Elle Decor inspired makeover: dining table area

Ok, so we left off yesterday at my little library vignette, the first part of my full-on apartment makeover inspired by an ELLE DECOR magazine my sis gave me over the holidays.

I'm so glad I relocated the bookcase to a smaller wall, and this fab blue chair from the corner of my room. With the chair in front of the bookcase, the bookcase becomes less of a focal point (as it should be), and the chair just stands out in all its blue velvet splendor - and it especially pops against the reversible carpet, whose pattern is reversed on the other side (great 'cos I can flip it any ole time I need a change).

Directly in front of the blue chair in the dining room is my dining room table, as you see here. Yup, I finally relocated the dining room table to the dining room! Remember how proud of myself I was for relocating my love seat to the dining room? (see post here http://grunge-queen.blogspot.com/2009/03/boho-sitting-room-in-dining-room.html). Well, I decided to put it back for reasons of practicality AND glamour.

See, once I extended the table by flipping up the leaf, and once I added a black silky tablecloth and positioned two matching lamps on either side (any good recipe for glamour entails a pair of lamps in symmetry, in my opinion), the look was so impossibly chic - especially with my new painting that I'm still paying off overhead - that I couldn't stand it!

The more practical part of me said this: eating is a good thing, and a vital task I sometimes forget, so if I can create a lovely nook with a comfy chair where I can savour my cereal in the morning instead of choking it down while standing over the kitchen sink, perhaps that may make the task of fueling and energizing my body more ... hallowed?


And since my desk is taken up with my computer and a few lamps, I figured this long table could also function as a work space, where I go over clippings and books and bills and work on other creative projects that entail pen and paper (I'm a tactile gal, if you haven't guessed, so I actually hand write notes to myself and others). This gilt mirror, picked up at a junk store for $3.99, was quickly transformed into an inspiration board with some of my fave clippings, photos and cards from over the years. I can look over at it while I'm working and it'll hopefully fire my creative juices.

And natch, when I have guests over, the whole thing can transform into a proper dining room table. I've positioned my two wrought iron (and silver spray-painted chairs) on either end of the table for easy access ... and more symmetry.

More to come!