Getting the RED Out...Our Big Dining Room Reveal

OK my dear bloggy friends...I know it has been a couple months in coming but the dining room is finally done and it is time for the big reveal! However first let us take one more look back at the dining room before...

It was very VERY red!

Although the red did work for Christmas, after that it got a little, well, monotonous.  

 So everything came out of the break front and it was moved away from the wall.

Then all the walls and woodworking were washed down.

 And with my trusty paintbrush and roller in hand, I painted on Benjamin Moore's Boothbay Gray primer and then topcoat in a pearl sheen between the crown molding and chair rail. The same process was applied below the chair rail in Ben Moore's Navajo White. The Boothbay Gray needed on one coat of primer and topcoat, the Navajo White needed three coats to cover the red.

I also purchased new drapes for the room from Country Curtains. The pattern is called Jacobean Floral. 

Now for the big reveal...drum roll pleeeeease!!!

BEFORE...

and AFTER

(Of course I had to decorate it for Christmas!!!)

Now the cherry-wood furniture seems to pop off of the walls instead of blending in like before.

I also added a piece of furniture to ground the plates hanging on the wall. This little buffet actually belonged to my parents, they purchased it on 1968. Keeping the top in its original color, I gave the rest of the piece a nice coat of antique white and distressed it a bit. Then new hardware was added.

Again...BEFORE

...and AFTER

(notice Mr. Rosemary Lane's wainscoting on the wall)

There is nothing like a fresh coat of paint to transform any living space! After the holidays I promise to share with you a tutorial on how Mr. Rosemary Lane put up the wainscoting.

Merry Christmas!!!

XO

Linking to parties at these wonderful blogs...

Coastal Charm

Savvy Southern Style

Ivy &Elephants

The Dedicated House

DIY Showoff

Going Colonial in the Dining Room and a Trip to Williamsburg Virginia.

Well the dining room is really coming along. In looking at the choices I have made in both color for the room and print for my drapes...I've begun to notice that the room is taking on a bit of a colonial vibe.

As you know the color I chose for the walls above the chair rail is called Boothbay Gray, and now that it is actually on the walls, to me anyway, it is very reminiscent of a Williamsburg blue.

Look at the below pic of a yes "gray" wall in a colonial style living room. Love it!

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 The furniture in our dining room is shaker style in a cherry wood and it really pops against the new paint color, making much more of a statement in the room.  The whole space seems to want to take me in a more minimalist direction, very much like the decor of the colonial period. And what timing my new room has as we are actually this week traveling down to colonial Williamsburg Virginia for a few days. Can you imagine the inspiration I will find there???

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Loving those black and white buffalo check drapes...they look hauntingly familiar like in my...mmmmm...let's say kitchen !

I have never been to this part of Virginia so I am really looking forward to visiting there, and of course I will be sharing Williamsburg and its lovely homes with all of you...how could I not?

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Very exciting stuff, new room and a mini vacation all in the same week. I hope you will check back later this week to see Williamsburg and the full reveal of my newly redecorated dining room!

Have a great day!!!

XO

All the Way with Boothbay Gray!!!

Well the process has begun. The primer and paint have been purchased; the room has been cleared; the breakfront was unloaded; the cobwebs were wiped away, and now the only think left is to wash down the walls and do whatever patching needs to be done!

Can you tell I am both excited and nervous at the same time. We have had this red dining room since March of 2003...almost 11 years, and now I am doing something so completely different it makes me a wee bit scared! No correct that...a lot bit scared!!!

So far so good with Mr. Rosemary Lane...he hasn't really complained at all about loosing the red room that he loves so much. I think he may be ready for a change as well in this room.

Although the red was nice for the holidays!

Gosh can you believe that all came out of my hutch and breakfront? Geeze oh man I have a lot of weeding through to do before I load that puppy up again!

So the commitment has been made and now it is time to follow it through! I have a gallon of primer and a gallon of color...both from Benjamin Moore. I am hoping this will be enough to cover over the red. Still undecided about what I am doing below the chair rail...to keep it Boothbay or to go with the Bone color I plan to use on the trim.

I suppose I will have a better idea of which way to go once I start rolling on the new color. As for right now I am going to wash down the walls and then I plan to grab a little lunch!

Ciao 4 Now!!!

XO

Finalizing Decisions Before Re-Decorating the Dining Room

My goodness it has been a bit crazy around here lately with all of the kid's activities, getting Halloween costumes together, house guests and the usual laundry, house cleaning...well I don't have to paint you the picture, you know the drill.

However in the midst of the craziness I did manage to nail down the colors I want to paint my dining room. 

So hopefully by the end of the month it will be

good by red...

...and hello to...

(Drum roll pleeeeeeease)

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Benjamin Moore's 

Boothbay Gray 

and 

Bone White!! 

Wohoooo!!!

( I hear you all ooo-ing and ah-ing)

Now I know Mr. Rosemary Lane is going to miss his red room, but I am really looking forward to making this space much brighter with the new color. It's just that I'm not sure weather I want to paint the wall below the chair rail in the gray like in the picture above...OR...paint it in the bone white and have the hubster put up more wainscoting.

Mmmmmm....what do you think?

In the meantime I have been perusing through my Country Curtains catalog, and so far for drapes I am contemplating this print...

It is called Jacobean Floral and it's a new pattern from the Country Curtain people. I have never gone this floral before so that is pretty much why they are still in the "contemplation" stage right now. I do like the colors in this pattern, and thinking ahead I can pull out the orange tones and use them to decorate for the fall, the green can be use to accent the room for Christmas, and the lighter yellow-like tones for the spring!

So here I stand with just a couple more decisions to make, and then it is full steam ahead!!! 

What's your latest room re-do?

Hope you are enjoying a lovely day!!

XO