Dining Room Makeover

We've kind of been on a Restoration Hardware bender since our spectacular sofa purchase last Tuesday (but I guess it really all started here, or maybe even here), so I figured I should probably show you a little before and after of the dining room and sitting area (or "lounge" as Alex insists we refer to it) to justify our crazy furniture spending spree.

Here's the dining room before:

We inherited almost all the furniture we started with when we moved in (like this Basset dining table and china hutch and custom turquoise couch and armchair) from Alex's dad. We were so incredibly grateful to have furniture to fill up the house since we moved from an apartment and had very little to our names, but we knew it would just be temporary until we developed our own style (and had the funding to back it up).

We made the room's first improvement just before Ava was born. We re-tiled the fireplace and the areas in front of the French doors and window with this pretty Dark Emperador marble (photos below).

It really used to bother me that every room in the house had a different texture applied to the walls. We figured the easiest way to get flat matte walls in the dining room would be to apply enormous sheets of sheetrock, so that is what these nice gentlemen below were doing when Ava was just a few weeks old.

We painted the finished walls Valspar's Redstone Dakota Sandstone. (It has such a great tone and gets lots of compliments!) Then we painted the mantle white, sanded and re-stained the hardwood floors dark walnut, and added nice thick crown molding and baseboards.

Here's what the room looks like now:

   

We decided a round dining table (we bought this one on Thursday) is the only thing that makes sense in this room. I've always loved the thought of being able to look at everyone equally during dinner conversations. 

And I know what you're thinking -- white upholstery with a toddler is just trouble waiting to happen. But we liked the look of these Martine Upholstered Armchairs (in White Belgian Linen with Weathered Oak legs) so much and they match our sofa so perfectly that we're willing to be extra diligent. (And we have the Scotchgard and the Dirt Devil steamer ready to take action in a flash.)

The coffee table above is another new addition we ordered over the phone and had delivered while we were in Napa over the weekend. It's so enormous we had to move the white sofa back against the wall, but it really ties everything together and fills out that space.

The decor still needs a few finishing touches to make this room complete but that's something we can have fun searching for over time.

Home Makeover Update: The Back Deck Completed

In addition to our recent curbside improvements, finishing the back deck was a major accomplishment that transforms the lumber yard that has been our backyard for weeks into a relaxing space we are so ready to enjoy.

We decided to paint the deck the color of the house (Gray Silt). In the future, we'll probably end up painting the spokes on the railing the white trim color as well as the top of the banister, especially now that we've added the white picket fence underneath, which was a nice add-on project that you may or may not have noticed...

We had been going back and forth between a pool cover and a fence around the pool. But we figured there are many other dangers in the yard besides the pool (the stairs leading up to the deck, the side gates going out to the street, a drop-off point in the back of the yard that still needs landscaping, etc.) that we'd need to protect little ones from. Then some friends had some fencing they were throwing away, so we jumped on it and it really is the perfect solution. We added a self-closing lock to ensure the gate is always kept closed. Now Ava can play in the completely childproof patio area behind the fence while we're working in the yard.

We've created several spaces around the yard where we can sit, relax, and toast to the fruits of our labor.

Curb Appeal Makeover Update: The Planter Boxes

We've completed a major phase in our curb appeal makeover. The entire house is painted, the planter boxes are done, and we even finished a couple other extra projects I'm excited to share with you in the coming weeks.

  

It's hard to tell in these pictures, but we painted the center area of the planters the color of the house (Valspar's Gray Silt, which we're actually really happy with) and the trim the house's trim color.

We also painted the front door Valspar's Very Black, which is a perfect accent.

Now we're ready to plant those bushes along the pathway and hopefully find some taller, complementary plants to fill in the space up to the house. We have lots more gardening to do but it will have to come gradually.

Home Makeover Update: The Back Deck

Since we're hosting our own home makeover project, we're not going to limit ourselves to the view from the curb. We'll be taking care of a few other projects we've had on our to-do list since we moved in three and a half years ago.

Such as the back deck... The beautiful redwood hadn't been treated in years and was already completely sun warped by the time we inherited it. Our super trusty contractor just happened to have some free time on his hands so we enlisted his expertise to give the old gal a face lift.

(Of course, this does nothing for the green swampy swimming pool so we'll tackle that project next.)

Here's a tip for you... Rather than replace the warped and rotting boards with new redwood, which is twice the price of douglas fir, we're using the lesser-priced alternative since we decided to paint the deck anyway. A special deck paint can last up to eight years while you'd have to re-stain the deck annually to protect the natural redwood from the direct sun. We're all about low maintenance around here.

Our Own Curb Appeal Makeover

HGTV must not have read our entry for the Curb Appeal makeover. 

(If they did, they would have picked us for sure.)

So guess what? HGTV, we don't need you. We'll host our own makeover project. 

For the past week or so, we've been hard at work trying to improve the exterior of our house. (And by "we" I really mean a team of contractors and professional painters. We're leaving this job to the professionals.)

Here's an update on our progress so far:

Step 1: We're painting the house! The color we chose looks unfortunately similar to the previous color, minus the blue tint. But this is just the first coat, so we're hoping it looks more like the earth tone we selected in the end.

Step 2: Add planter boxes to conceal the gaps in the window trim and give the facade a little more dimension.

Step 3: Add trims to the planter boxes. (And a little potted hydrangea to demonstrate its potential.)

The foreman on the job. She's very pleased with the progress so far.