We made our dining room bigger! Well, kind of…

It’s time to update with something OTHER than bathroom mayhem.  I need to focus on something aside from renovation dust and demolition for a change….

The big news for us (well, sorta) is that we made our dining room bigger!!  Not really, but we did get a smaller dining table which gave us soooo much more floor space.  And it’s been such a long time since I’ve made any updates to this space (uhhh….try since we last painted it, which was a whopping year and  a half ago – whoa!) that it seemed like a good time to get on it.  So here’s a WAAAAY old pic from before we even painted the space (notice our R2-D2 AC unit in the background??):

Dining Room Before

So that’s from about a whopping year and a half ago.  We hadn’t even painted yet at this point or bought any window treatments or even installed Air Conditioning.  We just tossed our antique hand-me-down furniture in here and called it a day.  And don’t even get me started on that builder grade chandy that looks like a five legged octopus.  What would that be?  A penta-pus?  Moving on.  Here’s the after as of this past weekend:

Dining Room After with new table and chandelier!

Much better, no?  But why?  I’m a shameless over-explainer, so here we go!  For starters, our dining table was just too big.  If somebody was sitting in the far chair, then you couldn’t open the pantry doors without asking them to move.  Then there was this strange 6 footed base which made it really hard to push chairs under and have space for those random appendages known as feet (go ahead and scroll up – it was just odd).  The last bother was the fact that it was an antique that belonged to my beloved Grandmother and even SHE hated how WOBBLY it was even when she owned it.  My poor Grandfather spent decades trying to “sturd-i-fy” that table and I remember eating many an Easter brunch at this table and watching my eggs jiggle while eating them.  Cutting meat at the table was always an adventure!  Forget about even trying a Jenga tourney on this table (although drunk Jenga….)!  No, no, no….the table had to go.  It wasn’t functional for us as it was and even with Dr. J’s handiness we still couldn’t get that table to be solid without seriously compromising its structure.  We had our eyes set on something much smaller (it’s usually just the two of us), round (they take up less room and are easier to fit a big crowd around), with a leaf that we could extend to seating for six when the family drops by, and solid, solid, solid!

The new table is made of solid Rubberwood and we got it for a good price from World Market.  It’s solid as a rock with a big chunky pedestal base that just feels so more upscale and normal (goodbye hexa-pedal table).  When the leaf is in it feels juuuuust right for the space and since it’s more rounded, we can actually sit more people at it than we could at the previous table which was also about the same size.  We also love that the finish isn’t overly polished or waxy, so it doesn’t show fingerprints and it’s rustic and durable enough so that I don’t have to worry about people dropping things on it, etc.  Overall, it’s a win-win!

Second update?  That builder’s grade chandelier is gone, gone, gone!  It was too big for the space and just kind of reminded me of an octopus or daddy long legs or something.  It had to go.  So off to Overstock I went and found a new chandy and….voila…

Much better no?  I love how it has a glass diffuser on the bottom (as opposed to plastic) and it had three bulbs (as opposed to more expensive versions which only had one).  It’s definitely a statement without being over-the-top traditional or modern.  Just what the doctor ordered…perhaps a Dr. J?

Verdict??  We can actually open our pantry doors now!!!  And cutting meat is absolutely no problem-o.  Dr. J and I sit at this table all the time just trying to make it wiggle.  IT DOESN’T WIGGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I mean, seriously – it’s the little things in life.  No wiggling.  I won’t be able to say that for much else in my life (ya know, like the waistline), but I can say that about my dining table, thankyouverymuch!  And the light is just perfect for dining and gaming.  It also “simplifies” the lines in that room and immediately draws your eye up and in…love, love, love….

Hello, now functional dining room.  It’s so nice to finally meet you!