Tag Archives: dining room
The progress and surprises
Week three started yesterday, and the work continues in satisfying increments. The demo of the cabinets is complete, the tile has come up and the rough-ins for the electric and plumbing are nearly finished. Because I am impatient by nature, I am restless to get to the part where we put the finishes in, but […]
The Befores
It’s been three months and a couple days since closing day, and we’ve undertaken quite a few projects, but few of them feel near completion. We have HGTV dreams, but a DIY network budget, and a couple unglamorous projects- a burst pipe and a roof repair- have distracted our time and funds. The big project, […]
New shelves
The very last of the unpacking. It’s happened! You know what happens when two book lovers combine households? Too many cats. And yes, too many books. But really, is there such a thing? (cats, yes, books, never.) After all the boxes were unpacked, even the chaotic studio was tamed. But the piles of books remained. […]
The Terrarium
I love thrift stores. I love the hunt and the sense possibility and the deals. I love having objects that carry their own history, that have been in lives before they’ve come into mine. I have a circuit of three near my house that I like to stop in on a weekly basis and a […]
Dispatches from the dining room
After a wholly pleasant and unusually extended Spring, Philly’s heat and humidity has made an appearance in full force. While we’ve put an air conditioning unit in the bedroom for sleeping at night, we’ve resisted turning it on before 10 or putting another one in another part of the house. Frugality and a curious-but-unsubstantiated belief […]
The radiator cover
At the end of March, the far wall of the dining room looked like this: And now, at the end of April, it looks like this: Still needs some curtains, but so far? Everything I was hoping it would be and more. The radiator cover makeover was an unexpected project, but my favorite change in […]
Painting windows: the lip balm trick
The trim is finally being painted! While the baseboards were already a bright (albeit scuffed) white, the window sills were a creamy off-white (and don’t let the fancy light before picture deceive you, the sills were covered with suspicious, smudgy paw prints). We’re painting everything Valspar’s Ultra White, and the subtle change is really making […]
Choosing a rug for the dining room
Before we can really move forward with the dining room, we have to pick a rug. Since we’ll be using the furniture we already own, it’s the biggest purchase we’re making, which will set the tone of the whole room. Rugs are expensive, and I’m a little overwhelmed! Apartment Therapy recently posted guidelines for choosing […]
What a difference paint makes!
Nik spent a few evenings last week painting the dining room Mark Twain Gray Brick, and it’s just gorgeous. Rich and romantic, the perfect counter balance to our light and airy kitchen. I need to gear up to paint the trim like I promised, so we can get to the fun parts! The table is […]
Stripping wallpaper: what worked and where we should have saved our money
We got the the ball rolling on the dining room project this weekend! I took some before pictures, which are true to the starting state of the room, except for the test-peels of the wallpaper: The white bead board at the bottom is actually wallpaper that Nik put up a couple years ago, which is […]
The Projectory 