Dining Room and a Snowy Morning

After yesterday's snow melted within hours of falling, we woke up this morning to another blanket of snow. Here's the view from our back slider in the living room.

Lyla needed to check things out. 

I do have a handful of errands to run including returning one of our master bathroom rugs that I ordered from Target a week ago. One of them came the right color (pebble gray) and the other was wrong (a brown color). I'm hoping to find an exchange at the store since Target wouldn't offer an online exchange and I don't want to pay shipping again.

The snow is a good enough excuse for me to stay inside and get some things done around the house. And to get started on my mom's chili! It's been cooking for the last hour and still has 4-5 more hours in the crock pot. Perfect timing as the hubby will be home from work around then with an appetite. I'll post the recipe along with pictures I took another time.

Since it's been a few weeks since I've shown you a room in the house I figured I would snap a few shots of the dining room. The dining room connects to the kitchen on one side and the foyer on the other side.

First things first, here's a before shot of the dining room when I moved in:

Not the best shots, but you get the idea. 

The crown molding was in already in which I love to this day. The walls were painted a bright almost kelly green color. I actually liked the color to start but over time I grew tired of such a bold dining room.

Let's peek at the dining room now.

 View from the kitchen.

The windows look out over our driveway in the front. The door to the left leads to the basement and it located across from our fridge. If you need a refresher on the layout of the kitchen, check it out here.

 Come inside!

Alternate view:

The furniture was given to me by by in-laws when I purchased the house. It was the dining room set they had when Jordan was growing up. They offered to reupholster the chairs and bench for me. At the time when the walls were green I picked a fabric to match. Now that I have painted over the green wall I am in search of a new, more neutral fabric to reupholster. I also need to find a rug for under the table.

Although the finish of the wood isn't what I normally would choose for furniture in the house, I love the look of the table and chairs, especially the bench. 

Here's the fabric I chose:

The long sides of the table also come up to make a full-sized table when we want to have guests over. 

I promise we aren't alcoholics. 

I work for a wine and spirit distributor and get samples all the time. 

I took this table from my parent's house. Not sure where it was originally from, but it was just a side table that my mom frequently moved around the house. The linens on top are one of the few souvenirs we purchased on our honeymoon in Bermuda. They were actually the inspiration for the wall color (Martha Stewart's 'Sharkey Grey.')

The pewter candlesticks on the table belonged to my grandfather's mother. The glass ones were a Christmas gift from my aunt. They are heavy! The square bowl came with a flower arrangement I received from the hubs, while the twine balls are a Pier One find. The tabletop still needs work. I'm hoping to find a runner like this one from Pottery Barn.

 This shelf is my favorite part of the dining room. I purchased the largest Lack wall shelf from IKEA.  The items on the shelf are a mix of family heirlooms, thrift finds and other miscellaneous goodies.

Let's take a closer look:

The picture on the left is a shot of the Irish Linen Shop in Bermuda that we took on our honeymoon. The small owl was a gift from my mom. The milk jars were a Salvation Army find for around $.50 a piece and the twig charger was on sale this holiday season at Pottery Barn.

The "D" monogrammed mug is from Anthropologie. More twine balls from Pier One. The milk glass is one of several pieces my grandparents have been giving me over the last year or so. 

I can't remember where the one candlestick is from. Possibly a Marshalls find? The glass ones were passed on from my grandmother.

Another milk glass piece from my grandparents.  I think my grandmother also gave me the vase. She gave me half a dozen one day. I'm pretty sure it was a vase leftover from a flower arrangement she was given as I've seen this style vase before. 

While we're at it, let's take a closer look at the gorgeous crown molding.

It was so nice to have this done already when moving in. I don't think I could have picked better woodwork than this. 

Here's a peek at the other doorway that leads into the dining room. The left door is our front door and the right is the coat closet. Someday I'll take a view shots of the foyer. Although that will be one quick post as there isn't much to it.

I must go check on the chili now. I also snapped a few before pictures of the nursery. I'm hoping to start cleaning the junk out this afternoon and giving it a good vaccuum. We are planning to put the dresser together tomorrow.