I am so excited to finally be writing this post up!  The “Dining Room” in our new home has cost me hours scouring for ideas, several attempts and fails, and idea board after idea board.  Why so much heartache?  There were several challenges for this room I had to overcome:

 

  • It is called the “Great Room” for good reason – the room is huge.  BUT, it’s too small to make it two spaces (i.e., an office AND a dining room), but too big to be JUST the dining room.  We arranged, and re-arranged, and re-arranged until we finally landed on this layout!
  • We didn’t really have a Dining Room in San Diego, so besides our table and chairs, I didn’t have much I could carry over decor-wise.  So…I had to start fresh (oh shucks!).  The big challenge, though, was that I am getting tired of our Liz Claiborne flowered fabric and want to faze it out (read: I don’t want to make anything else out of it!).  However, the Living Room and Dining Room are conjoined as part of our open floor plan, so I knew the rooms had to coordinate, at least a little bit!  I finally decided to carry over the orange-hued color palate, but temper it with some neutrals and change it up with some new pops of color.
So…I started with this:
and with these:
LEFT: For Your Home Vintage Swirls Orange.  I bought this fabric first (and totally on a whim) because I just loved it (and it was on sale at Fabric.com!)  I only bought one yard and ended up ordering more when I went to buy…
RIGHT: For Your Home Spots Clay.  I picked this fabric reluctantly.  I didn’t LOVE it, but I am finicky about colors matching (especially when ordering online) AND fabric.com had it for $9.09/yard.  (Remember I vowed not to spend TOO much money decorating this very-temporary home?).  So I ordered enough to slipcover my chairs and after all was said and done…I am now in LOVE with it!
And ended up here:
And I did it all in 2 months!
What all did I do?
I made this window “shade” out of my paisley fabric and some leftover suede piping from my living room pillows.  It is hung with a tension rod, while I hung the taupe curtains (that match the Living Room) extra wide to make the window appear larger!
I slipcovered my four chairs and two chair cushions (full post coming!):
My husband and I refinished our shabby old bookcases (full post coming soon!):
I created some fun, cheep digital artwork (full post coming soon):
I made a new table centerpiece out of an old lazy susan (full post coming soon)!
I made over my old chunky candlesticks:
Re-painted and tiled an old tray (full post coming soon):
And bought some awesome (and cheep) accessories – LOVE Home Goods!!
I simply love the way this room came together.  It’s fun, bright, vibrant, and creative without being overpowering or saturated with one strong color/theme.  I really used my imagination, stuck to small budget, and made over old items to make a new, fun atmosphere.  Can’t wait to host Thanksgiving!
See You Soon!
Megan