Dining Room Inspiration and Design Plan

You guys, Luke finished the dining table! Yay! This means that I get my turn with this amazing piece. You may have seen this photo I shared on Instagram on Saturday. Conor was so excited to help Luke:

I just snapped this quickly with my phone.

I always think jobs are going to be quicker than they are. Luke has worked so hard on this table, from planing and jointing the wood. He spent 9 hours on the table on Saturday. Phew. I honestly had no idea the table would be so much work, but it’s gorgeous.

You may remember I shared an update here.

That was while he was still building the top. The gorgeous barley twist legs were found by my friend Kim who owns Laurel Grove, a wonderful shop in Sudbury. She found them at barn sale. We think they were for a kitchen island or butcher block. So we cut them down so they’d be the right length.

Anyway, Luke’s dated and signed the bottom. His first large table! Now he’s handing over the baton and  it’s my turn with the table and the rest of the dining room.

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I plan on using Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Farmhouse White on the apron and legs of the table. I love the creamy white and I want to give that look that the time is old with some light chipping and distressing.

This image is from Marian’s blog, announcing Farmhouse White

Isn’t it a gorgeous white? I think it will blend well with the historic nature of our home.

The table top of reclaimed heart pine will be hand rubbed with an oil finish. I’m testing out some different oils this week and I’ll give you the full details once the table is painted / oiled.

Here’s what I’m thinking about for the space:

The chairs are by Ikea. They are the Henriksdal and are $89 a chair. I’ve sat on these twice now at the store and LOVED them both times. I still need to go back and purchase our dining room chairs but wanted to wait for the table to be done first.

There are several reasons I’m opting for this chair. First of all, the price. I’ve priced out other options and this is the best by far. This is for the chair and cover. Second, reason is comfort. They are so comfortable and I love the high back. Lastly, the kids are messy. It isn’t a case of if the chair gets sauce on it but when the chair gets sauce. These are cotton and washable but I can also buy spare covers when the slipcover gets too grungy.

We currently have cane chairs that I painted with Chalk Paint®. I love these but feel they’re a bit more formal then I’d like for our dining room now.

Here’s the dining room right now –

Finding this Welsh dresser was the catalyst in my desire to rework this space. You can read more about that piece here.

I created a board on Pinterest when I started redesigning this room.

Perhaps it’s because of my love for Luke, and my love for England, but I’m very drawn to that English look – shabby, refined, elegant but also relaxed. I want our home to feel warm and inviting. Like, this is our dining room but we draw here and do watercolor and sip coffee. We live here!

I was very  much inspired by this tour on Country Living of Bill Reid’s Home (click here):

Image by Country Living

I LOVE the interplay of antiques, textures, warm woods and greenery. Don’t you just want to sit down at that table?

So my English Ironstone collection will continue to grow, click here for more on that.

The light blue cabinet will be staying (it’s painted in Eulalie’s Sky Milk Paint just in case you were wondering).

The other part of the room that will be changing is the oriental rug. This one is just too big now for the space.

I thought about doing an oriental and liked this one by Safavieh, but then I fell madly and deeply, head over heels for this one:

What do you think of it? Overstock.com is having a huge sale and I found the 8 x 10 for $260 with free shipping. I think that’s a great price for a thick wool rug. I also didn’t want something with a medallion because the rug might not exactly be centered. I thought something more modern in shape would add a more relaxed vibe and make the table pop. I hope so!

The rug arrived really quickly and is still wrapped up because I need to move all the current furniture out and paint the table first.

Oooooh, I’m getting so excited for this space, you guys!

Not long now!!!

Update! Since publishing this post in April 2017, we’ve finished this room and have enjoyed many, many meals and celebrations. The room came out so beautifully.

Here’s how it came out:

Dining Room Reveal

Here’s a look at the dining room in different seasons:

Spring Dining Room

Apple Inspired Fall Tablescape

Thanksgiving Dining Room

Simple and Elegant Christmas Dining Room