Dining Room: Part 2

Note to readers: the past couple of days have been pretty horrendous with the news from CT.  I won't tell you how or what to feel, especially since I can barely express my own feelings about it.  Thoughts, prayers, good wishes to everyone.

Way back around the time I started this blog, when I had about two loyal readers (rather than the dozen I have and appreciate now), I shared some dark, dank photos of our dining room.  Even painted a light color, it was sadly shadowed and drained any positive energy a person might have.

This year, after reading about how bold colors are often a better choice for rooms that lack natural lighting, we went for a bright yellow.  And now you, lucky reader, get a full view of the room in its current state.

The room has been through a drastic metamorphosis, and that's not to say it's become an ugly bug.  Instead, it's cheery..and no longer suited for dining.

It's hard to visualize properly, but the room is a glorified hallway from the living room to the family room.  The footprint of the basement indicates that the family room was an addition (gloriously wired and half-assed constructed by cousin Larry), and that's why there's a room in the middle of the house without any good natural light.  Because we have a glorious table in the kitchen well-suited for daily and formal dining, we decided to transform the space into an office/rec room and moved the awesome pub table to the family room for puzzles and other fun stuff.

You'll see our motley collection of furniture and wall-hangings, most of which were gifts or craigslist (free) rescues (note: the map was hung months ago and that's why the placement is awkward. We don't know where to put it and the plaster is kind of delicate there, so we'll leave it for now).  The desk looks great up against the bold yellow.

And the wardrobe, which we just painted "New Grass Green" (Glidden), adds to the fun of the room.

The kids' desk now fits right in.

We left the trim both white and wood toned to complete the eclectic look.

The fan is a place holder for something more attractive--the price was right (free) so that's why it is there now since the old fixture hung down way too low and was not adjustable enough.  (I always think of my friend Jeffrey from college when it comes to free stuff.  He was a vegetarian unless the food was a gift.  Free steak? No problem. Free fan? Up it goes!)

The art, however, stays.  I love the pieces.  The baby on the left was a gift from my artist friend because she said the baby in it reminded her of Winslow. The burnt orange and lime green stripes go well with our furniture, and I have a feeling that anything more mainstream would look kind of goofy here.  And then, of course, there's the funky portrait my mom found on the side of the road...I can't stop looking at it, so she'll keep on guarding the hat collection atop the wardrobe for now.

And one day we'll have more decorative items and accessories...not now, though.  Anything of value is almost immediately touched by sticky fingers and sometimes completely destroyed within a matter of seconds, so we'll go minimalist.  It felt dishonest to post photos of fussy decor when we all know I don't live like that at all.

So a last look at BEFORE:

Great table, great art. Sucky everything else.

AFTER:

 Even if it's not to your taste of gray and white and beige all over, anything is better than the dull and dreary "before".  I find myself sincerely whistling a happy tune every morning as I descend the stairs into this cheerful room.

Sources/Details:
Wardrobe {free from friend}: Glidden's New Grass Green
Desk {free off Craigslist}: Clark-Kensington Paint plus Primer's Incandescent Red
Kids' desk {$50 from vintage market}: Came painted that way
Walls: Glidden's Warm Gold
Rug {heirloom}: Turkish wool

Sharing over at Savvy Southern Style, The Shabby Nest, and No Minimalist Here.