Dining Room Update

         

 

Fall Decorating

I love fall and it is my favorite season!  This past weekend I made pumpkin donuts and chocolate chip pumpkin bread,  which reminded me of this pin.  In between baking I dug out my fall decor just in time for October!

My new tiered server for the buffet.  This will be fun to fill for all seasons.

And a new rug! I had been wanting one in the dining room and when I saw this one on sale weeks ago I snagged it and I am so happy!   I love the visual interest and it is an indoor/outdoor which is perfect for this clan.

The fall quote for the week, ok,  let's be honest, the month!

A little mum for the front porch.  I can't wait to enjoy hot drinks on cool evenings here. 

Laminate Floor B&A

Next month will mark one year that we began our laminate journey and I have shown some of the before and afters,  but I thought that I would put them all in one post.  I am still in love with the floors! We have had a few nicks and scratches, but nothing a Crayola won't fix! 

Adding laminate has been my favorite change since we moved here and I believe has made the most impact.  I get lots of compliments on the floor and most people are surprised to hear that it is laminate and that it is from Sam's Club.  I hope that when we have some cash to spare that we can add this to the upstairs hallway.  

Wishful Spring Thinking

Here in Indy there are few signs of spring.  How depressing!  I am ready to spring clean, plan my garden, and enjoy the outdoors!  I finally removed my winter and Valentine decor and added touches of spring indoors.  For some reason I do not put out the exact displays from the previous year. I always tweak a little.

Dining Room

Family Room

Winter Decorating

Winter is here for next couple of months and I find that this is my most difficult time to decorate.  A suitable chalkboard quote, snow filled hurricanes, and snow sprinkled pine cones will get me through this decorating slump.

Chalkboard Napkin Rings

Saturday the kids and I went to a nearby garage sale looking for treasures.  I was hoping to find a huge mirror to lean in my dining room, but no such luck.  I did walk away with a dozen wood napkin rings for a dollar.  I knew that these would soon be transformed to chalkboard napkin rings that I spied on Pinterest.

Source: myhomelifemag.wordpress.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

My Home Life's used Martha Stewart Chalkboard paint and there are two reasons why you want to use this paint.  One, it is inexpensive and two, it comes in COLORS!  I chose gray.  This 6 oz paint goes a long was at only $5.99 a bottle at Michael's or with a coupon $3.84 after tax.  For less than five dollars and few hours you can have customizable napkin rings.

DIY Chalkboard Napkin Rings

1.   Wood napkin rings. I see these all the time at Goodwill.

2.   Martha Stewart Chalkboard Paint. Don't forget your coupon!

3.   I found that this narrow brush made the painting easy.

4.  The paint needs an hour to dry in between two coats. No priming needed!

5.  Personalize and enjoy your new napkin rings!

Decorating for $2.50 or Less

I would rather shop for home decor than clothes and nothing gets my heart pumping than a good deal.  I have tried to refrain from the owl trend, but I could not resist when I saw this guy for $2.50 at Target and I did not even have to paint him! 

We are still working on the floors so here is an "in progress" shot of the dining room.  Quarter round has not been installed and it is possible that things are going to remain in this state for quite awhile, but don't those floors look marvelous?!

I was inspired by Emily Clark's rope decor and headed off to Lowe's.  

You can not beat 50 cents a foot.  I used two feet for each hurricane so the total was $2.00.

Source: emilyaclark.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Here is my version:

The boxwood monogram was 80% off at Hobby Lobby.  

I paid $1.59 and thought that it was worth every penny.

San Pellegrino water.  I think that it is an unwritten blog rule that you must have at least one room displaying bottles of Pellegrino.  These glass versions were only $1.69 at Meijer.

The tray was a GW find for $1.99 that I painted and the olive tray was a steep markdown at Target for 76 cents. 

What are some great finds that you have scored for $2.50 or less?

Comment and add a link!

Work in Progress

We survived the first three days of school and now it is the weekend. My husband works a retail job where he works more weekends than not and this is not our most productive time. Projects are left for the next day off and this is the current state of my house:

Dining room sans carpet waiting for new flooring.

Fireplace with new backer board. Tile coming soon. Oh, a peek at the new flooring!  

I am loving it.  

The nook is finished, but the kitchen still has linoleum.  We are getting there!  

Squished

 While in the dining room I had a revelation.  The curtains have always bothered me in this room because the rod is so close to the moulding.  These are 95" panels already and I did not want to fork over the dough for longer ones or ask hubby to move the rod.  For some reason I had him install the brackets right next to the window and my curtains were squished.  All I did was move the rods out a bit on each side and covered the bracket with the curtain. Duh! The windows appear wider and not so squished.