Monday, October 10, 2011

I'm Taking Back my Dining Room!

I have always been a summer girl, but as I get older I'm falling in love with fall.  Something about the crisp cooler temperatures makes me want to burn cinnamon scented candles, put on an apron, and cook up a good meal.  I'm scared to death of the kitchen, but the leaves turning and the kids heading back to school makes me want to try new recipes.  I actually just bought a slow cooker magazine and even attempted to make pumpkin bread.  So on my quest to be the cooker lady, I decided I would take back my dining room. 

I wish I had taken a before picture of this room, but when I get my mind set on something things start moving fast and I forget to grab my camera. This room gets it's full use, but not for beautiful dinners shared with family, neighbors, and friends.  Usually both my husband and my computer are set up in here along with an in/out box for both my kids.  Papers, books, calenders, cards, games, and even the laundry take up all the space on this table.  This is where I pay bills, write blog posts, the kids do homework, and my husband conducts his business (even though he has an office upstairs).  I decided enough was enough.  I found a space in my sewing room for my computer, took my husband's computer along with 6 different stacks of paper upstairs to his office.  I set up the kid's in/out boxes in the kitchen next to the kitchen table. 


Jen from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam mentioned at the Becoming Conference that her family ate by candlelight most nights.  I lovedddddddddddd this idea.  We are pretty good about sitting down and having dinner together, but I wanted it to be special, something the kids would remember other then the lousy food.
Our dining room is officially now just for eating.   I had 30 minutes before I headed to the bus stop,  enough time to come up with a table display?  I think so.


I love burlap, it's super cheap, can be used for a million different things and looks fally (is that a word?).  I made sure when I cut this piece from my stash that it was uneven and not perfect looking.  I also unraveled some of the edges.


I found these fabric balls at Habitat Restore.  When I bought them, I had no idea what I would use them for and they have been sitting under my desk for several months.

There were a few in the pile that were fallish looking.

Love me some dollies.





You can find candlesticks for nothing at yards sales and thrift stores.

I found a big box of those white candlesticks for a quarter each.  I am planning on using them for my mantle at Christmas.











We used the dining room table that night and I must say, we all lingered a little longer around the table.  I felt like I was at a fancy restaurant minus the good food and the clean up crew!  It really is a good feeling to love your home. 
Ok so now where can I sign up for cooking lessons?

7 comments:

  1. There's one place I go for 'how to' cooking and that's Ree the Pioneer Woman's blog. Step by step instructions with pics, and an honest account if things go wrong.

    Glad you're falling for fall. It's always been my favourite season. xx

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  2. Your table looks great!

    Currently mine is full of laundry and various craft projects. Maybe this will inspire me to clean mine off, lol.

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  3. Angela,
    Some of my favorite memories of childhood are those of family dinners around the dining room table. They usually ended with my dad starting a napkin fight which was so much fun! You never knew who would get hit first. :)

    And I'm pretty sure Mama made the same 7 meals on the same night every week for years.

    It doesn't really matter in the bigger picture what you choose to serve night after night (after night after night) your kids will remember that you made family dinner important.

    Lylas,
    Brandy

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  4. I LOVE IT!!! The table looks fabulous.

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  5. I'm new here, just found your site through...i forget now. The Nester maybe? Anyway, had to comment, because I relate on SO many levels to this post...fall replacing summer as my favorite season...fear of the kitchen...needing to reclaim the kitchen table...wanting to create a special "feel" for mealtime. (and also, you and I have the same kitchen table! World Market, right? funny!)

    LOVE what you did with the candlesticks, and all the layering of textures. I have a ton of candlesticks just gathering dust in boxes. Maybe its time to bust out the silver spray paint and see what happens...

    I really love your sense of design, the cute factor is super high on your stuff. Wish I lived in NC so I could see your shop in person!

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  6. LOVE your table!!

    I'll help you learn some new recipes:)

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  7. i love that you don't obsess but just go for it. i'm up for some new recipes too Reeve...
    thanks for sharing your super artsy self with me.

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