So we've made huge strides in the dining room. I never really talked about it until now because, oh, I don't know. Got busy trying to ready it for Thanksgiving guests I guess. Anyway, it's painted, we bought a rug, a table and put some pictures up. And then it came to a screeching halt. The table is big. It extends to 12 feet but we are keeping it at about 10 ft for everyday. It's a big room. Here's a little peek at it so far.
I didn't paint the pocket doors yet so they are still a beige color. Can I just tell you what a pain it was to paint this room? I wanted to hire it out but the quotes were in the thousands. Really? We gave that a big fat hell no and hunkered down and painted it ourselves.
Here's the table without the table cloth. Pretty traditional. One of the chairs below is from our old dining set and the other is what was left in the house when we bought it.
So here's my dilemma. Number one, chairs are freakin' expensive and we need 10 for everyday. Number two, I'm not sure what style I want to pair with the table. Traditional would be the obvious choice, but maybe I want to do modern to mix things up a bit? And then there's color. Wood toned, colored, acrylic? Mix and match or all the same? I'm leaning toward something that has an upholstered seat at the very least. I think the room needs some softening up. It's pretty masculine with the dark blue gray walls and the furniture. I also plan on doing a window treatment at some point. So that's where I'm at right now. I'm pretty sure that's going to be the status quo until sometime in 2014 but I do need to start narrowing down my choices. Any opinions? I'm all ears.
I think it would be fun to mix in something a tad more modern or go traditional but add a pop of fun color on the upholstery..I think traditional on traditional is the only thing I would avoid. How about all chairs matching except for the heads? You could do a variation on the theme in those two spots...those are my thoughts! Love the space- you have so many options!! Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeletei think ghost chairs would be perfect in there- they would add a modern element you could do those all on the sides, and then some swanky upholstered end chairs!
ReplyDeleteI'm in the market for chairs too, Tiffany. Right now I have TWO. We are a family of FIVE. So that's working out really well! I agree with Cassie - ghost chairs. They would look great with your traditional table and let your gorgeous rug and dramatic walls be the stars of the show. Plus it would break up all the wood in the room. AND they are great for kids - just wipe them down, no upholstery to destroy, so wood spindles to break!
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough one. I like the idea of modern chairs because it would be so difficult to find the perfect blend as you stated. Maybe you could get lucky with a Tag sale, but 10 is just so hard.
ReplyDeleteHow about two ulpostered chairs at the end... hope u are enjoying the holiday season with or without chairs!:)
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of pairing traditional chairs with some funky mod fabric on the seats. I also like the idea of mixing it up: having a long upholstered bench on one side, traditional chairs with coordinating (not matching) fabric on the other side, and more substantial chairs with arms on the ends. Really, there is no rule, it's all about what you like, and what fits your family best.
ReplyDeleteThis room looks made for lounging and lingering over dinner. That said, I'd go with a comfortable traditiional chair but pair it maybe with a more contemporary fabric. You could even do something interesting and have upholstered backs in a different fabric. I'd pull some of the lighter golden tones from the rug to lighten things up. Its a gorgeous room already!
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about adding some wicker chairs to the mix? I seem to remember some pictures from a Pottery Barn Mag that had a long wooden table with wicker and regular chairs. The wicker seemed to break it up. You could also just paint the chairs the same color. Black hides loads of defects.
ReplyDeleteI thought about painting them the same color but we're planning on selling one set that goes with our old table and the other set of chairs is in rough shape, even if it were to be painted. That's a great suggestion though. I'll have to look for some pictures of the wicker chairs. Thanks!
DeleteWhat about something like these? Even if you just did this for host/hostess chairs.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.homedecorators.com/P/Custom_Wingback_Parsons_Chair_with_Skirt/790/
You can add a tape trim to the bottom of the skirt to add extra character. And hear me out...they have BIG sales all the time and you can ususally get around 8% cash back through Ebates.com! Not shady, totally legit!
Love the idea of ghost chairs - easy and functional, but in the meantime, why don't you paint all of the chairs the same color with matching upholstery - fun and inexpensive!
ReplyDeleteI had the same dilemma too Tiffany and I wrote about it here about what I ended up choosing...http://buhayatbahay.blogspot.com/2012/04/and-winners-are-dining-room-update.html
ReplyDeleteBut now, I have the ghost chairs from our breakfast area in the Dining room. They're very delicate though and hence I put them there because our formal dining only gets used for special occassions. the wooden ones ended up in our breakfast are. Good luck dear, it is tough, check the prices in January, stores usually have big sales this month to make way for the new ones coming in. :-)
I am having the same dilemma! I have been searching craigslist forever. You could buy two different sets on craigslist, upholster them all with the same fabric and paint them all the same color, so even if they are different they are similar. I like the wicker idea.
ReplyDeleteI usually like a lot of contrast, so with my heavy wood table I want chairs that aren't a wood color (or at least, not the same wood color as the table). I have been looking for Panton chairs, but they are way out of my budget. What about the bentwood chair at Crate and Barrel (not upholstered, but comes in pretty colors). Or a leather parsons chair (find at Overstock or Crate and Barrel.)
Last but not least, love the rug and the paint job :-)
I went through this a year ago as well. Ended up buying a table on Craigs list and splurging on custom chairs. Have you looked at west elm? I think the porter chair or the curved leather chair could both be nice. They are a nice mix of modern/traditional and I vote for the leather, easy to clean!
ReplyDeleteTraditional style might be good and perhaps a nice fabric color for reupholstering the seats. Good read.
ReplyDelete