currently: the dining room

Hi friends,

After sharing our updated kitchen last week, I thought maybe a look at our dining room would be appropriate!

 (You can check out our Kitchen updates here!)

Our dining room hasn't undergone any major changes-- really just paint, decorating, and a more updated light fixture. It is actually very similar to the dining room we had in our previous home in terms of how it is decorated. I used most of the same pieces and added in just a few new ones.

Our dining room table is a DIY project by my husband from several years ago. We are thinking that this summer we may be ready for slightly different look as this one never turned out the color we had envisioned. No highchair in this space quite yet, but it is waiting in the attic!

For the longest time our walls were bare because we were waiting until we began our kitchen updates and repainted the space. Adding the curtains and shelves made a huge difference and definitely helped the space seem more homey!

These Ikea shelves were inspired by these photos from Crafty Teacher Lady and Young House Love.

 A closer look at how they are currently styled.

I am loving this little vignette I created from a wooden disc (handmade by my husband for our wedding), an assortment of glass jars, and an Ikea pitcher. Plus, the framed print only cost me a few cents for the cardstock it is printed on!

My current centerpiece is a piece of handmade pottery I brought home from Honduras 2 summers ago!

I was finally able to get my DIY chalkboard menu back up! This was a simple project from a few years ago where I turned a metal platter into the perfect menu.

Here's the details:
Paint Color: Requsite Gray by Sherwin Williams
Bar stools: Kirklands
Chalkboard: World Market
Home Sweet Home Sign: Hobby Lobby
Table Runner: Jane.com
Shelves: Ikea
Items on shelves: Assorted- Ikea, antique stores, Goodwill, At Home, Kohls
Light fixture: Lowes
Curtains: Kohls

spring centerpiece

There may be snow on the ground still, but I am dreaming of Spring. So much so that I decided it was time to change out my table centerpiece! 

I first showed you this wooden box several months ago (see here) and shared some inspirational photos with different ways to decorate with it. I was inspired by a Shanty 2 Chic tutorial to have my husband put together this super budget friendly box from wood scraps. Check out my previous post for lots of ideas for how to decorate with it!

This time I decided to use mason jars and hydrangeas from At Home to decorate for Spring. I added a little bit of jute around the box as well.

Our farmhouse table was a DIY project (pre-blog days) that my husband made a few years ago. The original plans came from Knock Off Decor and is a Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware inspired project. It didn't quite turn out the exact color we had in mind, but maybe one day we will update it again. :)

This is such a pretty area with the windows, but besides hanging up curtains, we have yet to tackle anything in our kitchen and dining room. We have big plans this summer to update our cabinets, change out out the counter tops, paint, and of course decorate!

This one little change already makes it seem brighter and warmer ... Spring I am ready for you!

DIY wooden box centerpiece

Hi ya'll!

It has been so long since I have shared a DIY or home project .. to be honest there hasn't been much creating or decorating going on here! The end of school, traveling, and moving took over for a few months.  We are now settled in to our new temporary home in Greensboro, but because we will not be staying here long term I'm not decorating .. my walls are bare, my windows are bare, and it all feels a little empty. Instead, I am planning and pinning my vision for our next, long term home!

However, I currently have all of this free time, and what better way to spend it then on some long forgotten projects?

The hubby had built me a wooden box to use as a centerpiece forever ago. So long ago that I won't tell you because it is embarrassing! It is a super easy, inexpensive project that can be completed using just 1 piece of wood or leftover scraps! Shanty 2 Chic has a step by step tutorial you can check out here!

 I finally got around to staining it and discovered the reason that my dining room table didn't turn out the color we had envisioned. Turns out the brand does matter- big time. So if you want true dark walnut stain, you MUST get Rusteloem!

I'm really excited about my wooden box centerpiece. There are so many different ways it can be styled and used for every season! Check out some of my favorite inspiration from Pinterest:

Sources clockwise from the top: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

And here is my centerpiece in its current, empty, undecorated state:

Linking up today at:
Ladybug Blessings
Coastal Charm

Weekend Crafting

Happy Mother's Day Weekend to all!

This weekend so far has been pretty low key .. Friday night was spent working out at the gym, grilling out, and crafting! (although I'm not sure crafting is a real word!) I know, we act like we are old. But to be honest, I'm content to spend most Friday nights relaxing at home. Traffic is usually crazy around here anyway! Although the night was made more eventful when my Hubby forgot to turn on the oven for our potato wedges!

Today we had an ice cream date and went to the grocery store. Hopefully tomorrow we can play some tennis and I've got lots of work to do to get ready for the end of school! Only 6 days left! This week I have Parent/Teacher Conferences and Pre-K Graduation on Friday!

Here are the 2 small projects I worked on this weekend:

Goodwill plate + chalkboard paint! I still need to get a different stand though.

A new Spring centerpiece for my table was up next. I up-cycled 2 glass jars that I had been saving by covering them with lace and using twine to tie around them. The other vase I had wrapped with burlap and lace previously and the wooden disc my husband made for our wedding. The flowers are from Garden Ridge. Not sure about their color ... but it looks like Spring!  

Enjoy the rest of the your weekend!

Dining and Kitchen Reveal!

Hello there!

I can not believe it has been a month since my last post! The past month has been very, very busy! My in-laws visited one weekend, my family visited this weekend, we went home to North Carolina for a long weekend, several training classes for my job, church fundraisers, a date to Atlantic Station, sickness, work, and we joined a gym! Whew!

I have been waiting forever to do this reveal .. not because it was finished but because it has been half way there for quite some time! We have been working on our dining room and kitchen and besides needing some new photos of us, it is done! Well, we are planning to repaint our cabinets this summer and I am sure I will find some things later to add, but it is finished for now!

You will see some of the projects that I mentioned in my Pin-spiration post a few weeks ago. Here are some of the photos from Pintrest that I used for inspiration for decorating:

 

Source: Crafty Teacher Lady

 Source: For Rent

 Source: Young House Love

Here is how it all turned out!

Get the details:

• Kitchen backsplash: Hope Depot. We installed it ourselves!
• Dining room table: DIY by my hubby! This was his first big wood working project! The plans he used are in the link above!
• Dining room chairs: a website that I can't remember ... but these are very common chairs.
• Curtains: Kohls
• Curtain rods: Big Lots
• Stools: Big Lots
• Chalkboard Menu: DIY using chalkboard paint and a platter from Garden Ridge
• Key rack with monogram: Key rack is from Big Lots, monogram is DIY from leftover scraps
• White floating shelves: Ikea
• White pitcher: Ikea
• Silver candles: Ikea
• White frames:Ikea. One of them holds a canvas of one our wedding pictures. The other is scrapbook paper that I DIYed onto burlap.
• Smaller dark frames: Kohls (on clearance!)
• Bigger dark frame: Garden Ridge. The print is something I found on Etsy.
• Mason Jar: DIY
• The C: Hobby Lobby
• Silver Platter: Wedding gift
• Burlap table runner: Etsy
• Center piece: The large candle holder is from Kohls (clearance!), the wood disc was DIY by my hubby for our wedding, and the "filler" is from the Dollar General. 
• Love, hope, joy plaques: Dollar General, many years ago!
• "Faith Is Daring the Soul ..." Artwork: Kirklands

Happy decorating! :)