Dining Room Framing

As you saw in my previous post, we painted stripes on the top half of the dining room walls.  Since there was already a chair rail on the wall, we decided against removing it, for fear that it would ruin the wall and cause more work in the long run.  So, that's where the idea came to do some wainscoting or framing on the bottom half of the wall.

After a bit of research and calculating, we decided on framing.  The one thing I learned, is all the frames won't necessarily be equally spaced apart. I measured each wall and drew up a map of how far apart they should each be. However, when we started putting them up we had to adjust slightly because of outlets. The key thing I learned, was to be sure they are all equal distance from the chair rail and all the same height. Oh.... And measure, measure, measure and check with the level, level, level.

All the frames were 3 inches from the chair rail and baseboard, and approximately 3-4 inches apart, depending on the wall.

The above picture is my dad and I putting up the first set of frames. As I said, measure and level like crazy!  It may not be perfect, but it looks dang good. :)

What the walls look like with the paint and framing. Whatcha think?!? :))) I'm in love!!  Just waiting for my dad to finish my grandpas table so I can finish the dining room. Can't wait to decorate it. :)

Dining Room Striped Walls

As you all saw on my dining room design board, we planned on doing some large stripes on the top half of the wall in the dining room. We love, love, love grey so we contemplated on doing grey/white or light grey/dark grey stripes. I've also heard about doing all the stripes the same color but different sheens, like one glossy and one flat paint.  After a lot of debating and testing color samples, we eventually decided on doing large grey/white vertical stripes. Originally I thought about horizontal stripes but once my husband showed me a pic of vertical stripes, I was hooked.

Below is the tutorial on how we did the stripes on the wall..

1). Paint the wall white, or one of the two colors. 

2). I had to figure out how wide to make the stripes. I did a bit of research and calculations, and decided on a 12 inch stripe. 

3). Measure and tape off each section.  We started in one corner and measured 12", then taped a line. Then measured 10" from that line and repeated until we were all the way around the room. We used 1" tape so all the stripes that were to be painted grey were 12" and the ones that were staying white we're in the sections with the tape since it wasn't being painted again. 

4). Once everything was all taped off, we started painting all the grey stripes. 

Almost done....

So there ya have it.  Striped dining room.  The framing on the bottom half of the dining room will be coming soon, too, so keep checking back. 

Getting to be Fall...

What a wonderfully crisp fall morning today!!  I stepped outside with my dog and didn't want to come in. I threw on a sweatshirt and enjoyed the weather for a minute. 

This also makes me realize moreso that we need to finish to house so I can decorate it.  AND decorate for fall and the upcoming winter. I've always wanted to have a cute fall setup on the doorstep, too. Something like a nice big planter with mums and a cute pumpkin or 2.  Hmm... I think I'm gonna have to do that soon. And maybe bake something with pumpkin, too. YUMMM!! Nothing beats the smell of fresh baked pumpkin in the fall. 

Any fun fall decorating or baking plans in your future?I love hearing all the ideas. 

Design Board - Office

Unlike the living and dining rooms, I haven't even started the office. However, I do still have tons of ideas and created a design board based on them. Right now I figured it was best to get the downstairs in order before addressing the upstairs rooms and bathrooms. If I only had more time and money, I'd have it all done ASAP. Oh well...slowly but surely, right? :)

As for the office, my biggest goal is to have TWO desks. My husband stole the only desk we have since we works from home. I've always liked having a desk to pay bills and write blogs, or just to have a space to do crafts upstairs. Unfortunately we haven't had the space (until now) to even consider that option. 

Ideally what I want to do is to use two tables as desks. I've seen a couple that have been fancied up with some woodwork and think that would be a good idea. Then for storage, I'm going to get an Expedit shelf from Ikea. I've been wanting one for years and haven't had the space, so I'm pretty excited for the possibility. Plus the great thing about the desk is the organization!!  I love that it gives a room so much storage and can easily hide all the "stuff" with cute baskets and bins, and you all know organization is key in my household. LOL!

Other than the desks and Expedit shelf, I'd like to put up a floating shelf above each desk with a bulletin board or something fun hung below it. Then I may possibly add some floating corner shelves if space allows for it. 

Overall, tons of great ideas (probably too many), really, just have to find the tables to get the room essentials started. 

I'm contemplating a fun color for my desk. Pink? Turquoise? Grey?  What are your thoughts?

Morning Moon Pictures

Check out my photo blog for some pictures of a morning moon I shot the other day.

Love!!!! 

Design Board - Dining Room

As I mentioned before, I have created or am working on design boards for each room in the house that I  plan to make changes to. Below is the design board for the dining room.

The one thing I knew I wanted was striped walls, so that was the first thing we did.  Since there was already a chair rail on the wall, we didn't want to remove it for fear of damaging the wall, we decided to do framing on the bottom half of the wall.  Now, we've had a hundred projects going on so the framing just got started last weekend, thanks to my dad.  We have a couple left to do, then hopefully, I can post a tutorial and before/afters. 

The other hold up on completing the dining room is the lack of a dining room table.  My grandpa recently sold his house and downsized. When he did, the one thing my dad said he wanted was his childhood dining room table. It's the only table he remembers having throughout his childhood. It's a super sturdy large wooden table. Now... My dad was one of eight kids,so the tablet is HUGE and expands up to 10 feet long. Seems like I can have a huge family gathering anytime. Lol!!  Anyways, my dad is currently sanding it down and reinforcing some things so it will last me another 60+ years. I can't wait to get it and have it in our house!!!

As with the living room, there have been some minor changes in the grand plan, which you will see in the finished room. Can't wait for it to be done!!!! :))