The Challenge of the Dining Room

I'm not an interior designer, and I don't pretend to be.  I'm just a girl with a house that wants that house to look pretty and inviting and comfortable.  So I pour over design blogs, books, magazines, and then try to translate it into something that works for my house.  I don't always succeed.

Take my living room, for example.  I had grand plans for this bright, airy, glamorous space that reflected my affinity for the Hollywood Regency style.  But the room, as I've stated before, has its challenges, such as a wonky layout with lots of doors and windows, not a lot of natural light, and the challenge of where to put the TV.  I'm happy with the current layout, even though it's not the chic classic "glam" look I was going for, but I might still get it there eventually.  It has elements of that style, like the tufted chesterfield sofa, the sunburst mirror, chinoiserie-inspired pieces, the sheepskin, etc., but it just isn't quite there.

(The cowbell on the front door doesn't help, but that's my "security system." No one gets in or out without me knowing about it!)

Then there's the dining room, which I wrote about my wishlist for previously.  I have this giant wood dining set that I just adored when I bought it, and which has served me well for the last year and a half.  But it's really way too big for that dining room.  It's in my garage and I'm trying to sell the whole darn thing on Craigslist (any takers?).

So I replaced it with the Docksta table from IKEA, which I painted a glossy black (not shown).  It's significantly smaller, and it's not my permanent solution, but I only paid $70 for a used one from a Craigslist seller, and only a few dollars for the paint.

Then I scored six vintage dining chairs from another Craigslist seller a few weeks ago for a steal ($25 a chair).  They're narrower than the previous chairs, which I like.  They need to be reupholstered (and possibly painted), but I love the brass feet and the shape of and caning on the backs.

But only four chairs fit at the table, and so now I really don't have a lot of seating in my dining room, whereas before I had seating (albeit cramped) for eight.

There's also the challenge of the bar cabinet, which I love, and which is currently storing all my and my roommate's baking sheets and dishes, but I really want it gone so I can have more seating!

I'm playing around with some options in my mind, and seriously considering putting in a banquette in the dining room (which I never thought of till now), which would give me some storage options for things we don't use too often (in the benches), allow me to move all the baking stuff back into the kitchen, and still have plenty of seating.  And if I put some shelves up on the walls, I can display some of the beautiful cake stands and tea sets that are hiding in the vintage chinoiserie buffet (shown partially in the chair photo, above).

Here are some inspiration photos:

via

via

via

via

It's not a formal solution, but my house is turning out to be a casual version of the glamorous styles I gravitate toward anyway.  Cottage glam?  Casual Regency?

More to come.  I'm going to play around with a layout and see what I can come up with!