Designing Domesticity: breakfast room reno

Showing posts with label breakfast room reno. Show all posts

Breakfast Room Reveal

We're back from our family holiday and work has started up again on the breakfast room and kitchen.

Back to life, back to reality...

I'm pleased to say, all our hard work has paid off and we are officially moved back into our newly remodeled breakfast room.

Looking through to the kitchen, you can see there is still a bit of work to be done in there.

But enough about that, let's concentrate on the breakfast room for now!

How about a tour?

Looking from the living room into the breakfast room.

These shelves can only really be seen in this room, so I went a bit heavy on the kitchen-y items.

Cookbooks, kitchen scales, wire roosters, and of course plenty of room for toy storage.

To see more about the shelves, check out the sneak peek post.

Still looking from the living room into the breakfast room, these shelves CAN be seen from the main living space in the living room.

In this space I went a bit more neutral in terms of the kitchen materials, instead concentrating on books, shells, pineapple finial (you know I love them), birdies, European inspired artwork, and a moss arrangement.

Here's a glimpse at the new window seat.

I really debated about the pillows and white curtains - this is the primary seat of a 3 year old after all!

Fortunately, I already had these pillows so figured I would just give it a try.

The curtains are awaiting some final fabric trim, but alas, it has been back ordered - more about that later.

And now because everyone loves a good before and after, here is the before.

Sorry about the obviously seasonal photo!

Guess I hadn't taken any in awhile.

And after.

A lot lighter and brighter, but still homey and cozy!

Just what I wanted.

Last but not least, the rarely seen view from the breakfast room into the living room.

Ah, open plan living in an older home - a great achievement.

I'm so excited that this room is done!

And just in time for us to welcome out of town guests who arrive this afternoon.

For a reminder of everything this room has been through, click here.

Linking in with:

Met Monday

WuW

Until next time,

Breakfast Room Sneak Peek

We're road tripping it this week, but before we left, we managed to get a bit of work done in the breakfast room....thought I'd share a sneak peek today.

Some of my favorite accessories have found a new home in our built-ins.

I love to sit back and reminisce about the stories behind each piece.

A bit of eye candy really.

The room may not be complete, but I know some one who certainly enjoyed their first meal in their new big kid seat at the window bench.

More to come upon our return!

Until next time,

Breakfast Room Inspiration and Paint

This weekend was filled with painting - at least for Mr. DD, who took it upon himself to sort out the breakfast room.

All in an effort to get us moved upstairs sooner than later.

Funny how he has reached his limit before I have and I am the one that is here all day, every day!

Last I showed you the breakfast room we had newly built built-ins a plenty.

Lots of naked wood in need of covering!

Gotta love the action shots of Mr. DD painting - what a trooper!

Definitely a special thanks for all his hard work.

All done!

Almost like they have always been there!

I can't wait to get the table in place!

And actually start using this room.

Anywho, now that it's all painted and looking lovely - it's time to set my mind upon decorating, which of course, is my favorite part!

Something about this image from Pottery Barn stopped me in my tracks when I first saw it.

It's warm and cozy, yet light and airy.

I love the dark, warm, wood tones against the lighter wall colors.

And of course, the window seat...

Inspiration has been found.

Stay tuned to see how I make it my own.

Also, check back later in the week for a sneak peek of our almost completed kitchen!

Linking in with:

Met Monday

Until next time,

New Color Scheme Reveal

Last time I shared our new color scheme plans and how I hoped to create flow within our newly opened living space. Well, we had a whole weekend full of cold temperatures and loads of rain - so we got a jump start on our new color scheme!

Check out the before and after and let me know what you think!

After - new living room color

Before

After - new opening with new color in breakfast room

Before - breakfast room color

Thoughts on the new color scheme?

These colors are definitely out of my comfort zone, as you can see I tend to choose warmer, more saturated colors - but I am enjoying the new lighter scheme so far.

As I am sure you can also tell, these rooms are literally freshly painted and in need of finishing touches.

We have trim to install, artwork to hang, and curtains to try out.

It should be a fun week!

I also need to decorate around this monster TV!

Linking in with Met Monday.

Until next time,

Creating Flow with Paint

Now that we have opened the wall between our breakfast room and our living room, having good room to room flow is more important than ever.

Here you can see the existing deep yellow color of the living room, that opens to the dark green of the breakfast room.

Given the need to repaint the new arch area anyway, I figured this could be the perfect time to lighten up our pallet and work on the room to room flow.

Mr. DD totally agrees - any opportunity to repaint one of the biggest rooms in our house, right?

Oh wait, that is me talking!

So, when trying to create a color pallet for your home - where to start?

In my case, I am using our dining room wallpaper. It's bold and quite the statement maker.

We inherited this paper with the house, and although I didn't really like it at first, it has certainly grown on me and we have no plans to remove it anytime soon.

Beacon Hill Damask, Benjamin Moore

The other main factor I am taking into consideration is our foyer/hallway color, Beacon Hill Damask by Benjamin Moore. It's a nice neutral with yellowy green undertones. The foyer/hallway can be seen/accessed from every room in the house - so it plays a major roll in the overall color scheme.

Weston Flax, Benjamin Moore

After looking over many a color, I'm leaning toward Weston Flax by Benjamin Moore. It's a much lighter yellow than what we currently have and more in keeping with the foyer color, while still working with our existing furniture.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you probably know how much I love green - this will be my accent color. Proof as seen above!!

Picking similar colors that are featured in artwork and accent pieces from room to room is a great way to create flow.

Guilford Green, Benjamin Moore

Speaking of green, we are planning on toning down the green in our breakfast room to something more mellow, like guilford green by Benjamin Moore. I'm really looking forward to viewing it from the breakfast room into the living room - especially how it will frame our couch.

I'll either carry this color through to the kitchen or choose one shade lighter - TBD!

We're eager to get the new color scheme underway, even though we won't be moving back into our breakfast room for at least another month!

What about you?

Any secrets to creating good room to room flow in your home?

Until next time,

Opening it up and Refinishing the Floors

Along with the kitchen remodel, we decided to open the wall between our living room and breakfast room as well as refinish the floors.

Some might say, why take on so much?

But we decided that if the house was already a disaster area, why not just make it worse!

Late last week, I walked in through the front door to find this.

That's all our living room furniture in our dining room!

Time to get the work underway.

I peeked around the corner and saw this...the new opening, looking from the breakfast room into the living room.

Here it is, with the arch shape we requested to match the opening from the foyer to the living room.

Next up, sanding down the floors.

When we bought the house, the living room had wall to wall carpet. Fortunately, the hardwoods underneath were in good shape, but the stain was a bit dated and didn't match the floors in the foyer and dining room.

Really making progress now.

And I have to say, they were pretty tidy.

Nothing like the horror stories I've heard about sanding floors.

Phew!

Here they are all stained and looking lovely.

Again, looking from the breakfast room into the living room.

And the living room.

We literally can not wait to move all our furniture back into the living room and enjoy the new functionality and flow of the room.

Unfortunately, it will still be a while.

Yet to come, drywall on the new arch and in the kitchen - you know what that means, here comes the dust! As if it hasn't been messy enough around here!

Later this week, I'll post your weekly kitchen update as well as some progress in the garden!

Linking up with Met Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch.

Until next time,

Sconce decision made, finally!

Do you ever have one of those decisions that just haunts you daily, but yet, you still manage to do nothing about it?

The breakfast room sconces - that's mine! Even with the offer of a review, I just couldn't pull the trigger.

Literally, every meal time I would sit there and look at those sconces and know I needed to order the new ones, but I just couldn't do it.

Until today!

And can you guess which one I went with?

Savoy House Venetian Guild Wall Sconce in Slate - 9-9412-1-25

Not what you were expecting, right? Almost everyone that took the time to leave a comment selected option 1, the slightly more modern choice. And to be honest, it had me confused. What was everyone seeing that I wasn't? And so I pondered, and pondered and pondered some more.

Then I decided to go with my gut! Option 2.

I'm hoping the curved lines and rustic hammered texture will work well with our existing chandelier. I'll be switching out the shades, for sure. This Victorian silhouette is really not working for me at all.

Now the waiting game begins. But don't worry, just as soon as they arrive and are installed, you'll be the first to know!

Searching for Sconces: Part Deux

As you may remember I posted some time ago about my search for sconces for the den turn breakfast room. Remember this photo? Brass swing arm sconces in a breakfast room, not so much!

Well, the search was going no where fast until the lovely people at CSN stores offered me the opportunity to review one of their products. In case you didn't know, they have over 200 stores and sell everything from nightstands to lighting to kitchen sinks, literally!

Obviously, I'm back on the path.

After a lot of searching (seriously, they have so many options!), I have narrowed it down to these.

TransGlobe Lighting Modern Meets Traditional Wall Sconce

Savoy House Venetian Guild Wall Sconce

Artcraft Pot Racks One Light Wall Sconce

I'd love to know which one you like best, so leave a comment and let me know!

I'll be reviewing one soon - In the meantime, have a look around their site, the selection really is second to none. CSN stores

For a refresher on my previous search for sconces, click here.

On the Seach for Sconces

I've been meaning to get new sconces for our breakfast room for as long as I can remember.

I replaced the ceiling fixture and just assumed I would find sconces at a later date. Not a good idea. I have been looking for almost a year now.

The current sconces are of the swing arm variety in brass. The previous owners used this space as a Den and I think the sconces really speak to that. Definitely time for a change.