White Dining Room Reveal

Our dining room transformation is finally DONE! 

What a difference a couple of months can make! New paint, new curtains, painted chairs, rearranging the table, removing the shelves. It feels so different and so refreshing! 

The paint color can be found here, it is my go-to white from Sherwin Williams. 

You can read about the chair transformation here.

The drapes are the Pottery Barn Riviera Stripe Drape in Navy. 

What do you think? Do you love it as much as I do? Totally goes with the Nantucket Farmhouse vibe I'm going for! :)

White Painted Dining Room Chairs and a White Pumpkin Centerpiece

The project that I thought would take a day but actually ended up taking a month is FINALLY DONE! Yes, my dining room chairs are finally 100% painted white, and I LOVE them! Totally worth the wait. 

Why did it take so long? I think we started this project a month ago with plans to finish them in a weekend. We got them sanded right away and planned to spray paint them that day, but the wind was so bad it kept blowing back in my husband's face so we had to stop. The next days we had planned to paint them called for rain, so we couldn't bring the chairs out. The weekend after that I was not feeling well and had my scare with the baby, so it went on the back burner again. Finally this past weekend, it was beautiful and we got them 100% done! They ended up needing three light coats of spray paint and some final touch ups. For less than $100, it definitely was a project with a big impact!

(Yes, you may have noticed in my recent fall home tour that the chairs desperately needed another coat of paint... I tried to photoshop and angle the photos the best I could! I just couldn't get them done in time... that's life for you sometimes!) 

They absolutely achieve what I wanted to achieve in terms of giving the dining room a new look and brightening things up! 

The classic black was nice too, but sometimes you just need a change and I was definitely at that point!

I also realized that for my last few dining room shoots (here,  here, and here) I used the same vase for my centerpiece, so I decided to totally switch that up too and go with something completely different. Usually I prefer tall vases and big flowers, but I am kind of liking the understated and low arrangement this time! I also think I'm in super nesting mode (36 weeks, 6 days!) so I am decorating/organizing like a mad woman. 

What do you think? Do you like the change as much as I do? My only question is whether I should put a coat of poly on them... any avid furniture painters have any advice? I think it might help with the durability (though we did use a high gloss paint!) but I'm afraid of them eventually yellowing. I'd love your feedback!

Design Trend I'm Trying - Painted White Dining Chairs

Lately I've been in the mood to overhaul our house and make it lighter,  brighter, and whiter. I credit/blame (jk jk!) my friend Betsy after watching her give her amazing downtown Columbus townhome an all white makeover ;) Plus after 6-years in this house and nesting like a crazy 33-week pregnant woman, I think I just am craving a change! (As I often say, that topic is another post in and of itself!)  

That being said, I have been super hesitant to dive in and paint any walls white... I've done it before in the dining room, and though it was beautiful it just didn't sit right with me at that the time so painted it back within like 3 days. I also started painting the living room white earlier this winter, but only made it through half a wall before stopping. Scratch that idea! 

Anyway, we've also been on the lookout for new dining room chairs for a long time now but haven't found just the right ones. I like the ones that we have because they are really sturdy and durable, which is a necessity since my boys literally climb ALL OVER THEM! However, I'm kind of over the black furniture at the moment and wanted something a little more fresh. Well, the last few months I've been totally inspired by the glossy white chairs featured by some of my favorite bloggers/instagram accounts - those of Monika Hibbs and Jillian Harris to be exact! In their new (absolutely gorgeous) homes, they both have dining room chairs that are the similar colonial style as mine, just white! I also love the look paired with a rustic wooden table, which is exactly what we have in our dining room. 

Painting my dining room chairs white = Perfect way to incorporate more white/bright without being scared PLUS it solves my dining room chair dilemma! Win, win! 

Here are some of the pictures that have inspired me to try out this trend: 

Monika Hibbs

Monika Hibbs

Jillian Harris - Love it or List It Vancouver

Instagram @jillian.harris

Instagram @jillian.harris

Jillian Harris Love it or List It Vancouver

I even love them painted blue ;) 

Remodelista

Style at Home

Here is the exact chair I would love to buy from Ethan Allen, but they are a little expensive! I'm glad I may be able to pull of the same style for much less!

Ethan Allen Berkshire Side Chair

As a refresher, here is a picture of our dining room with the black chairs:

I decided to start with just one chair and see how I like it. (We have a set of 6-chairs, but only use 5 at the table. The other one we use in our third floor bedroom, so I figured if I didn't like the result, I could put the white one up there and leave the ones in the dining room black. If you're as indecisive as I am,it is good to have a contingency plan in case you back out!) 

I started by sanding the chair with 100 grit sandpaper since there was a LOT of varnish on it. 

I literally sprayed it off with the hose to clean it, there was SO much dust! 

Evan then spray painted the chair with Rustoleum's Gloss White Paint and Primer.. It took about a can and a half of spray paint. 

It is currently drying and I'm currently trying to decide whether to go forward with painting them all white! Such a difficult decision!

What do you think?

Easter Table Setting 2016

Easter Sunday was my last day of maternity leave and I could not have asked for a better day! It was the most beautiful warm, sunny day and filled with quality family time! We got up and dug into our Easter baskets, went to mass, watched Miles as he embarked on his first Easter egg hunt (he was in heaven, saying "oooooh!" with each egg he found!), had Easter dinner with Evan's family, and played outside until the sun set. Perfect day in my book!

Here are some shots of our Easter table setting and our wonderful day: