Of all the rooms in our home, the dining room has probably changed the most. It is the main room of our home, where we entertain, eat dinner, and I sit on the floor to play with my nephew. Over the years, the room has evolved with us as our seasons of life changed. With the addition of our new refinished hardwood floors, I am falling into a heart of simplicity in our home. I want it to be functionally beautiful while creating a place for our souls to breathe.
Since we uncovered our fireplace I used the gallery wall I had on the opposite wall and morphed it with this one. It was a challenge in the past to get the two walls feel cohesive (see the previous walls here and here). But as I put the two gallery walls together into one big one, it suddenly all came together. Black and white contrast with a hint of gold bring together this feminine but still modern gallery wall.
With the addition of the fireplace we moved our dining table to the other side of the room. I pushed our buffet into the corner, providing more room for getting in and out of chairs.
I styled the buffet with one of my tea cup collections creating the look of a serving station. After purging all my serving pieces when I got rid of the hutch that used to be in this room, every little space is being used more intentionally to serve as storage and decor.
I love having the table on the other side of the room. I have a new view of our backyard now when we sit down for dinner that allows me to see our flowers so much better. It is those little things that make me love this new space so much.
When we originally got our new hand me down table, I thought I wanted to paint all the chairs white. But now the mismatched chairs are growing on me again. The black and white contrast seems to work well with the wood floors and table.
Do not be deceived, we did not get a fireplace insert! A friend brought over an extra sample she had from her business that we were just trying out. We have still decided we are going to stick to a regular wood burning fireplace but it was good to have an example of what our other options were.
I am completely in love with this new space. It's simple beauty reminds me to slow down and just be. A tone I hope to set in my entire home and heart.
