Our Dining Room - "Show Us Where You Live Friday"

I decided to jump on the bandwagon with some others around the blogosphere and participate in "Show Us Where You Live Friday"  from the popular blog Kelly's Korner.

 Today they're showcasing dining rooms, and even though I posted a before and after of our dining room on my old blog, I decided to do it again since I've gained some readers since way-back-then. Mainly, I'm just delighted to have found a way to update my blog while using the least amount of mental exertion possible, primarily because I have a nasty cold (courtesy of my New York trip), and I'm way behind on household chores.  So, ladies and gentlemen (if any gentlemen actually read this), I give you my dining room!  It simply doesn't pack the same punch without posting the "before" pictures as well, so there you have it.  :)

Before...



I'm not a huge fan of red in such large doses, so it was a MUST to tone down these walls!!!



After...



 Matthew worked sooo hard to put brick up on this wall – we LOVE the look of exposed brick walls in old New York City apartments, and wanted  one in our own home!  But, since we couldn’t have the real thing, we ordered brick veneers actually salvaged from buildings somewhere in New York (the veneers are the front layer of the brick and you lay them like tiles)!  Matthew layed and mortared the bricks himself (I helped a little!), and I worked on the rest of the room.  (See below)





The pictures on the wall were my little project – I really wanted a wall of botanical pictures, but couldn’t find a set that I liked and wasn’t insanely expensive.  So, I bought an old book of botanical drawings from an antique store (the perfect sized pages to fit an 8×10 mat), took the backing off the book, and chose the pages I liked for my picture wall.  I then bought the mats and frames, assembled them all, and Matthew hung them.  I am sooo proud!!  Below is the other side of the room – I love the bright green curtains – they help to make the room cohesive.  We were going for a sort of rustic, nature-inspired elegance with the distressed brick, the “twiggy” crystal chandelier, dark woods, and a natural braided jute rug.  Yay, us!  I think we achieved it

 




 And that, folks, is our dining room!  Hope it inspired you this fine Friday! Have a wonderful weekend!!

J