Before and Afters: Dining Room Re-do

Before: Dreary-sville
As promised: here's more.

My dining area was dark and icky before. I loved the drama of the black quilted dollar store tablecloth, but the look was all hodge-podgy. I was trying to make the area a bit of a nook where I could read and have a coffee when that pip of sunlight slants through the window near the table in the afternoons, but I failed bigtime.

Then I had inspiration: go for girlie. In the dining room? Why not?

After: Light and airy chic
I wanted the tablecloth to stay, but the area needed some contrast to balance the dark. I lightened it up with a white leather chair (found curb-side and jazzed up with a cheap faux-fur rug and a silky striped cushion) and some black and white photos.

Purple sheers and a lamp with a purple lampshade zoot up the girlie-glam factor.

The thrift store stool is covered with one of my fave vintage skirts that I used to wear when I was 16 - there's no rule saying you can't incorporate things you love into your decor!


Now I'm totally digging the feminine vibe. The painting was dug up at the thrift store:ever-emotional, I paid more than I normally would for it ($39.99) as it reminded me of how I imagined heaven to be as a child (minus the brightly-clad women). The wrought iron chair, part of a Sally Ann set, was a victim of my silver spray paint phase a few years ago, but it looks tres "Shabby Chic" now that the paint is coming off a bit.

The trio of beaded Moroccan boxes (.99 cents each at Sally Ann)on the books and the stacked bright boxes from Mexico and India add a pop of colour on the black tablecloth. The black sculpture, picked up at Value Village for under 10 bucks, melds into the tablecloth and maintains the drama. The crystal lamp is an Imperlux made in Western Germany (the tag says): $30 at my local thrift shop!!