Show Us Where You Live Fridays: Dining Room

Welcome to our dining room! The dining room is right off our front foyer when you walk in the front door. It is to the right. The dining room opens to the kitchen at one end and to the home office at the other end (off the french doors). It is around 12x12, so it isn't huge, but we don't have massive dining room furniture. The space gets good light and has 10 foot ceilings with transom windows above both door entries.

Here are some basics:
Paint: Sherwin Williams Blond
Furniture: Keller brand
Light fixture: National Home Center
Drapery fabric: P. Kaufmann Queensland



I've had the dining room furniture for 11 years, and I intentionally selected casual furniture with no upholstery, so that the room can be kid-friendly. I didn't want the dining room to be a formal room that was only used a few times per year where it would seem like a wasted use of space. At our house, we use it as an extension of the eat-in kitchen and try to make it kid-friendly. We use the dining room regularly when we host friends for meals, and kids often eat in there. I wanted wood furniture that could withstand regular wear and be wiped clean without having to worry about fabric stains. Eventually, this set will probably go in our kitchen, and we will upgrade to more ornate dining furniture once all the kids are older. We have an additional leaf for the table in order to sit eight. When we use the leaf, we can seat 16 people for a meal with the bar stools, kitchen table, and dining table! We actually use this area when feeding people during cookouts, and we are all eating on paper plates!



The china cabinet holds mainly vintage Blue Ridge dishes which I collect. We never registered for formal china and wouldn't use it with our casual lifestyle. I enjoy vintage pieces, and they add nice color to the room. The drapes were preowned, custom made, pinch-pleated drapes that I won on Ebay! They were being sold by a woman from another state who was redecorating, and I had used this exact fabric before and knew what it looked like in person. They are also fully lined and have 4 inch bouillion fringe down the front edges. I won them for under $150 and then had the length altered to fit my windows. It was a great find, as they are in mint condition!



We have plans to tear up the carpeting and put in hardwood flooring in the dining room next spring, and I will be glad to have a solid surface again, so I don't have to worry about spilled drinks or food on the carpet . . . because real kids do live here! We miss the hardwood flooring of our previous house which we left 5 months ago.



We enjoy this casual space and think it fits our lifestyle well. Thanks for stopping by!