Today we'll head into the dining room. It's hard to tell but there was actually wallpaper in here at the time this photo was taken, a white background with tiny country blue and reddish pink flowers. It felt like a patriotic garden of sorts. Other than that, and the infamous faux brass chandelier, the room was in tact.
The room just beyond this one was an addition in the 1930's, hence the exterior window in the dining room. You can see a peek at the wall to wall carpeting that was in the back room. It was a happy day when that was finally pulled up to reveal solid oak floors underneath.
Oh those curtains...
Here we are today. I had fallen in love with this color years ago when I saw it in Cottage Living magazine (remember that one?). It is Laura Ashley, Russet. Though I think I had it mixed using Benjamin Moore, I am a painters daughter after-all. ;) I don't love it. It's fine in person but my camera does not like to take pictures in here, it's very sensitive with all the red tones. And we have two huge maple trees just outside those windows so in the summer when the leaves are on the trees it can feel a little dark in here.
My mom often reminds me of how fortunate I am to have rooms this size in a first home. I agree and have never taken it for-granted. Dining rooms are so often built too small, this one has always felt just right in size.
I have my desk in the corner. I love how centrally located it is, close to the kitchen and family action. My laptop is often open on this desk, a good spot for blogging, etsy shop keeping and emailing. It is also where I menu plan, appointment plan, list make, etc.
It's my busy mama/homemaker/creative lady zone.
Just to the left of my desk I keep many of my favorite cookbooks. Perfect for menu planning and cooking inspiration.
On my last post, Caroline commented that she noticed we had painted our steam radiators and asked what we used. Thank you for noticing Caroline, we are rather proud of them! Each and every radiator in this house was disconnected and removed from the wall to be cleaned thoroughly and painted properly. In the living and dining room we used a bronze colored metallic paint and applied with a brush. Using a brush versus a spray (this applies to painting walls or exteriors too) is always a good idea because the brush strokes help the paint to settle in and adhere better. (If you spray the exterior of a house, as many people do, it is best to "back-brush" each area after painting with a brush... painters daughter I tell you.)
The metallic paint can be found at most good paint stores, just ask about it. It is usually sold in small quantities and is very thin and watery so it lasts and covers a lot of area.
You can see behind the plant we also painted the pipe that leads to the radiators upstairs. There were three pipes on the first floor, all painted. I love those little details.
Some thoughts about choosing paint color when there is a lot of wood trim... Amy asked in the comments of the last post if I would share a little about this.
Our first floor has a lot of original woodwork left, thankfully. We would never paint it, however, it is a bit darker than I would choose. I guess when selecting a paint color, if you have darker woodwork, you have to decide how much contrast you want to have visually. Looking at the first two photos in this post you can see what I mean. Light walls with a lot of dark trim equals mucho contrast, more than I cared for. Darker, prominent colors complimented the woodwork and the whole space seems to flow more easily on the eye. Well, as easily as red can flow! That is what worked for my taste, of course if you prefer higher contrst in a room, than lighter colors would be the way to go.
I guess that about does it for the dining room, thank you for checking it out with me today! Next time... will I take you to the kitchen or the back room? This home tour just added an element of suspense!! Ooooh...
