Sunday, August 23, 2015

Designing an Eating Area for Connie and Chris

Well.....
Now that I've shown you how far we've gotten with Connie and Chris's living room, 
it is time to tackle their eating area in the kitchen.
Their new home doesn't have a formal dining room, but a large area in the kitchen.
This room is actually an open concept floor plan which includes the family room as well as the dining area with the kitchen sandwiched between the two.
I have shots of how the room was decorated by the two previous owners.
The first shot is of the owner before the ones who owned the house before Connie and 
Chris.
So they are before squared. ? .
As the room can't accommodate a long table as well as a server, the first owners had a folding screen placed against one wall.
The next shot, below, is the real estate agents shot, so a wide angle lens was used making the space appear much larger than it actually is.
 They kept the same chandelier from the previous people, used a shorter table to allow for the console placed against the right wall.
I think that these owners moved from house to house using the same drapery treatments, as all their window panels were WAY too long for the rooms.
There is a lot of fabric here, and it created a more formal look than Connie decided she wanted, so we went for something with simpler lines.
Keeping in mind that the wide angle makes the room look ginormous, below is a shot showing the kitchen, so you guys can understand the relationship of the dining area to the rest of the room.
If the kitchen were actually as large as it seems below, you would need roller skates to get around while cooking.
Sooooo.....
The first thing I needed to do was to find a dining table that was in a light wood.
Connie had really liked the one that the sellers had.
The meanies took it with them.
Soooooo.....
I put on my detective hat and started trying to find one like it that was large enough for 8 chairs and wasn't a new one.
WE WANTED AN OLD ONE!!!!!
Well...
I found one on First Dibs, the eBay for folks who are willing to shell out the extra money for wonderful stuff.
IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED!!!!!
I said to Connie.....
BUY IT, BUY IT, BUY IT!!!!!
I was worried that someone else would grab it up, as it was a newly listed item, and this style is very popular right now.
Below is the image that was on First Dibs.
I contacted the seller to make sure that it was a size we could use, and that chairs would fit comfortably underneath, and he sent me this picture.
IT'S AN ACTION SHOT WITH SOMEONE ACTUALLY SITTING AT THE TABLE!!!!!
Connie is not good at waiting.
She claims that it is so that Chris doesn't get upset that the room isn't done.
I don't believe her.
not at all
She wanted a chandelier 
RIGHT AWAY!!!!!
No time to look for a cool old one.
No No No No No.
She wanted a rectangular one.
I don't know why, cuz I can't remember her reasoning.
But I DO WHAT I'M TOLD.
and I found her one on Restoration Hardware that was rectangular.
She liked the look of flickering candles.
Very romantic.
Cuz that's just the way that Connie and Chris roll.

Restoration Hardware Pillar Rectangular Chandelier 
Connie wanted a nice mix of materials and styles for the chairs, and left it up to me to figure out how that was going to be accomplished.
NEVER FEAR!!!!
I CAN DO IT!!!!!
I AM SUPER DECORATOR!!!!!
We found these wicker arm chairs at Grange in the Boston Design Center
We didn't like the skimpiness of the cushions, so we had them made in Flerida.

Then.....
I had to figure out what should be the host and hostess chairs.
I was getting a lot of input from the peanut gallery.
Sometimes Connie and Chris don't seem to realize that just because this is their home, 
and these are going to be the chairs they sit on EVERY SINGLE DAY during the winter.....
 their opinion comes after my fun!!!!!
Sooooo.....
I went back to 1st Dibs to look for some fabuloso chairs.
I found ones that Connie and I both fell in love with at Charles Spada Antiques
that turned out to already be at the Boston Design Center.
Soooooo....
She and I went to look at them and ended up buying half the stuff in his showroom.
These chairs are even older than Connie and Chris!!!!!
I loved the way the three styles worked together.
I don't like it when all the chairs are the same around a table unless it is a round table.
Then I like all the chairs to be armchairs.
Don't know why.
It's just my quirky brain.
Sooooooo.....
This is how far we had gotten to this point.
There's that damn wooden trough again.
It just moves from room to room.
IT'S A NOMAD!!!!!
Next time I'll talk about the fabrics I used and the window treatments.
maybe.
On that note,
Latah, Gatah

Photobucket

4 comments:

Stacey said...

Looks fabulous!

Anonymous said...

What kind of camera lens did you use to make the woven chairs look too low for the table?LOL
Funny, you like chairs with arms and I, a plebe in the decorating dept., loathe chairs with arms because i hardly ever can get the chairs up close enough to the table a/ when not in use and b/when short people sit at the table and need to pull the chairs in so they can reach the salt and pepper, etc..LOL x2
Are those candles as much trouble to keep glowing as it looks? Or are they electric and lit with a wall switch? Sorry, I don't have time to internet research hanging candle light fixtures.... I just came home to leaky pipes after spending a couple of social security checks on new front and storm doors and associated hardware and installation. And two new toilet seats. I'd love to read your take on replacing toilet seats and why they don't seem to last long. And how to make sure the colors are at least compatible, if not matching the porcelain.

That's all my whining for tonight. I have to put the soaking wet towels in the washer from sopping up the water that leaked out of a gallon jug onto the counter while i was away overnight.

See, first thing i do on arriving home is look at your post....that's how much i like your style.....Is it bad form to say this dining area is not one of my favorites of yours? But will watch and wait to see how you make it both stylish and attractive.....you are the gatah of style and attractive, after all....thanks for being-- and sharing-- YOU.

cheapdiva said...

Forget the trough . . . I think that duck waddles between rooms.

Unknown said...

Everything looking great.

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