Buffet

Since we remodeled our dining room, I have been keeping my eyes open for a small buffet cabinet to complete the room. We needed the extra storage space (for now it is holding the kids' board games, but it will ultimately be used for extra dishes) and it just gives a finished feel to the room. I had come across a few I really liked, but none in my price range until I spotted this one clearance priced with free shipping...score! It is just the right size for that spot and matches perfectly with the style of the room. You can see our new family portraits (the first ones we've ever had taken!) displayed proudly above!

What's our next project? Well, besides being on a mission to organize and declutter before this baby comes, I am currently working on converting Riley's room into a room for both boys. The crib and changing table are set up and the furniture arranged nicely. I am just adding some mod-podged frames, and the baby's name on the wall (yes he is all named, but you will have to wait until December...), and switching around some pictures and shelves since the added furniture changed things up a bit. I will probably share some pictures when I get that room in order. I know I still need to post pics from Naomi's finished room too...will get to that someday :).

We also have plans in the works to finish our "mudroom" into a nice entryway (which should help with heating costs in winter), since it is the main entrance to the house (even though it is the back door technically)...everyone is a back door friend around here! :) And convert the basement stairwell (which if you've been to my house you know it is a complete waste of space in there - bad layout). We would like to wall off a portion to create a pantry for the kitchen (and bring my freezer up from the basement!) and create a new door down to the basement from the finished entryway. Not sure if we will get to that before winter comes, but we are purchasing items as we see them to work on that. Will keep you updated if anything progresses there!

My "New" Dining Breakfast Room

First of all, Brad did arrive home safely and on time late last night! The kids were soooooo happy to see him this morning! Riley hasn't stopped smiling all day. Of course, the second words out of his mouth this morning were, "Daddy, will you make pancakes?!" :) Once Brad gets his photos and stuff organized, I'll let him share a few photos here and post the link to the album from his trip.

Second, I am ready to share some photos from my dining room makeover! If you aren't up to speed on this, basically the idea was to find a way to improve the look of an old, painted paneled wall that had a lot of surface damage, rather than replace the entire walls. My color inspiration came from living in a waterfront neighborhood and I am going for a fresh, crisp, calming feel for the house overall. It's not completely finished (need to hem the curtains, buy a buffet cabinet, clean the carpets, touch up the trim...), but it's finished enough to share :). I feel like "Breakfast Room" better suits it now than "Dining Room," but either way, it is a beautiful room!

Here is what the wall looked like before (I can't find my full room "before" shots, but if I find them I will post them). You can see the vertical striping from the paneling beneath many layers of paint, and the damage on the wall from removing the poorly installed wallpaper that was up when we moved in.

I have had so many people ask me about this mural I had done on the wall, and, sadly, it is no longer there. But, once you see the "after" pictures of the room, you will understand that I am not too sad about it. :) (You will see in the "after" photos it has been replaced with a painting I did 4 or 5 years ago that has been in storage just waiting for the perfect spot to be displayed).

My first step, after removing all the trim and paneling, was to apply Behr Sand Texture Paint to the top half of the wall and create a "knockdown" finish. I loved the effect, especially after adding the color and it truly hid the imperfections that had been staring me in the face these last 3 years. I will say if you try it, be sure to have drop cloths down because it does splatter a ton! (We replaced the ooooglie light fixture that was there when we moved in with this pretty one last year, btw.)

I chose a blue/gray color for the walls which reminded me of the color of the lake. It is super calming.

(You can see the table we had been using in there below...much too big for the room and all the traffic flow in there).

The next step was to paint the closet door and trim (where my washer and dryer reside). For some reason, this was stained and the rest of the trim in the room was painted white. I'm so glad I decided to paint it! It brightens the whole room and made a huge difference.

The next part of the project involved my dad and his handiwork. We worked together to design a paneling for the lower half of the room, and up the stairwell. He cut flat pieces to fit around the room, and then used pine boards to build the framing and a shelf/molding to mount above the panels and finish it off. It was a ton of work and took 4 or 5 long days to put it all together, but it was well worth it.

I purchased a new table that can be extended with a leaf when we have company (our first table purchase in the almost 8 yrs we've been married!), that better suited the room and matched our current chairs. I also paid $30 for three canvas drop cloths that I hung as drapes with new curtain rods, a great tip I learned from this site. And here is what it looks like today:

Makes me want to sit with my cup of coffee and a book and stare out my picture window at the beautiful trees and flowers with the water in the distance . . . mission accomplished!