Here’s what the room looked like on move in day…a nicely sized, bright space with my favorite window in the house.
And here she is today!
Sources:
Paint - Benjamin Moore Beach Glass (walls/ceiling) and Benjamin Moore Alabaster (trim)
Curtains – Lewis and Sheron Silk in Aquamarine, trimmed in P Kaufmann Pizzicati in Robin’s Egg, made by me
Drapery hardware – Antique Drapery Rod Company
Floor - unstained white oak
Rug - Indoor/Outdoor French Leopard by Ballard Designs
I adore wainscoating in a formal space, so it was top of the list for the dining room. And since we did all white below the chair rail, it allowed me to paint the ceiling blue without it feeling like dining in the bottom of a swimming pool. The plates hanging on the wall are extras from our Butler’s Pantry by Lenox china pattern. There was a manufacturing issue with them and about a year after our wedding they gave us an entirely new set based off of our registry completion list so I have loads of extras to hang all over my walls :-)
We purchased the table, chairs and china cabinet from Haverty’s as a set for our first anniversary. After years of hemming and hawing over what to do with it to break it up, lighten it up and make it feel not so expected, I finally skirted the six side chairs in Robert Allen Linen Duck in Natural. It’s affordable and heavy enough for light use upholstery. I used Chang at Crown Upholstery (he’s an absolute dream to work with and worth the drive) in Marietta for the work.
And, thanks to all of your ideas and suggestions last month, I decided to leave the arm chairs unskirted (I also pared down the table top and removed the runner). I left these two chairs covered in the Pizzicati fabric since it matches the drapes. I already had two little monogrammed lumbar pillows that Mother made for my old house so I plopped them in the chairs and called it a day.
Sister made the preserved hydrangea arrangement for a silver wine chiller we received as a wedding gift. The arrangement can be easily popped out should we need to use the bucket! The mercury glass apothecary jars were from Wisteria, the white candle sticks are from the Butler’s Pantry collection and the oyster shell votive holders were a fantastic Rosemary Beach vacation find!
The little’s formal portraits, both taken at age three, hang side by side in the dining room. Mother always had portraits of Sister and I in her dining room and it just seemed like the perfect place to do the same!
I found the crystal chandelier in an ad in the back of a magazine before we even moved in so unfortunately I don’t have the source for it. We brought the Ballard Designs ceiling medallion from our old house.
I couldn’t get a great picture of the drapery fabrics but you can get the idea here… the silk panels are banded in the Pizzicati micro check in a similar color way with a double tassel trim between.
Peeking in from the living room, you can see the gigantic china cabinet. I’d probably pick something different if I had my druthers, but it really is lovely in person and it offers a massive amount of very functional and much needed storage!
Mother gave us the antique sideboard years ago – it served as our foyer table in our first home. The lamps are from Ballard Designs. They sit on glass risers from Wisteria (I love these things…I must have four sets scattered about that I’ve procured over time.) The Venetian mirror is also from Wisteria – after much searching, I think they do have the best prices on this gorgeous mirror style. Oyster shells found by Mother and Daddy-O sit in a marble bowl from Pizitz in Seaside.
And, tucked away in the corner of the dining room is my high chair. It’s one of my favorite pieces of furniture and I couldn’t bear to hide it away for the next thirty years until I have a little granddarling to use it. Mother and Daddy-O had it painted by the same Savannah artist that painted the walls of my room as a child and gave it to us as a baby shower gift before we had John. The underside of the tray holds a very special message.
Best of all is how she looks all dressed up at night. Candle light glitters and reflects gorgeously from the crystal, silver and glass in the space, and I love trading the overhead chandelier for the low lighting from the china cabinet and buffet lamps for a beautifully romantic scene.
But the most beautiful thing about the dining room is that we use it… a lot … for everything from birthday shin digs to supper clubs to holidays to Sunday Suppers!
Knowing me like you do it should come as no surprise that I’ve already moved on to the next project – putting that last 5% on the living room. Hope to be back with it real soon!
xoxo
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