Before and After || Dining Room

Hello out there. Is anyone still interested in me? I'll be honest. Blogging gets the best of me. I think OMG! I have so much to say, but when I actually sit down, I'm like, what to say, what to say.

Here is what I have to say. In November my husband was offered a job in Boise, ID. My home state, and although it was great to be going back, a part of me felt like I wasn't quiet ready to leave California. We found a rental on craigslist in a desired neighborhood in Boise, The North End. It's like the hub for all outdoor enthusiast, granola eating people and ALL historic charm. I love it for the charm. With older homes, the layouts are all outdated, as is the kitchens and bathrooms, and for some reason, Boise people LOVE the red walls, all colored walls really. (Me, not so much). After weeks of hunting online I came across this charming bungalow, blocks from Hyde Park and most importantly a coffee shop. But it had some major tweeking to do. For starters, it had a wine red dining room. I asked the landlords before we moved if I could paint and they said yes....total deal breaker if they didn't.

 Charm:

So we made the big move to Idaho. We didn't have much to bring, but if you ask my husband he would say we are boarder line hoarders. But I was thinking of this move as a big cleanse on our lives. Rid us from all the knick knacks and useless stuff we have and really focus on living a SIMPLIFIED life......It's proven harder than I'd like.

So much Blab, lets see design. As I arrived to our home for the first time, I realized after one walk through ( I was flying blind before) that I was going to be doing a lot more fixing up to the house beside the dining room. EVERY room is going to need some serious TLC.

Before:

I started painting the next day. Paint is the easiest, cheapest way to flip a room on a budget, which we are. I was really torn what direction to go for. I really love the all white, modern mid century look but my heart has always been farmhouse fresh. The moldings in this home are unreal. Thick baseboards, and framed out doorways. Molding all around the kitchen and dining and hardwood floors and vintage tile "look".

After:

Because of these characteristics, I decided to go with an ivory color rather than white. This is a good way to A. see if I like ivory for my walls and B. I can always paint white in our actual first home one day.

I used Benjamin Moore "seashell". Lauren Liess of Pure Style Home gets me completely. She intergrades modern and country flawlessly. I like to be a little more California Country myself, but she really helps me visual the whole picture. She uses "seashell" in a lot of her homes:

Before:

I found these vintage mid-century chairs at the Long Beach Flea Market one Sunday. They were perfect. Great danish lines, with a rattan woven seat. I literally threw my body at them and yelled SOLD. They were the first thing I purchased for the move. I paired it with Ikea's dockset tulip table. So far it's been a great table.

After:

Space is really limited in our house, so we have our dresser in the dining room. Justin at first was like, we're going to keep our underwear in the dining room, but now it's so normal that we don't care. I added a mirror, I've had since we first got married, above our dresser to create more of a sideboard look rather than a lonely dresser that couldn't make the bedroom... I love finding wittle trucks everywhere:]

I'm a girl who LOVES pattern, but when achieving a simplified space, to much pattern can make is look noisy and defeat the whole purpose. I found these neutral floral pattern curtains at ikea. I loved the pattern instantly and thought what a perfect way to add pattern into my life. I miss ikea sometimes. I'm sure you've heard this rule before, but i'll say it again and swear by it; hang your curtains high. Go above your window, to the ceiling to create length in the room. hanging curtain at the window stops your eye immediately and makes your room feel smaller and typical. Follow your curtains to the ceiling, try it, you won't regret it.

The cowhide rug was from Stetson's nursery. I also bought that from a dealer at the Long Beach Flea. Cost Plus world market and Ikea have a great price for cowhides if you're looking. I love the tan and white cows myself.

So this is the progress as of now. I didn't take as many before photo's as I would've liked. I was suffocating living just one day with the walls that I worked as a mad women to get rid of them.