Come Inside.... My Dining Room

Hello everyone!

A little more from my "Come Inside" series.   This time I'm going to focus on my Dining Room.   This, as you will see, are basically "before" photos and then some "Waaayy before photos".   


"After" will have to come.... well - AFTER!   After I finish that is.  If I could just take my own advice and FORCE myself to concentrate on one thing at a time (even one ROOM at a time would be great) this would probably be accomplished much quicker.   But, here we go anyways....

Here is how it stands right about now.  Mess and all.   I do have an excuse this time at least - I am in the middle of redoing my daugher's room (another part in this series - still to come!) and when I painted, I basically took everything that was "loose" OUT of the room.   The large furniture, I just kind of worked around, but with a five year old ALOT of little treasures accumulate.   That's what all the baskets and whatnot around the room are.  

This might be a better view.

Maybe not.   Anyways, the room does have alot going for it.   I love my table - It was custom built for us by a friend and we probably waited for this guy for almost a year.   It's got about 4 extra leaves (there are 2 in it now) so we've got alot of seating available.    And I really love the hutch.   Talk about a cheap thrill - this was a second hand find that cost a whopping $75!!   It's in need of another makeover, but it's got a ton of storage and I love the shelving.   

One thing the room does NOT have going for it is light.   The windows that you see on the left in the photo above are actually looking back out into the entry way....

... which is still half done itself.   You can read more about that in a previous post.

But, needless to say, not much daylight enters this room.   So the plan is to brighten it up even more with some paint.   Again.    But, again (you'll get SICK of hearing me say this pretty soon) just looking at some of the "before" photos does show me just how far we've come.   The below is this same dining room on the day we moved in....

Holey Moley - you want to talk about dark?   This is a good example of some of the custom woodworking that the previous owner did himself.   And then proceeded to paint a very very dark green.   And added ALOT of paneling to.  

Here's a shot of it when we were a bit more settled.   We knew at this point the plan to remodel and add on, so I could breathe a sigh of relief at least thinking about happier times ahead....

You can barely tell from the above photo, but can you see a very faint small square on the floor??    It was like a cut out in the hardwood (try as we did, we could not quite salvage it unfortunately).   We always called this the trap door.   Somebody wiser came along and explained that, given the fact that this part of the house was at least 100 years old, it was probably where some type of stove for heating was.

I really kind of wish now that we I was not quite so impatient, and took the time and effort into painting these nice old floorboards.   As it is now, we ended up covering it with a berber carpet.   Not the greatest, but not the worst option, and it did end up lightening up the room a bit.

Okay, now see the opening between this room and the one beyond?  We walled that room beyond off and it is now our bedroom.   There went the last little bit of light available. 

Oh, yes!  And about halfway through the planning stages of our addition and remodel - I found out I was pregnant!   This is the room when we started "furnishing".   Country OVERLOAD people!    See the little bar table and stool set on the right??  That was our dining room table for about a year and a half.  

Makes this photo look a little better once it's put into perspective, huh?   

So like I said, another redesign (on a smaller scale) will be happening soon in here.   I'm thinking of going much lighter on the furniture - maybe a creamy white finish, similar to the trim.

The trim by the way took about 4 coats to paint over all of the dark green wood!   This was my job and I was so entirely sick of painting by the time it was finished.

The windows need to be addressed as well.   At THIS exact moment, they are naked.  I am quite sick of trying to figure out how to dress them and I'm just going to wait until the painting of the furniture is done to even figure it out.  

This is how they looked for the past year though -- I loved (and still do) the lace from the OTHER side of the window being visible and I obviously do not want to cover them up and let LESS light in.  Maybe a simple panel on either side eventually?

I was given a beautiful platter from my grandmother recently, which actually originally belonged to HER grandmother.  Came straight over from Ireland many many years ago.   I did some research on the pattern, for sentimental reasons AND because I really loved it, and found that it is a Johnson & Bros. design called HOP.   Like the beer, I guess - leave it to us Irish !  I was then lucky enough to find a woman online who was selling off a bunch of plates and serveware in this very same pattern, so I want to somehow incorporate it into the dining room.   It's a very pretty pattern in a soft slate greyish/blue, so it might dictate whether the wall color stays or goes.   One thing always leads to another, doesn't it? 

At one point, I had all of my Lenox "wedding" china displayed on the hutch, in the hopes that all that white would brighten the room a bit.

I don't love it, as it looks a little too "shiny" or something.   Hmmm...

The above shows it with my grandmothers "stuff". 

So, for those with a good eye for detail, have you noticed anything strange about my lighting yet??  (besides the LACK of it)

Look again...

Here's a closer view.   And, want a hint?   There are two of them.

Yes, they resemble breasts.   Nipples and everything.  I have been very tempted to just tie a tassel on each and call it a day.    I very much want different lighting in this room, but I'm afraid that once these "beauties" are removed, the wood behind them will be a completely different color or something.   We shall see.

I have another post coming up soon that I am very excited to share with you!!   I've been doing some "browsing" online for ideas to incorporate into my dining room project and found The Coolest Website.  It's not really called that.    Stay tuned! 

Smiles and Hugs,

Joyce

How It All Began.........

Good Morning!


A little more from my "Come Inside" series...

As promised here, , I did some digging through old photos and have successfully figured out how to scan them INTO my computer!  Yay me!   My "techie" skills are in the dark ages, so this is pretty cool stuff.  

Anyways, here is a quickie post with some photos of how our home looked when we first purchased it.   I've said it before (and will probably say it again) but looking at these makes me MUCH less impatient for some reason for further redesigning - it helps to look back and see how far we've really come!

Here she is (was)...

I wish I could enlarge the photo a bit, but like I said, these are not originally digital pictures and they were scanned, by an idiot someone less experienced than others.   It was basically a very old, very grey, VERY SMALL bungalow.    We were sold on it because of (1) the price, (2) it is set back from the road about 400 feet and feels like a getaway in the woods, (3) there is a barn on the property (4) we basically just saw TONS of potential, and finally (5) we did not have children at that point and needed a project!

Here's a closer look at the front door...

The entire inside was redone by the previous owner.   It was absolutely lovely in many ways.  Tons of charming details, like custom woodwork, trim, cabinets, shelving, etc...   It was also absolutely DARK as in Dark Maroon (cranberry probably) and very dark hunter green.  

This was our original "entry way" and was actually the lightest room in the house.   They had these cool old factory style windows that let TONS of light in.   It gets worse from here though.   See how on the right side of this photo it looks basically like a black wall?   It's not a wall.   It's an opening to the rest of the house.  It was really that dark.   By the way, the viewpoint you are looking FROM in this photo is actually now a part of the kitchen where we have extra storage and a computer station.   It's where I'm sitting right now!  I can look right over my shoulder and see where that awful front door used to be! 

Here's another veiw of the outside (was probably later, because it's apparently after we started some painting on the exterior

Oh and by the way?   The yard needed a bunch of work too.   :)

Here's a quick drawing that Mr. Hubby came up with during our planning for the addition.   

And here's a recent shot of our exterior today....

We did end up working some with an architect, but I'd say hubby was pretty much right on the money as far as how it would turn out!  The architect DID give us some awsome ideas of what do to vs. what not to do - mostly on the interior remodeling which saved us a bunch.  Always a good thing for a cheap gal like myself.   I will point some of those tips out to you as I get further along in this lil' here series.

Some photos of a few things we love about this property...

These guys show up at LEAST once a week (and they always mysteriously disappear as Thanksgiving approaches - they must be smarter than they seem)

These ladies are also frequent visitors....

As I mentioned before, we got a barn along with the deal. 

I love how this red color "pops" in the snow...

The yard itself is fairly cleared out of trees, overgrowth, bushes, etc..... but we are also surrounded by woods in at least three directions...

The original part of the house is over 100 years old, and we find all kinds of neat old fashioned things around...

I don't know what it is either, but we've got a barnfull of stuff like this - I'm hoping to find the time to group them all somehow for a display.  

There is also some quirky "charm" to be found....

This is in the way back of the house, near a cellar door entrance, so I decided ot just leave it be!  

Or, how about this piece of work, courtesy of a neighbor across the "way"...

Yes, it's a shed.  Made out of doors.  And to be honest with you, if it was ever completed, it would probably be a welcome sight somehow.  Kind of the cute and quirky idea that I love.  Unfortunately, this particular neighbor has moved and we're left to decide how to deal with this little mess ourselves. 

So that's it for now!  I am gathering some more old photos of the interior to put together a few more posts for this series.    Next should be the dining room and living room...

Have a great weekend - Ta Ta For Now!

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce

Entryways / Mudrooms

Hello again!

In trying to get myself a bit more inspired about what to do regarding my entryway, I've been browsing online photos of mudrooms.   In case you are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, check out my previous post.

Now, I do not want to turn this entire room into a mudroom exactly, but perhaps a small aspect of it could be incorporated.

Here - take a look for yourself what some other creative types have done...

~ Photo courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens ~

This photo above shows just a portion of a room being used as a "mudroom" area.   This is probably something I could incorporate into the entryway, without overwhelming it with muddiroom-ness.

~ Photo courtesy of BHG ~

The above is a bit overwhelmed by mudroom-ness.   And don't get me wrong - I think it's very nice and this is a perfect solution for a big family with lots of busy kids.   It would also be perfect near a backdoor.   I could not keep an area this open neat enough I don't think.   It would just be messy and make me anxious everytime I walked through my door!

~ From Woodworkers.Org ~

The above piece is also a great solution for those short on space.  I'd probably like some more baskets above the top shelf as well, but it would be a great place to hang a coat, a couple bags, and the shoes I mentioned in my prior post could hideaway very nicely in the baskets underneath!

The space above (also from BHG) is dressed up a bit by the curved lines above it.  A pretty detail such as this would make almost any clutter look prettier!

I just LOVE the colors used in the photo above.  A very nice change from the ordinary.

Same for this one.   I think it's my favorite.  It's small enough to not look entirely out of place in my entry.   Love the colors, Love the baskets, Love the bench, Love the decorative fruit and I especially love the little dog!  He certainly looks pretty cozy.

Now something like this is an idea I'd be likely to incorporate also.   I can see using a hopechest as well.   Hmmm.... wonder if hubby would mind if I redid the one he gave me???

And how do you like the above solution!???  Using the space underneath the stairs for some storage!!!  I actually like this last option so much that I am going to look more closely at our own "space under the stairs" and see if anything similar could work out.  

So that is pretty much all I have to say about Entryways and Mudrooms for the time being.   I will follow up at some point with an After photo or two.

Next week I have plans to "introduce" you all to my kitchen and my living room - Stay Tuned!!!!!

Say What???   If you guys have any ideas for me at all about decorating my entry way - I would LOVE to hear them!   Sometimes a "fresh" pair of eyes is really all you need.

Have a great weekend - Thanks For Stopping By!

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce

COME INSIDE... My Entryway

Hello all!

I want to say hi and welcome and thanks to my new followers!  I hope you enjoy browsing around my blog (small as it is yet, I hope for LOTS more to come!)

I have a couple of projects completed to show you, but I also wanted to start a little "mini-series" I'm calling Come Inside.  

~ photo from last spring - I know, Get a New One ~

A bit of background on our current home:   We purchased this house approx. 8 years ago.  When we first bought it, it was a tiny tiny little bungalow.   I'm not sure if you are familiar with bungalow style, but basically they are small.   ;)   Very adorable and LOADS of potential, but it was literally about 900 square feet.  There were no closets in any of the bedrooms, the bedrooms themselves were about 10 x 12 and the entire place was filled with dark, DARK colors.    There are also no hallways, so the bedrooms and bath (one at the time) is literally RIGHT off of the main living area.  Still it is situated far back from the road which is nice and the house itself sits on the far corner of the property, so it gives the impression of a big yard.   TONS of hard work and lots of dollars brings us where we are today.  

We did hire an architect at one point to help us with the addition design.  But I am also lucky enough to have a hubby with great visions of what our home could become.  He is a bit of a know-it-all  had a very clear idea of what the house could become and I have to say that we are pretty darn close! 

I have alot of before and after shots to show you all.  Unfortunately, the BEFORE shots are mostly from another camera, not digital and will have to be scanned.   :(   I'll be working on alot of this over the weekend!

I am also planning to "update" alot of the rooms again (you don't realize how much wear and tear 7 years, 3 people, 1 child, and a dog can bring!).    I'll be showing you photos of each room, exactly how it stands now and what my plans are.   In an effort to "keep it real", these photos are literally EXACTLY how the room is on any particular day.  I did not clean (sorry), I did not "fluff" in any way in the before shots.   Please forgive! 

So, we now move onto..... The Entryway

Now this room didn't even exist when we purchased it.  We basically went sideways and up when we put the addition on.   The paint color will remain the same - I just LOVE it.    I will get the manufacturer and color information if anybody is interested.   We are aiming to keep the "feel" of the house casual, warm and not in ANY way formal.   So, this room as it stands will not change TOO much - probably just some updates to the accessories.

I love that it's a nice big area.  People arriving have plenty of room to mill about and the stair case is not IMMEDIATELY in front of you the way it is in some houses.    It's also got a neat feature.    These windows on the side of the room...

... are actually the exterior of the "old" house.   They look into the dining room and it was the architects suggestion to leave them there.  I'm so glad we did!   The downstairs has a VERY open floor plan and having a great big WALL there (instead of windows) would have been too closed in.

Right now I have temporary "window mistreatments" in the making.     I love the way this black and white check looks against the paint color and also the lace valances.    I should probably hang them up someday.

I try to tackle as much as I can by myself without involving the Hubster.   I purchased these finials (from Lowe's) to use as a decorative "hanger" for the scarf treament, assuming that I could simply measure and screw them into the woodwork easily.

I cannot screw them into the woodwork easily.    So they've been hanging as is for about a week, in the hopes that hubby will remember to simply bring in a drill or something and help me get them up there.   It feels good to have a plan for the window at least, so we are off to a fine start!   I simply folded the fabric so that any raw edges do not show, and I plan to add a small piece of trim along the bottoms (just the part on the side that will hang down).

Another vey cool aspect of this room is the high, HIGH ceilings.    It stretches all the way up to the roof of the second floor and we have the option of closing that "above" space off and creating another bedroom someday if we ever want to.   We don't want to, but it's nice to have options.

My problem now (clearly) is accessorizing the space in a better way.   The wreath and dodads you see were placed when the railing was finished about 5 years ago and never really thought about again.   I may leave the large brown wreath alone and I have a pretty sign that will go on the shelf...

Another option for this sign would be here...

Above the door (this is the front door once you are inside).  More shelving all around to accessorize as well.   We added side windows to each side of the door to let light in and also a large window above.

Another favorite thing about this space is my hutch.   It is a "hand me down" that came from my great grandmother.    The wood however seems way too dark for this space and I am hoping to paint it something similar to the trim color, an off white.   

At this point, I want to ask that you PLEASE tell me now if you have any opinion either way about this!!   Seriously, I have struggled with this decision for over a year.   I think it would look lovely in a much lighter tone, it would "fit" in better with the rest of the space, and my pretty dishes would show up nicely with a lighter background.  I don't, however, want to ruin a family heirloom.  Once it's painted, I can obviously never go back to it's "wood" origins.  Just sayin'.

A quick word about these dishes.  They are from my husband's side of the family and were originally his great GREAT grandmothers.   My MIL tells me that the pattern is the same as Martha Stewart has in one of her homes.   Don't know if this is true or not, but they have some special meaning to us and I really like the colors.

Another area that I struggle with is this...

There is ALWAYS a pile of shoes right when you walk in the front door.   So I thought a basket would help "control" this a little better.   I think I need a bigger basket.

I apologize for the bad lighting.   This shot just shows another view of the front door (from the inside) and the staircase to the second floor beside it.  If I had my way, I would probably paint the banister and railing white too.   But it's too recent a memory of when we didn't have a banister at all and all the time it took to stain the wood a "WOOD" color LOL!   So I do not dare mention this yet.

The above is another shot of my half done window and the shelving above it. 

So there you have it!  That is our entry way (we are trying not to refer to it as a foyer) and I will show more photos as it becomes complete.

I'll start on the kitchen, dining room, and family room over the weekend!   I hope to get the old photos scanned so that I can show you the real BEFORE before shots.   Whenever I get impatient, it helps TREMENDOUSLY to look at those old pics to remember how far we've really come with this place!

Bye for now and hope everybody has a great Friday!

 

Thanks for stopping by!  

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce