When I moved into my house 10 years ago, I saw it as a great big blank canvas. I had fallen in love with it as it was, in the previous owners’ style, but needed to make it my own. To keep myself from getting overwhelmed, I focused on one room at a time. And although the dining room was one of the first areas I tackled, I wouldn’t say it was truly finished until recently. It takes time to create a curated comfy home, especially if you have a vision that you don’t want to compromise on. Thankfully I am an extremely patient gal, so taking the time to get it just right was fine with me. I started by making a vision board on Pinterest so I could see what my heart was gravitating toward and then set out on my search.
Wallpaper
The house is nearly 100 years old and came with lots of built-in charm. Like the curved archway separating the living and dining rooms and the built-in shelving. So, the changes I made were really aesthetic. I thought the wallpaper was beautiful, but the pattern overwhelmed the space. I do love wallpaper though and knew that this room needed it. I began an exhaustive search through what seemed like a thousand wallpaper patterns and brought home about 30 samples to play with in the space. I decided on a stunning, subtle damask pattern with a creamy beige color. I also added a chair rail to bring additional character to the space. I couldn’t be more pleased with it, which makes all of the time spent finding the perfect wallpaper well worth it. Sometimes, I just stare at it. 😊
Lighting
I really wanted this space to be a showstopper. It’s the central pass through of the home and the focal point for gatherings. It needed an elegant chandelier that wasn’t too fussy but highlighted the vintage charm of the room. When I came across this beauty from Ballard Designs, I fell in love. The delicate arms with crystals draping below, the brass finish and pretty little bulbs…it’s perfect in every way.
Dining Table and Buffet
Finding the right furniture pieces was the most challenging part of the process. I really wanted to pack as much character in this room as possible, so I focused on vintage furniture. I was thrilled when I found my dining table at Treasure Mart in Ann Arbor. It came with 2 leaves and 7 chairs and cost a total of $200! I didn’t plan to keep the chairs, so it wasn’t a big deal that it was missing one of the captain’s chairs.
Some people may cringe at the idea of mismatched furniture, but I love it. I actually prefer it. I wanted a vintage buffet so the style would coordinate with the table, without being an exact match. I found this one on Etsy and the seller thankfully was willing to ship (done via Greyhound Package Express). I loved its shape with curved edges, similar to the dining table. The antique mirrored top was what really sold me on this piece.
Dining Chairs
The chairs were the final piece to the puzzle of this space that I finally completed this summer. My plan all along was to have all different chairs representing the color palette that is featured throughout the house. I found the teal green chairs at Allegan Antiques Market several years ago, but have had the plain chairs that came with the original table standing in place while I searched for colored chairs that would fit the bill. Of course, I wanted vintage, but those treasures are hard to come by. After many years of not finding what I was looking for I did the next best thing – I special ordered chairs from my favorite store on the planet – Anthropologie. They have lovely fabrics and color choices, so I was still able to get 3 distinctly different chairs, meeting the color specs I was looking for. The two captain’s chairs are a creamy velvet material that balances everything out and ties in the creamy wallpaper and paint. The pink velvet chairs are the perfect shade and really pop when you’re sitting at the table. Finally, I decided to mix in a little pattern with this cornflower blue set. These chairs truly put the finishing touch on this beautiful room.
Nana’s Influence
My Nana was the most influential person in my life. She was the ultimate 50’s housewife – prim and proper, a loving wife and mother, with a well-appointed home. She called her style “early American”. I have such special memories of her home and her furniture. Some of it wasn’t the most comfortable, but it was all in perfect condition and fit her to a tee. I have several of her pieces throughout my home (her influence is everywhere), but this beautiful red corner cabinet still takes my breath away. I’ve kept it very much the same as it was when it was in her home – it still displays her china and her ceramic King Charles Spaniel dog still sits atop. My sister and I named him Chauncey when we were little because he looked like such a fancy dog (years later of course, I got myself a real-life Chauncy….and Coco is just as fancy, if not more so.)
Nana also had a hidden talent. She loved to write poems. Every once in a while, we’d see her sitting at the typewriter in her bedroom writing one, but she mostly did that in her private time. After she passed, I found a folder full of her typewritten poems. I could not imagine a greater treasure. I chose a favorite poem and framed it in a vintage French piece I found on Etsy and placed it in a visible area of the room.
The Bells & Whistles
What really makes this room are all the extras. The bells and whistles. I shared details of the dining room built in shelves in an earlier blog post – but an important note is how much I love having the photos of my loved ones mixed throughout all of these interesting things. Speaking of loved ones, the heart of this room is a stunning landscape painted by my dear Uncle Al (Nana’s brother). He gave the painting to my parents as a wedding gift in 1971 and it centered our living room growing up. I am so pleased to have this piece now, in its original framing, and adorning my dining room in a casual, modern way.
Overall, I am so happy with the room. It has a casual elegance about it with beautiful vintage touches, and enough newness that it feels fresh with a more youthful vibe. The space feels warm, inviting and comfortable.
~ Beckie