Mixing Formal with Unfinished

Unfinished wood is getting very popular, and I'm a big fan.  I love the texture that unfinished wood adds to a space.  You can also use a clear stain to bring finish the wood, but keep the unfinished feel.  I love how it is juxtaposed in the picture above with Chippendale chairs, a formal gold mirror and chandelier, and a bright buffet.  There are several different styles combined in this room, but it works.  It works because the color hues are all the same and the textures are minimal.  When you are decorating with a monochromatic color scheme, or all the same style of furniture, you need lots of texture to add interest.  But when you are decorating with lots of different styles, it's best to let texturing become an accent.

Teva Living

I'm really not a green person, but I am loving the Teva Living line. Especially the table pictured above which is on sale right now! You have to go check out their other items here.

Dining room by Sarah Richardson

Moonshine and Painting Brick

This is the 2nd time that I have painted the dining room within the last two weeks, and it is about the 14th color sample I have tried on the wall. We have a 120 inch window on the north wall, so I get a flood of northern light all day long. As a little tip for those of you who live in the north and have to worry about the direction of the sun....northern light is always cooler than southern light, so it is recommended to go with warm colors in north facing rooms. Of course, I'm an almost-certified interior designer, so I throw the rules to the wind and try cool colors in all my north facing rooms because I'm a huge sucker for cool colors. I can't help it. They just feel so clean, even when I haven't dusted. Anyway, my dining room....I wanted to go with something neutral, yet modern. The fireplace was going white, so a cool gray sounded like just the thing. I'm a huge fan of dining room walls being neutral, so I can change up the table decor depending on the season. Finally I found the gray that was perfect....Benjamin Moore Moonshine. It's just like moon-light, hence the name. It's light and airy, and contrasts the white fireplace beautifully.

Yes, fireplace has gone white....I know you're all wondering about that! If you have outdated brick and you are not going to replace it, my advice is to paint it. You'll need to get the primer on there pretty thick (meaning a couple of layers). Of course, it is recommended to use oil-based primer, and of course I didn't. Brick soaks up paint like a sponge, but I wanted the texture to show through because I am primarily doing my dining room in neutrals. So I used a water based primer and a thin, shiny paint. I love the way it turned out.

In case you wanted to know more about that painting, my grandmother did that for us as a wedding present. It's the view from the window in the room I had at my parent's house.

#1 rule to break

The old rule says all the seating around the table has to match. If there is anything signature about current design it is eclectic dining spaces. There is one rule to remember if you break this old rule: make sure your seating is all of similar height.

Vision Board: Dining Room

Here are a few ideas for a dining room that I'm currently working on. It's in a beautiful old home and just needs a few updates. The room already features this floor

It has wainscoting in a dark esspresso brown, similar to this picture:

The walls above the wainscoating are a grey green, similar to this picture:

In order to help blend the dark wainscoating with the light floors, we are considering seagrass chairs. They are slightly more shiny than wicker, which makes them dressier, but casual enough to fit the style of the home-owners. The darker of the two would be my choice.

Now, I am not usually a fan of mixing too many different wood stains in a room, but because there is little else going on in a dining room, and because we have introduced the seagrass, I'm thinking about a medium stain table. There is no natural light in the room and a dark table would be too much dark brown for the size of the space. A light table to match the floor would look too country-kitchen style. Here is a table that I'm considering:

To echo the craftsman style of the wainscoating and the table, I'm thinking this fantastic chandelier just might be the answer, depending on what other lighting is going on in the room:

We are now looking at a very brown, very grey room. For some color I'm recommending this gorgeous rug. It has all the different shades of brown and green that are already in the room, plus it adds some reds, oranges, and bolder greens.

For paintings I'll have to see what the owners already have on hand, but if we need to buy something, this fantastic piece has all the right ideas. It is colorful (something this room needs!), it is semi-rustic without being too back-woods, and it pulls all my browns together.

As I mentioned, there are no windows in the room, but I've been thinking about window treatments alot lately. All the trim in the house is cream. Which would you choose to fit this room? Roman shades in red, or indoor shutters in cream?