Friday, October 1

Show us your life: the dining room

As part of the "Show Us Your Life" series at Kelly's Korner, today I'll give you a glimpse into my dining room.

I'm so grateful to have a dining room. Many people don't like the idea of a dining room that doesn't get used very often, and I agree that it can seem like a waste of space. But it does my soul good to have a room that stays peaceful and serene. Since we don't use the dining table for eating very often, it doesn't get dirty. It's always clean, always ready if you need to sit down and look at important papers, or enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend, or just be in a place of quiet. Our kitchen table is often cluttered with all the stuff of everyday life, but the dining room escapes most of the mess. And here's a look, going all the way around the room:






The dining room opens onto the foyer at one end, the living room at the side, and the kitchen at the other end. The fourth wall of the room is composed mostly of windows that look out onto the front porch. So even though we don't use the room that much, we're in and out of it a lot, and I've tried to decorate it in a way that flows well with the rooms adjacent to it. I've had a red dining room for years, simply changing the shade of red over the years. The red in this room is a very brownish hue by Sherwin-Williams. It's called "Roycroft Copper Red." I know that red dining rooms are no longer the "in" thing, but I still like the drama of the dark walls.

A few details:

I love the lighted cabinets built in to one end of the room . . .

. . . especially at night:


One of my souvenirs from our anniversary trip this summer was this bell pull from Versailles. I love the way it fills the little sliver of wall between the windows:


The Queen Anne furniture in the room was my mother's, including this tea table:


I found the tea chests underneath the table at TJMaxx. That's a silver tea tray on the table, but I use it to display crystal decanters.

Queen Anne furniture is not what I would have chosen for myself, but I love that this furniture belonged to my mother. And my favorite thing in the room is this deacon's bench that came from my grandmother's church:



If you look closely, you can see our beagle snuggled under the bench. For some reason, the space under the dining room table is one of our dogs' favorite hangouts. Maybe they feel safe and secure in the clean dining room. Or maybe they just like the rug. I chose this rug specifically because it doesn't show dog hair!

Thanks for taking this little tour with me. Check out all the beautiful dining rooms at Kelly's Korner!

34 comments:

  1. Your dining room is stunning. I love the color and all the fabulous architectural detail. Stunning. Hugs, Marty

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  2. So pretty! I love the built-ins.

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  3. What a lovely room. Those are such great built ins and your pull is PERFECT in that spot!

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  4. my first thought was... when i come i wanna sit on the bench :) but i thoguht it might be the kids' seat (like the piano bench!) but now i know it's not. and i still wanna sit there, ok?

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  5. Beautiful dining room!! It's so big and you have great taste! I love the accessories and the color on the walls! It's all so pretty!!

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  6. SO pretty! I love the color you did the walls and your molding is so pretty! Beautiful!

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  7. Your dining room is gooooooregous, Richella. :) I love those built-ins!!

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  8. Very pretty, Richella! I love a room that doesn't get cluttered or used a lot which is rare in this house!! Love your wall color, I think it's perfect for a dining room and your family heirlooms are fabulous!

    XO,
    Jane

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  9. I love the red in your dining room, it sets off the blue and white of your china so well.
    It's nice to have a color you enjoy instead of what a designer thinks it should be. It's lovely.
    Thank you for the tour.
    Peace.

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  10. What a beautiful room you have! My previous home had a red formal dining & I miss it. Great job!

    Blessings~
    QueenofSassySavings.blogspot.com

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  11. Oh, how I love a red dining room!
    (Ours is red, too!)
    It is so special to have furniture that belonged to your mom.
    Our dining room gets used mainly as a reading spot/game night space, anymore.
    If I were a beagle, I'd curl up in your dining room, too~
    Hugs,
    me

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  12. I love the built-ins, arches, and windows!!! It is a beautiful, restful room. I am partial to the red, as well. My dining room is set up as a scrapbooking workshop, but we do host our small group for bi-monthly potlucks and my ladies from Bible study will be coming next week for lunch... so I also love having a dining room!! Blessings!

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  13. Your dining room is so pretty! I love the wall color and the built-ins. Not to mention the furniture.

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  14. I love your dining room! There is so much character!!

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  15. Gorgeous...absolutely gorgeous!!

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  16. Hi Richella! I love the color of your wall. It's beautiful. I remember the deacon bench from an earlier post. It's gorgeous!! I love church pews! It's all just lovely. What a beautiful room!

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  17. Your dining room is gorgeous! I love your built in cabinets and especially love that they are lighted. I agree that it is nice to have a space that stays nice and neat. We don't often use our dining room, but I still enjoy having one.

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  18. Your dining room is beautiful! Very classy.

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  19. Your dining room is GORGEOUS!!! MUCH nicer than the I-want-to-stab-my-eyeballs-out-red that mine was in the "before!" Hee hee!! Love your wainscoting!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment! I'm looking forward to following you! ;)

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  20. What an amazing space. There's so many things to comment on.
    I especially love the bench. And the colors and small touches are terrific.

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  21. Hello friend. Happy Fall! Your dining room is lovely, grown-up and personal and ever so clean! Hope you are doing well.

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  22. My husband wanted out dining room to be orange. If it would look like this I would let him - ha! It is beautiful! I LOVE the bench. It's beautiful and has a rich history. Thanks for sharing!

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  23. Richella I love your dining room! I love the white of the built ins and molding against that yummy red! I've always loved red dining rooms. I originally painted mine red but it's too small for that color. Love the bench too!

    Manuela

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  24. Beautiful!!!!! I love the red walls and all of your decor!
    Love ya girl!

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  25. What a beautiful room! I love the arches and the built-ins! And so what if red is in or not (and I don't know that it's not), it's a great color and makes a dramatic dining room.

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  26. Hi Richella, I love the warm colors in your dining room, and those built-ins are gorgeous :) My dining room is pretty small with nothing in it but a table right now! There isn't much room for anything else in it really.
    How's your week going?

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  27. Hi Richella -- I absolutely LOVE your lighted china built-ins. And the beautiful red paint. And the mix of furniture styles. And. And. And.

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  28. You home is beautiful. These photos look like a magazine shoot.

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  29. Your dining room is gorgeous, too. I love the red walls and if you love them don't worry if they are in or not. Who says what is in or not anyway? Your home should represent you and yours is just lovely.

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  30. Those lighted hutches are dreamy. And I don't know about "in," but I think the red walls are lovely. I just swung over from Amanda's.

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  31. I just commented on the new blue color and had to pop over to the old post to see how it looked before. I must say, both ways look stunning. The room has great bones and I think you could get away with any color in there!
    -Shelley

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  32. gotta say, I am partial to the red! love the warmth it gives!

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