bedroom to dining room

when we bought this house there was no dining room, a problem i never knew could exist. the solution was to turn the 4th bedroom (2 are on the first floor) into a dining room which would create flow, open up the closed in feeling of the living room, and allow the front door to swing open completely. I didn't want to open it completely, i like the separation of spaces but still feeling open.

The fancified transitional flooring looks like it was always there instead of created ex post facto. We did this 2.5 years ago, before i became blog obsessed and had no idea grey was such a huge color. i'm way ahead of my time, i tell ya. i just had this vision of what i wanted for the dining room--Black and white photos, red accents, two tone grey wall, chair rail, black furniture with white seats.

These frames were various shades of wood and were my first craft/DIY project. All i did was spray paint them black, but you have no idea how long it took to muster the courage to do it! It took months of watching HGTV for me to trust that i could actually accomplish this most basic of tasks. Please don't laugh. I've lived a sheltered life. All of the photos, except 2, were taken by me and turned into black and white. i've never been to France or Italy, nor do i know anything about photography. Still, i am quite proud of the ones i took and of course it means more knowing these are memories from my travels. The two i didn't take were bought at the Penn State Arts Festival. Despite my crap salary, i like to support the little guy. Top left photo: Tower Bridge, London. Soon to be replaced b/c there is too much England representin'. Top right: Formation in Stonehenge that reminded me of Brancusi's Kiss sculpture, on top of red construction paper b/c Michaels only had 2 red mattes. Bottom right: professional, Paris. Bottom left: Looking up at the London Eye. The key is from Ikea for 99 cents, and was glued in place before being hung.

Top left: Professional, Italy. Top right: Big Ben and parliament, but doesn't it look romantic with the street lamp? It's hard to tell, but there are strands of bulbs strung on either side, connecting to other street lamps. Bottom right: Overlooking Jerusalem and the Western Wall. Bottom left: A sculpture in Sfat, Israel depicting Adam and Eve. Red heart from Ikea, also 99 cents. I thought it was wise to lay out the design before putting holes in the wall. S liked that idea, too.


This is a photo i took pre digital camera age on the living room inspiration trip i mentioned before. Blew it up to poster size, and if you squint towards the left you can see two
people who were on my bus tour! pardon the flash.




the chair rail may be high, but this is where i wanted it so it would stand out. is it supposed to be lower and blend in with the window sill? i also don't like when it's only a foot off the ground. the big black mirror was a trash find and S made the frame. The sconces also got the spray paint treatment. The valances are table runners from Target that i attached with drapery clips. Look at me thinking outside of the box!

here you can see where the doorway to the bedroom was. we just took off the door frame components, and did the fancified flooring for cohesion. Love it. Did you have to create a room that was missing in your home, or turn one into something else?

i'm linking to the diy showoff, remodelaholic, persimmon perch, it's so very creative, met monday, my backyard eden, the thrifty home, room to inspire.