This was one of the only rooms I hadn't already photographed for our house tour. Finally this morning I took a few minutes to snap some photos so I can keep moving through the house. I'm not sure why I decided now was a good time for a house tour, two of our three bedrooms are in total transition as we start to get ready for baby girl to join us. And I've been so busy with photography that housekeeping hasn't been a very high priority. But I guess I just figure that life keeps happening, it keeps going, change and transition and growth will always be a part of it, and really, why not now? In the middle of the mess and the busyness, it's fun for me to stop for a minute and straighten up a room and take pictures of what this season looks like. So, here is our dining room as of this morning:
As soon as Jaden saw me get my camera out he ran and stood in the middle of the room and smiled. :) Love that boy. :)
The last time I posted about our dining room I was kind of in the middle of deciding what I wanted to do. I painted our buffet white and am so happy with that change. I also asked a friend who owns a little store called The Painted Chair to look for some more barrel back chairs for me. Her husband painted them gray when they found them. I now have three of that style, and then two of another style on one side together. I still would like to paint the wooden chairs white, but right now I'm focusing most of my mental house energy on our daughter's room and getting our boys all settled into their room together.
I draped a boxwood garland around our light fixture and I love the greenery it adds. Adding plants to a room is my favorite, as you can see from the vines in the basket hanging in the corner, the fern on top of our dog's crate. and the plant in the corner by the steps... there is a little hen and chicks succulent on the buffet too. :)
I posted an instagram photo of our buffet not long ago and it was really fun for me to remember where everything came from. It doesn't take a ton of money to decorate a space. It takes being creative with what you have. The black mirror was once a discarded window frame with broken glass sitting in Shaun's grandparents' chicken house. I removed the glass, sanded it, painted it, and a friend ordered mirros for me from a shop in Bird In Hand. It was only $8 for all the panes of mirrors. The pom pom yarn draped across the top has been used for many, many things. From Christmas décor to bridal shower décor to tying up brown paper wrapped gifts. A whole roll of it was only a few dollars at Michaels a couple of years ago. The rosemary hanging up to dry is from our garden. I just tied it with some brown twine, another thing that I like to always have on hand. The white frame was a gift from my mom. The iron key propped on the frame was a gift from my sister. The crate was another thing found in Shaun's grandparents shed. The antlers were from our community yardsale. I had two tiny clay pots that we'd used to grow flowers in this spring that weren't in use anymore. I set a tiny white pumpkin on one and flipped a glass vase upside down to place over it like a cloche. I stuck a little white tea light candle in the other one. The only purchase to decorate for fall were the two white pumpkins, which I spent a grand total of $3.50 on.
The secretary desk was a gift from my grandmother. I changed the drawer pulls to silver instead of gold. An easy switch. I love my anthropologie calendar from my sister. And the clock hanging above it (you can see it in the first photo) was from my sister in law Steph. The old camera was my grandparents. The pillar candle holder was from my mom. The mercury glass vase I bought when I was collecting décor for my sister's bridal shower last fall.
This little muffin pulled out the bumbo seat and placed it in front of the desk and sat down to say cheese for another photo :) Also seen in the first photo is the old red pretzel tin from Shaun's great aunt when she was downsizing that we use to hold Zion's dog food. And under my desk is a little old wooden bin from his great aunt's garage that we use to hold our potatoes :)
The tray in the center of our table holds everything we use for meals, plus a pretty plant. There is a small butter dish, a tiny sugar bowl, a salt grinder, napkins, and this cute little owl who holds the cinnamon we put on our applesauce. The tray and the owl were from my sister in law Mary. The plant was from my sister in law Brittany. The sugar bowl was from my Mommom, via the thrift store at her retirement home. The butter dish was from anthropologie, I got that :) And the table runner was from my mom. I am realizing what amazing gift givers my family are as I type all this!!
The hanging basket planter was my birthday gift from my sister this past year.
I hung some miniature indian corn from a hook on our coat closet door. It was $1.50.
And then there is this!!! This beautiful antique wooden high chair that we got from the same place as our baby girl's dresser. It has the most beautiful carvings and a cane seat. The tray lifts up and down. I picture my grandkids using this chair someday. I just love it.
But those pictures really don't do the dining room justice. I had to post a few more recent photos of it actually in use:
(At lunch almost every day Jaden says "shirt. off. no. ogurt. on it." then he puts it on his head and wears it like a hat instead. :) )
Drew building legos at the dining room table this past Saturday morning.
Photos look better in natural light, but it is so cozy at night with the glow of the lights on... Jaden was eating sausage corn chowder on his birthday night here.
And here everyone was gathering around the table to blow out the two candles on Jaden's birthday pumpkin pie. In the corner you can see part of a jar of homemade applesauce, which is so typical. There is a jar on the table almost every night for dinner.
I love our dining room for the prettiness that it has become, but I love it even more for the space it is for us to gather. Whether around the table for scrambled eggs on a Saturday morning, or for cereal on school days... it's the place where my boys are learning to pitch in and set the table, not perfectly, but helpfully. The place where we sing happy birthdays, where we call kids back to finish their dinners when they jump up to run and play too soon. The place where we talk about our days, and intentionally ask each other questions, and sing God is Great as our blessing every night. The place where we hold hands around the table to pray every night. Babies have sat in their bouncy seats at this table, and people have gone from aquaintances to the best of friends here. I've served meals I'm proud of, frozen pizza, dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, salads, cakes and everything in between to this table. I am thankful for all the memories this room holds for us.
(If you missed part 1, our front porch and living room, you can find it here.)
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