Wednesday, September 08, 2010

dining room revamp

I have always struggled with our dining room... it's a large space. it's a weird space... When we first looked at the house it was one of the first things we were unsure of.. what would we do with it. We have a small table so it felt silly putting it in there... of course we have dreams for that room. We hope to have a fireplace put in some day and I can just imagine some comfy arm chairs and a nice warm space to hang out in.. but for now there was just this big open space.
I have often seen craft nooks or reading areas on Ohdeedoh (one of my fave site's) It finally occurred to me that this was the perfect solution. Now we are also in a tight spot financially and since I married the great Dave I have become a bit more frugal. So I knew this had to be done on a TIGHT budget.. I had ideas swimming around in my head and a few trips to the basement, MCC and a friend stopping at Ikea as well as some moving of furniture this is what we did.
My fave project was the old frame turned chicken wire message board - which I saw first on Ashley Ann's site. I have always looked at MCC for a large frame and never saw one until this one day where I looked up.. I have never really looked up at MCC... they have large prints with frames above the shelves that hold all the small electronics. Big Score was this guy at $10 the boys actually called it my scary picture...

Well a million staples removed and a good coat of spray paint and we ended up with a masterpiece.

I also loved her idea of covering the cloths pins... again a random spot by the puzzles at MCC and 75 cents later I had these...


So here is the before....

and the after.


still working on updating the picture wall with recent photos.



we like it. it has also come in handy as a kids table when we have company. so on a dime it is a great space. here's the breakdown.

White Ikea Table - already owned. we used it a desk downstairs
White bookcase/bench - Rona 49.99 (with a 10% discount)
Frame - MCC $10
Spray paint - already had from another project
Chicken wire - a friend gave it to me for free :)
Puzzle - 75 cents
Ikea Picture Ledge (used to hold books) $14.99
The white high chair was a SCORE at a garage sale for $20. I plan to spray paint it the same blue as the frame and I am making a pad for it out of super cute fabric.

Everything else was already there we just repurposed and moved things around.

14 comments:

Crystal said...

Even though I've seen it in person already, I love it in the pics as well! You are AMAZING and can decorate my house anyday.

valerie said...

Awesome!! Looks fabulous!

Lise said...

You are so creative, Heath! You have a beautiful home.

Anonymous said...

awesome heather!

Melanie said...

YAY! I love it! So nice to have that extra table there. Very creative. Great job Heather!

Chrissie said...

So cute! I love the blue colour you used on the frame, it really pops.

Looks like a great place to create, I hope you can find some time to let those juices flow!

The Stiffs said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of the fireplace, that's my dream too, only I don't know where I'd put one in this house. ;)
This is a great makeover! It's fresh and fun. Figuring out how to fill larger rooms is always tricky, but you nailed it!

Lydia Di Francesco said...

wow looks amazing!!! You should totally send the link to younghouselove. maybe they will feature you :)

Eva said...

Love it, Heather! Love the fact that the extra table can also be used for a kid's table.

Tam said...

Looks great! I love your high chair.

Holly said...

WOO!!! it looks so good! and i don't mind a subtle shout out :) love you!

flo said...

i love it heather! and i've been looking for a large frame to do the EXACT SAME THING for months now and can't seem to find one in the city. maybe a trip to MCC in winkler is in order? ha!

Carmelle said...

It looks awesome! Its so funny even the boys said the MCC picture was "scary"!

Emily Deu said...

wow...your amazing!! Inspiring!