new dining room!

we redecorated our dining room. it's taken months...but i love love love it! 

this was the "before":
we needed a bigger table so that levi could move out of the highchair and sit in a normal chair...

 and this is the "after:

 this was one of my "inspiration" pictures - the black chairs and brown table...with a pop of color.

i wanted it to be LIGHTER and, since we eat EVERY meal in the dining room, and since "meal time" has been a huge struggle the last 2 years to get through...much less ENJOY, i wanted to provide an atmosphere that made you feel like you were wanted there....that it was a JOY to have you there.

my dad made the cornices years ago. i just ripped the old fabric off and stapled new fabric on!

 we ordered the table and bench from a guy in illinois (Rustic Elements). we ordered it exactly how we wanted it and it came exactly how we ordered it. we LOVE it!

we spray painted (remember me spray painting the basement carpet. yea...) the chairs from our old table to go around the other 3 sides.

eventually, i'd love to make another table to have in the room where the piano is for games and for when we have LOTS of people over. but, for now, we are going to leave it like this.

 we replaced the chandelier and added recessed lights in the ceiling. i also hung those fun lights around and they will stay up all the time. we use them almost every night. {can you tell i LOVE light??}

some old, some new on this wall. the bottom right was our first craft of the summer (we are doing 1 craft a week.) everyone got to paint one square - it had to be something you think of when you think of our family :-)

 sawyer painting his square...

we hope to eventually replace the floors with a darker wood. but it's good for now. i've loved slowly putting this room together. i had a vision and, over months of work and waiting, it came together and i absolutely love it.