Tara Guerard: Champagne and Pink

Have you seen how Tara Guerard's set her dining table for Thanksgiving in this month's issue of Southern Living.  I'm head over heels for it and am loving this color combination of champagne and pink.

via

Don't you love the bench with the pink pillows?  How fun and unexpected!  In fact, I love this color palette so much it will be the inspiration for my daughter's quilt that my mother in law promised to make for her.

So pretty.

I love this tablecloth with the wide contrasting band!  So dramatic!

Ironed on monograms - brilliant!!  Love how the Lindt chocolates add the pop of pink!  Great styling. 

Love the self serve bar!

So, now I'm on the mad hunt for champagne colored fabric for Elizabeth's quilt!  If you have any recommendations, let me know!  

In the meantime, I wish you all a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving.  

My Dining Room (as it stands now)

First, a huge thank you for your sweet comments on yesterday's post.  I was flattered.  Many of you commented on the colors and I was lucky to have an interior designer help me choose the colors of my dining room walls and furniture.

Now, onto our dining room, I wasn't able to completely finish my dining room.   Don't get me wrong - I think our dining room has come a long way, but the finishing details are definitely lacking.

If you remember, this was the inspiration.  

The goal was to lighten up the room.  So, how did we accomplish that? 

- We painted over the current wallpaper.  

- Purchased a natural jute rug.

- Installed custom made roman shades.

- Painted dining room table and chairs.

- Painted sideboard. 

What did NOT get accomplished?

- Painting of chandelier, hanging my federal eagle mirror and accessorizing.  So, here is our 

Dining Room BEFORE:

Dining Room AFTER:

It definitely is brighter and softer.  The wall color provides a calming backdrop, the natural rug is perfect for everyday use, the roman shades (more below) provide that much needed dose of color and pattern and the painted table and chairs help break up all the gold tones in the room.  

Another picture of the painted sideboard with the unhung mirror.  You can see the chandelier I was suppose to paint and never got around to it.

The DwellStudio Gate Citrine fabric used for my roman shades.  Isn't it lovely?  Melissa from Windows by Melissa really did a fantastic job (yet again).  They're perfect for our dining room.

If you need window treatments, don't hesitate to contact her!  She is a pleasure to work with.  Well, that is our dining room - What do you think?

Stay tuned for tomorrow, because I will be hosting an amazing giveaway from Melissa!!  It's a doozy!  

Before & After: DR Sideboard

With all the craziness, I've been slow to post some of my finished projects.  And, once the baby arrives (due this Sunday) I know I won't have time.  So, here is the sideboard I found at a tag sale for $25.

BEFORE (Post Sanding)

It wasn't the best quality, but it was the perfect size for our small dining room.  If you remember from this post, I decided to paint it BM Pale Avocado and add this hardware.

I haven't hung my antique gold federal style (eagle) mirror above the sideboard because we're moving in less than a month and I really don't want to put new holes in the wall.  So, here is the sideboard now.

AFTER

The other day, I placed my mirror on the sideboard to see how it would look.  I'm dying to hang it - I think it would go perfectly above the sideboard.  

AFTER

I found that mirror at an antique store for $45.  I love it.  The sideboard has a collections of items which I love and found at various places.  I know my orchid looks in bad shape;  I can not for the life of me keep orchids alive.  

And, do you spy some DwellStudio Gate Citrine fabric in the reflection of the mirror?  More on that tomorrow - I will reveal my dining room (as it currently stands) and will show you what an awesome job Melissa from Windows by Melissa did on my roman shades!    Stay tuned!

Looking for an affordable yet soft natural rug?

Over the past couple of months, I've been helping my friend with her dining room.  It's been lots of fun seeing progress being made.  I hope to do a before and after at some point, but in the meantime I wanted to let you in on a little tip.

Jewel Jute Rug

I suggested this particular rug, pictured above, for her dining room.   She wanted a casual look, low maintenance and wanted it to be soft underfoot.  (I remember seeing this rug on another blog, but I can't remember where - sorry.)

Well, I saw it for the first time yesterday and it's wonderful.  Not only is it affordable, but it's low pile and soft!  And, it has the killer diamond pattern!  She loves it too.  And, if you're worried about durability -  she has 2 kids under the age of five, a dog and a cat.  It's perfect for her household.  Anyway, if you're looking for a recommendation - this one comes highly recommended!!  You can purchase it here.

PS:  Natural Area Rugs did not sponsor this post in anyway.  This is strictly our own opinion.  

Before and After: Painting Over Wallpaper

Thank you for your kind comments about our dining room saga.  Some of you asked if the color on the furniture complemented the color on the walls - it kind of doesn't.  The color palette in the room is cream/gray/citrine and now I have these stark white chairs and table.  It sticks out like a sore thumb.  Anyway, I'm trying to see if I can hijack a highschool student to help me repaint them!! 

Anyway, before we painted, our dining room had wallpaper.  Actually, it still does.  But now it just has paint over it! :)  The wallpaper was there before I moved in and it is just not me.  See below.

I find the stripes overbearing for our small dining room.  So, let me tell you 3 reasons why I chose to paint over the wallpaper instead of taking the wallpaper down.

1) Condition of walls.  The reason the wallpaper was hung in the first place was because the walls are not in great condition. I was concerned that after taking the wallpaper down I would probably have to skim coat and sand the walls to ensure an even and smooth surface.  This would be a pain.

2) Removing wallpaper is not always an easy task.  Sometimes the paper comes down in sheets and sometimes it doesn't.  And since I am pregnant and have no experience with this I decided not to go there.

3) Time and Money.  I wanted to get this done before the baby comes and since we're moving in the near future, I didn't want to waste too much time or money removing the wallpaper, sanding walls, etc. 

You get the picture.  So, how do you paint over wallpaper?  Well, here is a good tutorial that I followed, but I will give you a quick run down of how I went about it. 

1) Identify all the visible edges, as well as any loose/peeling wallpaper.  With a razor, carefully trim back any loose pieces.  See the seams below.

2) Next, put just a little joint compound (the mud used at joints in drywall) on any uneven spots - so this means all seams, edges, and places where loose wallpaper was removed.  This is the most important part, since you want the surface to be as smooth as possible before painting.

I had our painter do this and the key to having a seamless look is to ensure that the compound is "feathered" out properly (so the seam disappears).  If it is visible or bumpy, you'll need to sand it more.  Use 150 grit sandpaper or finer.

3) Once the compound is dry and sanded, you will need to prime over the wallpaper.  You need to use an oil based primer.  This is critical because the glue holding the wallpaper onto the wall is activated by water.  Putting latex (water based) paint on will just cause the wallpaper to fall off the wall, which is what we're trying to avoid.  Also, the primer is also the first step to hiding the wallpaper pattern, so it doesn't show through the top coat.  Oil based paint stinks ... so ventilate the area well.  

4) Now, you are ready to paint your walls.  The painter used two coats of latex paint (eggshell finish) and voila!

So that's it ... I love the new color (BM White Down).  It's just so much more airy and open.   

Dining Room Mood Board & Updates

Remember this post about my dining room?  I've been slowly making updates to it.  It's taking longer than usual mainly because at 32 weeks, I find myself exhausted most of the time.  The interior designer created a mood board for the space, I simplified it, but here is the jist of it.  

My Dining Room Mood Board

The walls have been painted which I think has been the biggest transformation.  We painted over wallpaper!!  I wouldn't recommend that for everyone, but there are a lot of reasons we decided to do that.  I plan on doing a separate post on that.  

Melissa, from Windows by Melissa, is making my roman shades.  I primed and my husband painted our sideboard and we got new hardware. 

We got a new rug and we painted our existing dining room table and chairs.  Since our DR table and chairs had a finish on it, I originally planned on using an oil based primer and a latex paint.  

But, I then learned about a product from Sherwin Williams called 'adhesion primer'.  It basically allows you to prime without sanding.  It bonds tightly to surfaces considered 'unpaintable' like, ceramics, PVC piping, furniture with existing stains, etc.  This would allow me to 'skip' the sanding and actually use a latex based primer instead of an oil based primer.  Latex is a lot easier to work with.  So, I bought it and tried it. 

The true test will be time, but I have to say it was a dream to use.  Now, here comes the major setback.  My husband (who didn't even want to re-do the dining room because we're moving soon) spent a half day (while I was at work) painting the table and chairs for me.  When we brought the furniture into the room, we noticed that color on the furniture was off and not the same as the walls.  (We're painting the furniture the same color as the walls).  We re-checked the paint can to confirm that it was the right color and number, but noticed that the formula used was different from the formula used on the walls.  I am so upset.  

We will go back to the paint store to complain, but you just can't get back all the time and labor that went into painting the table and chairs.  My poor husband.  So, right now, I have to figure out what to do, but I am so deflated.   So, stay tuned....this saga will be continued......

In other news, I want to thank Elizabeth from The Mustard Ceiling for featuring my hallway yesterday on her blog - see here. 

I was very flattered as she is a great designer and DIYer.  Her blog is full of amazing projects!!  Thanks, Elizabeth!

All Time Favorite

One of my all time favorite homes is Ashley Putman's, which was published in Lonny April/May 2010.  I recently stumbled on a new blog (at least to me) called, The Semi-Designed Life, where the blogger, Lauren, actually got to tour Ashely Putman's home this past Christmas.  See here.   It's so good....I just had to post.

Lonny

Ashley's courage to use a dark wallpaper in her bedroom is fantastic.  I always lean towards the lighter end of the spectrum when it comes to walls, but, I really like this look.  I also like the contrast of the dark walls with the feminine bedding.

Lauren's photo

It appears that Ashely switched the bedding for Christmas.  Love it and the monogrammed shams.

Lauren's photo

How adorable is the tartan pillow case?  

Lauren's photo

Another example of Ashley's fearless use of dark colors on the walls.  The infamous cobalt blue dining room we all love. 

Lauren's photo

Decorated for Christmas.  

Lauren's photo

A cool shot.  I love the eclectic mix of candlesticks. 

Lauren's photo

 I want to do this - the oversized brandy snifter filled with corks!

Lonny

Perfection.  I don't know where to begin?  Black side door (always wanted to do this in our kitchen).  Hardware.  Kitchen table.  Appliances.  Open shelving.  Brick flooring.  Love it all. 

Lauren's photo

I love open shelving, but I also would need cabinets and I like how Ashley's cabinets are off to the side.

Lonny

Clean lined console and a lovely vignette!

Lauren's photo

Ashley's staircase from Lauren's tour.  Looks like the 'For Like Ever' poster has a new home.  

Lauren's photo

A great combination - tartan, chalkboard paint and wellies!  

Lauren's photo

A house isn't complete without some lacquer!!  Again, more evidence of her courage!

Lonny

Lauren's photo

The Putman's family room.  Chic and kid-friendly.  Love it.  

Lauren's photo

And, this is the room where they place their Christmas tree.  How lovely.

Lauren's photo

And, yes a pool surrounded by grass, my favorite.  This is the view outside of the family room.  

Lonny

In the living room, Ashley opted for lighter walls.  I love how this room is casual and classic.  

Lauren's photo

During Lauren's tour, it appears Ashley has changed the sofa.  

Lonny

Perfection!

I know I went overboard with the images.  However, I hope you enjoyed the new pictures and a special thanks to Lauren from 'The Semi-Designed Life.'  If Ashley's house is in the tour this year, I might just have to fly down to Houston myself to see it in person!!  Happy Weekend!

My Dining Room Inspiration

With the help of an interior designer, the colors have been selected for my dining room makeover.  My inspiration was this dining room by Palmer Weiss.

"Delicate grays accented with fresh citrine, bright white borders, burnished gold and light wood tones."

As I mentioned before, I wanted this makeover to be (hopefully) quick and inexpensive.  The creamy White Down color will be painted on the walls which will create a sense of space and calm that puts the room in the best light.  It also blends very well with the existing Revere Pewter that is in our living room right adjacent to the dining room.  Both these colors compliment the accent color citrine.  

The walls have been painted and my rug from Overstock has been purchased.  The next couple of weeks will be spent giving my existing furniture pieces a paint makeover (dining room table, chairs, sideboard and chandelier).  I also am in the process of selecting the fabric for my roman shades.  Once, I select the fabric, I'll post my mood board.  In the meantime, a lot to do......stay tuned!