Welcome to THE Dining Room!

What can I say!  The Dining Room project has come to an end and I am sooooo glad.  We finished up just in time to enjoy spending Thanksgiving in there, and promptly began Christmas decorating so I didn't manage to get any photos without the decorations.  I hope you will appreciate a little before and after fun!

Welcome to our before dining room

(the first couple of "before" shots were the ones sent to me via email

 when my DH found the house):



The BEFORE.....



the AFTER!

Another BEFORE...

 and... 



    

AFTER!

Here are more detail changes, before....

I thought we were going to have to replace the chandelier...

but the shades made it a keeper!





These window treatments were re-purposed from our last house.  They were too short for the height I wanted to hang them, so I found a remnant (literally the end of a bolt) of raw silk in just the right color, cut it into 4 equal strips and added it onto the bottom with some coordinating trim.  Presto!  I now have  NEW, custom drapes!  Hot glue is your friend!!!! I also used the drapes to recover the chairs.

Here are a few more  random shots of our "new" dining room!

 We still have a few things we want to add to the dining room...a BIG rug, just to name one, but I will have to find just the right one so that may take a few months!  Now, I am off to tackle more Christmas decorating and to start planning our next project!

Tally:

Primer/paint/Spackle/sand paper, etc. $175.00

Hole Patch kit $ 15.00

Electrical receptacles/covers/supplies $ 30.00

Shades for Chandelier $ 45.00

Curtain $ 79.00

Window Treatment supplies (fabric/trim) $ 17.00

 Total Cost for Project: $361.00

For more fun reads check out:

Linked to Hooked on Houses Holiday Tour Week 1
and

Metamorphasis Monday

Stories of a House: Project Diaries, Volume 12

Southern Hospitality's Top Projects

The Free Chair Redo....

Tomorrow I am planning on posting the before and after of the dining room, complete with total costs and photos (so far I haven't been able to get good pictures!) but for today, I thought I would just do a before and after of my "new" dining room chairs.  Dh's sweet Daddy came across these and thought they might be something I would like to play with (and we are always in need of more seating).  Well, it took me about 6 months to get to it but I finally did and I am pleased with the way they turned out. 

Here is a before:

SAD.



and an after... 

GLAD

Tally:
Chairs:  FREE
Fabric:  $0 (they were part of the drapes that I re-purposed from our last house!)
Stain: $5
Brush for Stain: $2

Total Cost of Project:  $7/4 chairs  (or $1.75 for each)!

Updated bath!

Well, it took us almost 5 years but we got around to it! Yes, this is the same bathroom...see "Ugly Bathroom Photos" http://southerness.blogspot.com/2008/10/real-ugly-bathroom-photos.html#links. DH and I were on a strict budget with this face lift so I was extra pleased with how it came out. Although, the house is only 12 years old I wanted to add some character and was trying for a contemporary cottage feeling.
I removed those yicky shower doors and replace them with a nice curved chrome shower rod and white, waffle shower curtain (don't mind the wrinkles...I hadn't steamed them yet!).

We painted the cabinets, refronted them with bead board, removed the cabinet doors and replaced with white tiers on cafe rods, replaced all the cabinet hardware, lighting and accessories with new chrome fixtures (there was bizarre mix of chrome and polished brass originally), added a wall of bead board and new swivel mirrors, and painted 3 walls a yummy chocolate brown.In our last 2 homes our master bath was designed with a separate water closet but this house was not. Due to the limited budget, time and desire to not do real structural construction I devised a way to create the privacy and illusion of a separate water closet without the work and expense of actually building one.
The folding panels were part of 2 separate folding doors (or maybe a screen at one time) that DH and I found at Lakewood 400 Antique Market http://www.lakewoodantiques.com/. As you can see only 3 of the panels are actually used but they are hinged together so that it can pivot as needed and hinged to the corner to provide stability. I love it and do not miss seeing the toilet when I am enjoying a nice soak in the tub.

Real ugly bathroom photos!

Isn't this just lovely? This is the master bath right after we moved into this house almost 5 years ago. Can you say Mid 90s Waverly attack?
DS2 & DD exploring our new digs...behind those really gross shower doors.
After moving in, before unpacking...I promptly began peeling wallpaper off the walls...it was just more than I could imagine getting up to every morning. Living with plain Sheetrock was truly better, though I never realized it would take us almost 5 years to actually do something about it.