hi love to entertain. i cannot wait to convert our living room into a dining room--we haven't had a dining room for more than two years. in my old apartment, i threw dinner parties at least once a month. sometimes buffets served from the dining room table, but often really sit-down dinners, elegant and grown-up. either way, i heart my dining room.
i don't fancy the dining room having other functions, really. it does have some nice niches beside the decorative fireplace for some bookshelves, so it can certainly display books, but i don't want it to be primary storage or activity space, really.
really i just want it to be an elegant, modern, simple, clean space, one that transitions nicely between the kitchen and living room, as it lies between the two. i like that it's open to both rooms, and i like my existing furniture well enough to keep it. not what i'd choose again today if i had a do-over--it's 16 years old or so, and feels a bit dated--but it's perfectly workable with perhaps an update to the seat cushion fabric. glass top, curvy black wood frames--basic contemporary styling. definitely not midcentury, but i can keep it from clashing if i keep things simple, which is my natural tendency. our dishes are all asian-inspired and neutral in tone, a look that flows nicely with the midcentury and the contemporary as well as with the color schemes we have in mind. (oh, and bonus news for me on that front: smartboy did the voice of color color sense game, indulgent as he is of me, and guess what? his color collections recommendations were the same as mine. go figure.)
unfortunately, this room is painfully dark a lot of the time. it has one east-facing bay window, meaning it'll be dark when it's most used. and it has zero lighting installed. time for a good modern pendant lamp that takes compact fluorescent bulbs. i think the colors in here will be pretty simple--continuing the maple floors (which i've decided will be bellawood; not only are they what bob vila likes and otherwise seeming to be good quality, but they're made right outside williamsburg, virginia, where i lived for nine great years. i like their natural grade northern hard maple
in a medium-width plank.), the black wood of the dining set, neutral tones on the table top, probably a taupe on the walls. i want to strip the paint from the brick fireplace, which will warm the room, but mainly i like the food, candlelight, and photography on the walls to take center stage. the room already has beautiful wood blinds that i think will stay, though i may add some drapes to soften the look.
