Dining Room Rearrange

There's a warmth in my dining room now that wasn't there before.  My new to me china cabinet has brought in a whole new feeling in this room.  It's not that my dining room wasn't enjoyable before, it's was just more formal then it is now.  Isn't it amazing how one piece of furniture can turn the esscence of room in a different direction?


That is probably one of the elements of decorating that I truly love the most.  I have seen it often in home tours, that one thing that just captures your attention and sets the tone of the room.  Sometimes, it is something unexpected, sometimes it is an obvious signature piece.   Because I am a very visual person I often pick up on it because I really love how that room feels.  When I really like a room I immdiately begin to "look" for what makes me feel that way.  I'm not talking about looking in  room and seeing things you like but I am talking about looking in a room and seeing something that makes you feel a certain way, that's what this china cabinet has done for me.  It has changed the feeling of this room and it's a change I am very pleased with.

So today, for Tabletop Tuesday I'm sharing the changes in this room, that have come about this weekend.  When you rearrange a room all your vignettes get rearranged some too.  I've also added in a few changes for Halloween too!

There's lots more I'd like to achieve here but it's definitely headed in the direction I want to go now.

The first thing I did was to try and create the warmth of fall in my china cabinet display.

Let's take a look inside.

On the top shelf, I started with adding my rooster plates in front of my new Lenox dishes.  I really need to go and find some plate holders to keep these dishes from toppling over.  I don't have grooves on the shelves so I guess I will need to purchase more plate stands.   I would love to hear any tips and tricks you may have, from those of you who display your dishes upright.

Then on the second shelf, I have decided to keep my crystal and add in my newest more casual handblown goblets and a few seasonal decor pieces to balance it out.

On the bottom shelf I have displayed my green wheat dishes and a few serving pieces from my Grandmothers china.  I added a few faux leaves and my cabinet is looking quite festive now.

I also put my basket trio on the top and balanced it out with some pretty faux magnolias.

I moved the marble side table over here where my black cabinet used to be.  I wanted the dining room to continue to have an open feeling of space.

I mixed a little fall decor with Halloween here.

I just love this little tiny witch! 

My large mirror that used to be over the marble table has been moved to this wall.  I miss it being front and center when you look in the dining room but it works really well here.  I love how it picks up the reflection of the windows and outside creating that open feeling that I wanted to keep in this room.

The black side cabinet has been moved here on this wall where the secretary used to be.  I do miss the storage space from the secretary and would have preferred to keep my crystal in there but it was just not working for me in this room any longer.  The pieces I have decided to keep in this room were more important in maintaining the feel that I wanted this room to have, so off the secreatary went to our office. 

I pulled this apple platter out of storage, (forgot I had it) and added one of my friendly ghosts.

Let's take a look at a few corners in this room and then I'll show you my table.

My chairs are staying beside the china cabinet for now but I really will want to reupholster them soon, with a pop of color.  I need to decide which fabric I like best, meanwhile I'll use pillows to add a little more interest.

I finally hung those Vera Bradley plates over here.

My table got a Halloween treat of it's own.

Look what I caught, under my cloche!  Can you see them? 

Amazing what shows up around here this time of year!

I hope you didn't get too spooked.  I think my dining room is quite cozy now, ghosts, goblins and all!

Thanks for visiting today.

Happy Tabletop Tuesday!

Mary

Front Door Makeover

Last week was a very busy week.  Along with finding a new china cabinet I completed a project I have been wanting to do for some time.  I admit I was spurred into action to repaint my front door with the wonderful drop of cooler temps and a hardy dose of front door envy.    After seeing so many of you transform your doors into something you are proud of I decided it was time for me to just do it!

This is how my front door looked prior to the new paint job.  It is missing the door knocker in this photo because I took it off to repaint it with ORB.

It was a nice tan color that really complimented our house very well.  I have been wanting to repaint the front door black for sometime but have been putting it off because this door was painted with oil based paint, and I totally despise oil based paint.  When we bought the house it had green doors that I changed to this color and they were oil based paint, so rather then take the time and effort it would take to go to latex then, I just used oil based paint again.  I vividly remember it was a night mare!  Oil based takes forever to dry and you really have to have just the right temps for it to apply effectively on an outside door.  I vowed never again!

Thus every time I thought I wanted to change the color to black I hesitated because I wasn't ready to face the process.  Last week though, I decided it was high time to bite the bullet and do the ground work!

I am so glad I finally did!  Here is my door all primed and ready for latex now!  I have to say that this step was far easier then I had been imagining.  I guess with the weather being just right it made all the difference.

I also decided to prime the sidelights too since I don't think I have ever painted them since living here and wasn't sure if they were oil based or not.  I let it all dry overnight, then repainted both the front door and my sidelights the next day.  Here is my front porch now, finally finished and ready for the seasons with a fresh coat of paint.

What a nice sharp contrast that black is.  I just love it!

I have left my door handle and lock brass for now.  I would like to either change it out or repaint it.  I painted my door knocker with ORB as a tester to see how well the paint will hold out before I try it on the handle.  You can just barely see the door knocker in this photo.  It is hiding behind my witch sign.  My wreath has seen several seasons already and really needs to be updated but I didn't want to tackle that this year.

For Halloween I take the lazy way out and just hang this little wooden witch on my fall wreath.  Then afterwards I take it off and it's fall again for the rest of the season.

My front poor is a mixture of fall and Halloween right now.  I really don't go all out for Halloween, but I do have a few pieces that I have accumulated over the years, and consider them classics.

My large clay jack-o-lanterns always greet our guests on the way up the stairs.  I also like to put Mums on the opposite steps but just haven't made it out to the garden center yet.

On the left side of my front door, my old washstand got a little fall fix up.

I have a mixture of old Indian corn and faux corn in the window basket.  I would like to find some larger faux gourds, and pumpkins and such to also add, any ideas where?

Of course my sassy Roo wanted the fall fix up too!  You know he has quite easily gotten into the habit of expecting me to give him special attention each season now.  Be careful what you start!

On the right side of the front door a little fall is mixed in with a little Halloween.

I added this bench recently after moving the planters down at the end of the steps, I am loving how it is another great place to add vignettes.  My iron topiary looks great without the old faux ivy leaves and is a great compliment to the large iron topiary I moved up from the back yard.

They both got a little fall treatment and look wonderful next to my grapevine pumpkin and the electric jack-o-lantern.   But look, I think I may have some trouble going on here.  It looks like an old witch must be around.  Surely that stuff doesn't belong to me!  Ahhh,hhaaaa,haaah,hee,hee!  Cackle-cackle!

It's a Metamorphosis Monday, and things are changing fast.  Please be sure and visit more friends for more changes!  Thanks for visiting today!  Have a great day!

My new China Cabinet

Happy Birthday to me!    Well, actually my birthday is Sunday, but the timing couldn't have been any better on this gift!

I finally found a china cabinet that I really liked, was priced right, and would fit my style of decor.  I didn't end up getting either of the two I showed you or anything close to my inspiration photo.  I also have spent several days running around checking out many thrift and antique stores for just the right cabinet.  I almost purchased one that was a very good deal in great shape but was more antiquey looking then I really wanted so I talked myself out of that one and decided to wait.  I am so glad I did!


 I have been searching Craigs list for some time as well.  Not just my city, but surrounding cities too.   I had been entering the following words under furniture to search for what I was looking for; china cabinet, china hutch, and hutch.  It only dawned on me recently I probably should try just entering the word; cabinet.  Bingo!  By doing this I brought up many more china cabinets I had not seen because they did not list them as a china cabinet.  Some were listed as just cabinets, kitchen cabinets or dining cabinets.  Well that's how I found the one I purchased.  It was listed as a dining cabinet.   The owner had inherited it from her mother and didn't want it any longer.  She also had very unusual work hours that was making it difficult IMOP for her to get it sold.  She said she had it listed at a higher price and had only lowered it recently.  When I first inquired about it, she said we could come after 7:00pm one night or between 9:30pm and 10pm another night.  Not on Saturday, limited time on Sunday, church hours, and etc.  The Mr. was not about to trek across town after 7:00pm, over 45 minutes away, with a trailer in hopes that this might be the one.  Then he said, if she works that late perhaps she goes in later.  Ask can we come early.  So she said yes, I go to work at 10:00am, can you be here between 8:00 and 8:30am?  LOL!  Hubby said yep, I'll take the morning off.  So off we went yesterday with trailer in tow right in the middle of morning rush hour.  Well, it certainly paid off and this is what we brought home. 

I had every intention of painting this china cabinet black with a distressed finish.  However, the Mr. really likes this cabinet as is and wants me to wait and see how much I like it first.  I'm good with that, but I have to tell you I just went out yesterday and spent a fortune on ALOT of very good black paint from Sherwin Williams, that I've already used on another project I will show you Monday.  LOL!

  There are no cracks,chips or gouches in the wood.  However there is a bit of a problem with one side glass that is cracked, and the two wooden panes were removed because she was going to repair it, then changed her mind.  I have the panes to put back on it as soon as we replace the glass, so that's not an issue.  Compared to what I had been looking at this is a breeze to fix!

I just love the shape of this cabinet and all the details too!

Nice thick moulding on a beautifully arched top.

Interesting detailed moulding!  We think this piece was from Poland because of the paper tags on the back.

That design looks polish to me for some reason.

Yes there is two different tones of wood color here though it is not nearly as dramatic in person as it is on these photos, but you can tell a difference.  Interesting!

I just love bunn feet too!

A nice big chunky key and window paned glass doors.  Although those wooden panes would be quite easy to remove if I decide I do not want them, but they are staying for now.

And the Mr.s favorite part is how well it is made.  It even has these wonderful latches on the opposite door that does not lock with the key on both the top and bottom doors.  Isn't that special!  LOL!

  Now the best part of it all was the price!  Would you believe we purchased this very solid wooden china cabinet for only....(drum roll please)...$100.00.  Yippee!  I love that!


I have to admit it though I will miss the hunt.  I certainly did some damage on the hunt too.   I am talking about wallet damage.  While scouring several antique stores looking for just the right china cabinet, I came across the (3) Lenox china dishes that I showed you here.


 Sitting there on a bottom shelf in a musty old dusty antique store under stacks of other china was my beautiful Butlers Pantry Gourmet dishes.  I about fell out!  I recognized the edge of the dish straight away and thought I was hallucinating.  My heart was just a thumping as I was unstacking them.  They were quite a deal at $10.00 a plate.  I tried to get them lower but the old man would not call the vendor (he never will) so I bought them anyway cause I knew they were well worth it!  Can you believe it?

And if that wasn't enough, I also found these at another Antique store.   I was looking over one booth very carefully when there again on the bottom shelf  I spotted these hand blown goblets.  They were being sold as a set of 6, priced right, and with 15% off I purchased the set of six for $15.05 and that included tax!  Can you believe that?

 So now you know why I am going to miss the hunt.  I will surely miss all the extras along the way!  LOL!  So check those bottom shelves yall, you never know what might be hiding under there.

We just brought the cabinet inside late last night after I gave it a very through cleaning so please don't flip about the arrangement inside.  I was just moving things over from another piece and had to put them somewhere.  I will be doing lots of rearranging in this room today!  Fun, fun, fun!

I will miss seeing my mirror on that back wall for sure but I am thinking it will look great right here, so that whole look there is going to get a bit of a change again!  Whew, am I going to be busy!

Sorry to be so long winded but this was a story I thought you thrifters might really want to hear the details of.  Thanks for hanging in there with me if you did and be sure and join all the other thrifters over at Debbiedoos for her Garage Salen Party.  There's always great stories of amazing finds at this party!


Hope you all have a great weekend!  I certainly plan on it!  Thanks for visiting today!