Dining room solutions

In January during a blackout our pipes broke resulting in water damage to a number of rooms in our home. What was a bit of a disaster turned into a positive for me because it finally got me moving to do something about  one of my biggest decorating problems.  That would be my dining room.... See my complaints in this  post .  It's quite a list. 

Too much of a good thing

This is how it all looked  in early 2000 .....

Wood, wood and more wood

Problem lines  

Wood everywhere isn't the only problem.  Note the all the horizontal lines from the buffets to the railing,  a light hung too high and a window that has a view of the window next door.   Below is my first attempt to solve some of the highlighted problems.

 A different orientation solves some problems

Rearrange and add

I liked the changes and that satisfied me for a short time.  The new light was a good height and the roundness worked well against all the rectangles.  I also added longer (very temporary and too short) drapes to break some of the horizontal lines.    I moved the art work from  the living room to dining room,  and created some height and brightness on the dining table.  Still seriously problematic in my book because I did nothing to alleviate the wood issue, but it was improved but sorely lacking  pizazz.

Enter 2014... 

The power of paint and fabric

One of the cheapest updates you can make to any space is to paint something.  I don't care if it is furniture, accessories or walls, it works every time. Since we had to repaint all the walls (BM Glacier white) I continued on to paint quite a few things which I will reveal over the next several posts.  

 Bringing  it into 2014

To break up the wood and the set,  I was determined to sell all the dining chairs and buy new ones. I still don't know how I got hubby to agree to selling 8 hand made solid ash chairs because they were too matched. He was probably fed up listening to complaints!

After an extensive search,  I realized the chairs that looked best with the table  were the ones my husband made for it. I don't like sets, but in this case I had to concede.  So ... after much discussion with sister and daughter and varying opinions, I found a fabric I loved and then choose spray paint to work with it. 

I would like to say that cleaning and spray painting 8 chairs was exciting.  Not so.... But I got to use my favourite motif (circles) and my favourite colour gray. What could be better!   Part 2 coming soon... new problems and solutions. Hint:  Look at the vignettes on the buffet and table.

What do you think?  

Too much of a good thing

NO MORE!

The big question

Have you ever had to call a halt to buying yet another object  that you love?  When does just enough become too much? I had to confront both questions this week while I was shopping for accessories with my sister. 

Telling it like it is

 " Oh, I love that. "  was answered with " "You don't need another one". I had to admit  then and there that I am obsessed with  birds;  circles and poppies are chasing on their heels (or feathers).   I am trying to control it, but I keep seeing so many that I love.  I'm even thinking about  a birds for next Christmas.  I already admitted that in a previous post before I realized how far I'd gone.

Birds,  poppy and circles- perfection in my book

Now my sister is a good one to talk!

Outdoor dining at Bonavista Social Club and listening to birds

A family thing

Vera has a bit of the same affliction and doesn't even recognize it; her focus is birds in art work. She can't pass one up without a comment. There was also a liberal smattering of birds when I featured her house at Christmas in this post.  Must be the result of growing up next to a forest.

This obsession is causing me other problems in addition to having just too many of the same thing and not enough surfaces to place them.

My granddaughter, age 2,  is suddenly sizing up her environment and putting things in the " I likka" or the  "I no likka" category.  Birds are in the "I no likka " camp!   What do I do about that?   If exposure is going to make her more comfortable with our fine feathered friends she's in the right house. Since most of my birds are highly stylized it took her awhile to notice they were birds, but she's on to me now.

Bird sightings 

I like to  think that I place the products of my  obsession artistically by  weaving  them into vignettes and moving them from room to room so they aren't in one space too long.

Sitting proudly in the knowledge he was the first 

Not so happy with the " I no likka birds" title

Look closely.  There are two birds. Oh my!

 At home in autumn finery 

His latest home on the dining room table

Bird sighting in the family room

Yes, they get around. But some are stationary. 

There's the  hummingbird key hook, 

and the filigree bird hanging in my wreath thanks to my friend who also likes birds.  Yes, it all adds up.

Black bird

 My latest acquisition and hopefully my last. Thanks Target. But will it be my last?

You can always dream

Source 

But...... this is the one I dream about and will probably never have (unless the lotto comes my way or my relatives decide on a group gift). I'd pitch that Target bird in a heartbeat.

Please tell me that you too have an object obsession~!  Time to own up.