Dining Room Makeover – the Big Reveal. Finally!!! We actually eat every meal in the dining room -- unless we can be outside on the deck. Plus our dining room is used for phone conversations, relaxing, studying, paying an odd bill, meetings with a salesperson or a club committee, . . . and just hanging out. The dining room provides a bit of privacy and space to spread out that isn’t found anywhere else in the house in just the right combination. If one of us has visitor/s, we can have coffee and conversation without disturbing the rest of the occupants. And that’s even more important when one or more of the occupants is sleeping because of an off hours work schedule or is meeting a deadline on a laptop somewhere else in the house. How to do a dining room makeover that made a ... [Read More]
dining room
How to install picture frame moulding
Boxy and boring! Our dining room needed all the help it could get! We added ceiling interest with a faux tray and chandelier moulding here. And a new chandelier. Added a chair rail. Then came picture frame moulding to change everything. Adding picture frame moulding is a quick and relatively inexpensive way to add architectural interest to a room. It was well worth the learning curve, the time and energy doing it and every penny it cost. Setting down with paper and pencil and thinking things through beforehand is a huge time and money saver! The first step is to determine placement of top and bottom of picture frame molding. I used the Golden Ratio formula to determine a pleasing placement for the chair rail. It made sense to use the same formula to determine where to ... [Read More]
Five Things to know about replacing a chandelier
A chandelier is jewelry for your room. It’s like the statement necklace or exquisite brooch that takes an outfit from good looking to beautiful. Chandeliers come in a variety of sizes and styles to fit any room or decorating style. Replacing your outdated light fixtures is an easy way to update a room. New lights add style, make a design focal point and provide illumination for living in that space. Chandeliers can be used in every room of the house, but they are most often the light fixture of choice for a dining room. Here are five tips to make choosing, installing and using your new chandelier easier! 1) Choose your style: Stroll through any home store lighting department and you will find contemporary, traditional and every style in between, a variety of materials ... [Read More]
How to create a faux tray ceiling and give your room character
How to create a faux tray ceiling – and take very bad photos in rainy weather when trying to show it! That’s really what the title of this post should be! Have you ever tried to take a picture of your ceiling? Did you know that chandeliers look very different when you are lying on the floor? Just roll with the pictures today – you’ll get the idea! I saw a room photo once upon a time, who remembers where, but the ceiling trim shown came to mind when we decided to redo the dining room. Our dining room was basically a square box with openings on three sides and no distinguishing characteristics whatsoever. We set out to give it a little character. As our confidence grew, so did the character! I love it now – including the ceiling. Visitors don’t see that detail right away, but ... [Read More]
