough to (squeeze in) 12 people for dinner!

Except then we realized that eating in a carpeted dining room with a toddler was awful. We vacuumed after dinner every night, spread out towels beneath her chair, etc., but nothing was really working perfectly.

When someone in another ward gave us a dining room table (which I STILL am refinishing, very very slowly), we put that table in the dining room. And I put the original table in the kitchen and we all started eating in there for breakfast, because it was more convenient for quick meals. And sometimes I guiltily served dinner in there too--I felt bad that we were eating in the kitchen rather than in our "formal" dining area, but the kitchen was so warm and friendly and happy (plus toddler-proof!) whereas the dining room felt big and empty and cold. The table was too small, the walls seemed too bare, and so forth. Every time I was in there I felt glum about the state of the room.

Eventually, we were eating all our meals in the kitchen. The dining room stood empty, and I thought "what a waste of space!" every time I passed it. I also hated the fact that it was the very first room that visitors saw when they walked into our house, and it was bare, cold, and unfurnished.

So I decided to do something about it. I started on the "makeover" in August 2008. My vision was a space that would become sort of the heart of our home in that it would serve as both an office and a playroom, but I also wanted it to look attractive and welcoming, since it was so visible to guests. My vision was something that would be streamlined, balanced, and functional, while keeping clutter to a minimum and toys out of sight. I also wanted a place where the kids could curl up and read while I did office stuff, and where I could read to them.

So I began--slowly, for reasons both fiscal and because I didn't want to just "settle" for what I saw on a single shopping trip. I gave away our old bulky desk that housed not only the computer, but all our files, movies, pens, etc. and took up a massive chunk of space in our bedroom. I bought dramatic floor-length curtains. I framed black-and-white photos of the girls. I searched out a new desk and two new bookcases (I left the other two in the living room). I tried four different ways of organizing toys and books for a month or so each. I bought a new lamp. Slowly, the room began coming together, but I wasn't able to find any seating that was within our budget. After several months, I bought a futon (from a friend who was moving) that had a solid frame (in the same style as the desk) and a good mattress, but an absolutely hideous cover, which I concealed beneath bed sheets until I had time and the budget wiggle room to recover it. It was still too big for the space, but worth it in the extra-bed-for-guests trade-off.

Last week, I ordered the fabric I've been eyeing for four months with my birthday money (thanks, G'ma and Papa!) and after it arrived on Friday, I spent naptime yesterday sewing a cover for the futon. And so I am pleased to present my made-over library, which has become the most-used room in our house over the last year. I absolutely love it. While it's not totally finished (I still need to find a brushed pewter vase to balance the lamp [and then move the picture frame somewhere else, and I would like to fill the vase with pink peonies rather than the orange gerberas] and an office chair that is comfortable but still sleek and pretty--i.e. no swivel chairs here!), I am so happy with how it has turned out! What you can't see (purposefully, since this shot is taken from our foyer) is that one wall is occupied by a big bookcase housing all the children's books (with a big bucket of puzzles on top. Toys have no problem finding their way in here on their own. :-) Oh, and the rocking horse isn't a decor addition--it's in time-out because it was the source of an Abigail vs. Juliet tug-o-war.

August 2009

Opinion poll: what do I do about throw pillows for this? I don't want to clash with the pattern, but I think it needs something more (just bigger pillows?) And do you know of any good chair sources?