My Almost Finished Dining Room

My Dining room is almost finished. Its been "almost finished" for well over a year. During the Kitchen and Breakfast Room build and renovation, we lived, cooked and did homework in the Dining Room. And to be really honest by the end of it, I never, ever wanted to be in the Dining Room again. I say "almost finished", but it may never get finished. With the new Breakfast Room we hardly ever use the Dining Room anymore. We are not formal people, so when we have dinner with friends and family we always want to stay in the kitchen, eat in the Breakfast Room and enjoy the lovely view.

Read more about the Breakfast Room here. My old Dining Room had a pretty yellow painted table and slipcovered chairs with blue check skirts. Very country, very cutesy. They found a new home at the beach house. But, let's start at the beginning with before photos.
This is the room as it was decorated by the previous owners. It was very lovely and nicely done, but not my style. The drapes had lace under panels which completely covered the windows. I remember asking my sister to push them back when we took this photo. When she did I fell in love with the light that came flooding in. I did not care for the faux painting on the walls - the woodwork was also painted an antique white which did not match the rest of the house and looked dingy to me.
(Such an unflattering shot of me, let's all remember it is a "before" photo)
Here is the after. I loved the crystal chandelier and so it stayed. I repainted the walls and the trim, and used the same linen and hand forged rods as in the Living Room. Keeping the drapes, walls and trim colors uniform with the Living Room and Conservatory added a lightness to the entire first floor of this older historical Colonial.

Read about the Living Room here. The table is from Belgium and has an old carved wood base with a distressed stripped wood top. The lighting in this photo is awful, but it shows a good close up of the table base which is over 4 inches thick and washed in a Gustavian gray. The chairs are the same as in the Breakfast Room but more slipcovered ones and less upholstered ones. Because most of the chairs are slipcovered it gives the room a much different feel - and now I have matching seating for 12.We also added some wonderful lighting to highlight our artwork. This painting, though not captured in this photo, has all the green/gray/blue tones of the chairs.
Here is the before from a different angle. That door leads into the Kitchen and the Butler's Pantry is directly to the right. You can spy a bit of the honed marble and gray cabinets of the Butler's Pantry when you sit at the table. You can read more about the Kitchen and Butler's Pantry here.
Here is the after. The pine corner piece I bought many years ago in Bavaria and is Swedish. The spire is from Aidan Gray and the console from Wisteria - I like how the marble top echos the marble in the Butler's pantry. The small chair is one of two I found at a flea market in Bavaria almost 20 years ago.
Here is a close up of the painting. I bought it in Denmark when I went to my sister's wedding. It still needs a frame, not sure where I am going with that - maybe silver, maybe gold, maybe "gilver", black or maybe no frame?? Thoughts??
A before from another angle.
And the after. Clearly I need a rug. But I am torn, a sisal? an antique oriental? what about a needlepoint?? And I want to embellish the slipcovers, but with what?? Embroidery? Trims??Edging?? Thoughts???

Or maybe just keep it as is. Do I really want to spend money on room we almost never use???
What do you think??
Here is another before photo - Can you guess what we are doing with this space??? I know you all love the rug and wonderful drab trim, but just wait a see how this will be transformed.

Stay tuned!!

Antique China

Today is the 79th Tablescape Thursdays over at Between Naps on the Porch, so I thought I would share with a you a recent gathering I had where I used my antique Johnson Brothers green china.

You might remember that one of my goals of my Butler's Pantry renovation was to build some beautiful glass front cabinets to house these precious antiques. You can read all about the Butler's Pantry here.

But what good is China if you are only going to look at it behind glass? I decided to set it out for everyone to enjoy. You can see the antique soup tureen above.

I used Lemon Cypress trees as the centerpiece and pulled out my Apilco chocolate cups for individual arrangements at each place setting. I just put in a spring of greens and some berries.

You can see the bone dishes on the right - we used these as interesting bread plates.

And the covered dish held butter pats I made in pretty butter molds. I should have taken a photo of those!

I'll reveal the rest of the Dining Room on Monday but until then remember to enjoy your china and don't just keep it hidden behind glass.

Head on over to Tablescape Thursday to see more wonderful tables!!

Here's what you're saying!

It's always so interesting to me which topics resonate so strongly with readers - No upper cabinets in the kitchen is one I have received an incredible amount of email and comments about over the past few days. Readers, bloggers, designers and kitchen enthusiasts all have sent me their opinions and many have sent on photos. This kitchen from Southern Living turned up both in my inbox and on the Gardenweb! Everyone agreed the windows were wonderful. This kitchen won high marks because of its size, it is so large the storage aspect would not be compromised. Another kitchen from Southern Living with a similar feel, though this kitchen had a mix of windowed walls and storage walls. Having both seems to be a popular trade off. Linda Banks of Banks Design (one of my favorite designers) contacted me. She mentioned she wrote an article over 15 years ago in the now defunct, Decorating and Remodeling Magazine, shunning upper cabinets. She continues to limit their use in her kitchen designs. Here is a beautiful kitchen she did in CT.

Linda built free standing cupboards for extra storage. I love the mirrored fronts. To see posts of more of Linda's work click here.

This kitchen by Smallbone found its way to me via a reader in New Orleans. She thought I also might like the industrial stools. (which I do!) Notice the height of the ceilings in this kitchen - I think it adds to the drama. Many of these kitchens highlighted different types of storage - Here we see a copper pot rack on the wall. This could easily free up a lower cabinet for dishes. This kitchen is from Plain English. Many readers also mentioned that omitting the upper cabinets is easier when other types of storage are available. This kitchen from HGTV shows a Hoosier cupboard.
Photos of European kitchens came my way - here is another one from Plain English. This is a favorite of mine, I love simplicity and warmth in this kitchen. Another blogger directed me to architect Ruard Veltman who often sans upper cabinets. Isn't this kitchen fabulous?! Here is another angle of this great room! Notice the wonderful inset shelves on the left.

Most readers agreed that having a Butler's Pantry or large wall of cabinetry allowed the rest of the kitchen to be freed up to allow for windows. Veltman outdid himself with this striking wall of cabinetry.
This wonderful paneled wall turns into a trove of hidden cabinets. Spectacular! To see more of Veltman's work here. To see more on Butler's Pantries click here.

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Thank you all for commenting and sending on the photos. It seems the overall verdict was that people preferred the natural light. And if space allowed, they wanted to at least incorporate one wall of windows. Let's wait and see then, if this does in fact become a trend!

A Home by the Sea by Hutker Architects

Mention fabulous residential architecture in Massachusetts and inevitably you will hear the name Hutker Architects. Their work has been published in leading design magazines including Coastal Living and Architectural Digest. Also the winner of numerous design awards and most recently inducted into the New England Design Hall of Fame, Mark Hutker, and his team, have created an impressive body of work.

Let's have a look at a wonderful, newly constructed ocean front home. This is the view of the impressive home from the water.

From the entry the home feels inviting; not huge or imposing.

This was achieved by designing a courtyard setting. Notice the the garage barn doors and wonderful coastal landscaping. It looks as if this house was just dropped on to the beach dunes.

A wonderful feature is the front entry porch which opens and looks directly through the back doors to the ocean. I love the columns, notice the heft of them and how the base is larger on the bottom.

The living room truly captures the coastal feel. I love the inlaid wood compass rose on the floor. I suspect it is positioned to point just as the house sits on the property.

Another angle of the living room which gives us a peek at some lovely window seats.

The view from the Butler's Pantry into the Dining Room and then on to the Living Room.

Pretty white kitchen with mosaic backsplash. Emeco industrial stools at the center island.

Of course if you are guests here you would be staying in the Guest House on the property. I love how well this home compliments the main house.

Here is the Guest House kitchen, artfully designed to include every appliance. I suspect this is stocked with all kinds of wonderful goodies

Notice the beautiful ceiling details.

Finally, no home by the ocean is complete with out a boat house. What a sweet, charming structure and so well landscaped.

Thanks to Hutker Architects for designing another wonderful home by sea...

(all photos by Brian Vanden Brink and property of Hutker Architects)

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Finding a Niche for a Home Office

Apartment Therapy
I am always so impressed the way designers and architects find small niches for home offices. In my own home , we have a dedicated office space, but my husband often works from home and so it is "his"office. That left me trying to carve out a niche for myself in some other area of the house.

Here are some of my favorite ideas for fitting in an office when space is tight.

Brian Vanden Brink

A quaint space, but look closer and you will see this office is in the bathroom. Not sure how the moisture will effect the computer, but in homes with large baths this is a creative alternative.

Hutker Architects
Have a small area in your hallway? Here is wonderful little space that has been efficiently utilized.

Domenic Mercadante
Here is an office created in the far part of a butler's pantry. Spaces doing double duty!

Willow Decor

Here is where I ended up! I carved out a niche office for myself when I created my Butler's Pantry. It does double duty as a functional pantry, housing appliances, serving pieces and dishes, as well as cabinets to hold internet wiring, printer and family files. Read all about it here.

Apartment Therapy

Is this a closet with a window, an entry or landing? This is one of my all time favorites. I love the the shelf desk and the wonderful natural light.

Centerbrook Architects
An attic alcove has just enough space for a small desk and chair.

Anthony DiGregario Architects
Here is an unusual space at the top of a landing. The owner added built ins for a very efficient space -notice how they wrap around to the right.
. Tittman Architects
This area is not quite as small as some of the others but I included it because it is a space used by two people or one that does double duty. Notice the desk behind the table. Perhaps a shared space or the table is used for crafting.


Better Homes and Gardens
Another small area at the top of a landing or part of a small bonus/loft room.


Country Living
Although this office area is not in a small room; it is in a small space. Interestingly the desk is tucked into the bookcase design, taking very little space up in the room. Very creative!


Restyled Home
Here is a desk area tucked into a pass thru hallway. I like the vertical use of space in this area. The two chairs are also very functional for a parent to sit and help with homework.



This Old House
Of course a well designed closet space can be turned into a wonderful office. Take off the doors and viola - home office!


Steve & Chris
Or leave the doors on and close them if things get too messy. I really like the bulletin and peg boards on the doors for storage and notes.

Apartment Therapy
This is a wonderful modern example of how any space can be turned into an office.


Let me know how you have used an unusual area in your home as an office!