dining room

How to Make the Wood in Your Dining Room Come to Life

May 16, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 10 Comments

As a Nashville Interior Decorator and Color Consultant, I often am asked what can be done to “spruce up” a dining room. The tricky thing about dining rooms is that they are often filled with wood, with little color or fabric going on.

DSC 6445 How to Make the Wood in Your Dining Room Come to Life

Typically, there are lots of wood furnishings and wood flooring – the main opportunities for color or pattern are chair fabric, window treatments, and wall color. If the wall color is a neutral, the dining room can really lack personality. Here’s the “before” state of a recent client’s dining room:

DSC 4381 How to Make the Wood in Your Dining Room Come to Life Dining Room Before

My client has lots of lovely antiques that unfortunately don’t have a lot of presence with such a colorless backdrop. A rich, moody color was prescribed by The Decorologist:

DSC 6431 How to Make the Wood in Your Dining Room Come to Life

Dining Room After

Now her wood furnishings look rich and the room pulls you in. Here’s another view from the entry of the room “before.”

DSC 4379 How to Make the Wood in Your Dining Room Come to Life

Dining Room Before

New color and furniture rearrangement made all the difference in this dining room.

DSC 6428 How to Make the Wood in Your Dining Room Come to Life

Dining Room After

We haven’t yet changed the fabric on the chair bottoms, but I’m thinking something like this to update the overall look:

il fullxfull.299254942 300x264 How to Make the Wood in Your Dining Room Come to Life

source

or maybe this:

blue fabric How to Make the Wood in Your Dining Room Come to Life

source

Don’t be afraid to inject a little color into your dining room. It might be just the pick-me-up it needs!

DSC 6432 How to Make the Wood in Your Dining Room Come to Life

If you need help finding the perfect colors for your home, contact The Decorologist to schedule a Color Consultation today: kristie@thedecorologist.com

Filed Under: Color Consultation Tagged With: blue, color, color consultant, color consultation, decorator, decorologist, dining room, green, interior decorator, nashville, room makeover

Does Virtual Design (Long-Distance Decorating) Really Work?

May 9, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 12 Comments

Obviously, if I am writing this post I think the answer is “Yes!” Some people call it “e-design” or “online design,” but I’m sure you’ve heard about it. Awhile back, a sweet girl named Emily contacted me about virtually-designing the small older home she shares with her husband. The only caveat was that she wanted to keep the paint color in her kitchen and dining area, so everything needed to tie in with that. You may recall the article where I shared the Inspiration Board for the space, but here again is the design I created for her:

OB EHs Inspiration Board1 Does Virtual Design (Long Distance Decorating) Really Work?

Virtual Design Inspiration Board by The Decorologist

If you want to see the Inspiration Boards that helped us narrow down the options (rugs, lighting, and dining room furnishings), check those out in my prior article here. What’s really exciting for me is when a Virtual Design client sends me “after” photos of the finished design, which Emily did a few months ago. Let’s take a look at the REAL “before and afters.”

March2011 015 Does Virtual Design (Long Distance Decorating) Really Work?

Living Room/Dining Room Before

Taming the Trey (Ceiling, That Is)

April 17, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 18 Comments

It’s an age old-question: how do you properly paint out a trey/tray ceiling?

DSC 4792 Taming the Trey (Ceiling, That Is)

It’s actually spelled t-r-e-y, but I find that most people spell it t-r-a-y. Anywho, this is how some people think you should paint it:

2011 11 02 14 36 58 515 Taming the Trey (Ceiling, That Is)

One Word: YIKES!

That kind of color chaos draws TOO much attention to the ceiling, and NOT in a good way. Looks like it’s time for The Decorologist to tame that trey! Hopefully, you’ll see the virtue of a different tactic: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Color Consultation Tagged With: ceiling, color, color consultant, decorologist, dining room, gray room, green room, nashville, paint, painted ceiling, tray, trey

DIY Designer Chairs

March 23, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 12 Comments

High-end designers are taking classic chair shapes and updating them with splashes of unexpected color, like this twist on the classic Windsor chair:

painted windsor chairs DIY Designer Chairs

source

Fabulous, no? The price of these designer Windsor chairs from Ola is a whopping $1250 each. Ouch. How hard would it be to paint your own for a similar, even completely custom look? Not hard at all. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Decor Addiction Tagged With: bargain, breakfast room, decor, design, dining chairs, dining room, diy, kpeterson, paint, painted chairs, target

Going to School with The Decorologist

January 30, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 25 Comments

DSC 3690 1 Going to School with The Decorologist In the part of the country where I live, there are many families who decide that homeschooling is the best option for their children. I have had multiple clients over the last few years who homeschool and have particularly challenging decorating dilemmas.

This particular family has been successfully educating their 5 children in their home for many years, but their surroundings had been less than inspiring. This is the front room of their home as it was before The Decorologist stepped in:

Before – Homeschool Room

It was lined with bookcases full of books and curricula, a few tables and chairs (most of which were too small for their growing children), and various toys and other items.

Before – Homeschool Room

Does Your Dining Room Need a Make-Under?

January 16, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 13 Comments

Although it’s a simple and small space, this dining room is a fresh and inviting place to share an intimate meal.

Simple and Elegant Dining Room

This was not always the case! This homeowner was looking for an interior decorator to give her a new perspective on this dining space, without breaking the bank. Rather than a makeover, this room really needed a make-under. This room was like a woman who wears make-up in such a way that all you notice is the make-up. Below, a make-under highlighted and enhanced this woman’s natural beauty:

Before and After “Make-Under”

The overdone make-up in this room includes the high-contrast colors, the brassy light fixture, and the showy window treatment.

Dining Room Before Design Intervention

By choosing a fresh, light color for the wall (vs. the dated pinky-beige) and painting out the area below the chair rail in trim color (white), the room appears less choppy and more elegant. By choosing simple panels that hang above and outside the windows, we revealed (rather than concealed) the beautiful view and natural light. Both of these changes put the focus on the inherent beauty of the architecture of the room (moulding and windows).

Dining Room After The Decorologist

The brassy light fixture got a make-under, as well. We didn’t replace it – it’s the same light fixture, only better. Here is the rather dated brass light fixture before:

Brassy Light Fixture

I had my clients take down the brass fixture, remove the glass hurricanes, and simply spray paint it before rehanging it. Just a can of metal primer and a can of metal finish spray paint in iron or oil-rubbed bronze – less than $10 for a whole new light fixture!

Updated Light Fixture

The showy window treatments, high-contrast color scheme, and brassy light fixture were distracting – now you notice the architecture of the room, the lovely view, and the special collection of dishes my client has collected. Next time you think your room needs a make-over, perhaps you should consider a make-under instead!

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: blue walls, brass fixture, chair rail, decorator, dining room, interior, makeover, painting brass, room, updating, window treatment

For the Love of Gilt and Downton Abbey

January 11, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 16 Comments

I bought this interesting coffee table for my living room at an estate sale a few months back for $85. I’ve been debating over what color to paint the base of it. I’ve been dying to try out the new Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, but couldn’t decide on a color. Off-white would be too predictable, black might be to much contrast for this room.

DSC 3446 For the Love of Gilt and Downton Abbey

So, I was watching the season premiere of Downton Abbey on PBS – did I mention I am OBSESSED with this show??? The sets and costumes are absolutely luscious. And the colors – oh, the colors! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Color Consultation, Decor Addiction Tagged With: annie sloan chalk paint, color, decorologist, dining chairs, dining room, downton abbey, furniture, gilt, gold, interiors, mismatched, paint, rooms

Ceiling Light Dilemmas: How’s It Hanging?

January 9, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 27 Comments

Don’t you wish builders would use a little forethought when they install ceiling light fixtures? Aargh. Most builders hang ceiling light fixtures in the dead center of each room. Is that where they should be hung? Not always.

source

Just because someone installed the light in the middle of the room doesn’t mean that’s where it SHOULD be. Yesterday, a reader sent me a FaceBook message: “When one installs a banquette in the dining room along one wall, pushes the table up to it, and aligns chairs at either end and the other side of the table, where does one hang the light fixture? Centered over the table or centered in the room?”

Breakfast Room in Southern Living Showhouse – photo by Kristie Barnett

Ceiling light fixtures should always hang dead-center on the most important architecture of the room. Like dead-center to the fireplace, where ideally your conversation area should be situated. Whenever possible, ceiling lighting should also be centered on windows and doors that are architecturally-significant.

source

If there is a bump-out in part of the room or if the room is L-shaped, that can change everything and needs to be considered in your interior lighting design. Particularly in a large or L-shaped room, you may need multiple ceiling lights hung over different areas of the room where seating or dining occur. If you don’t have this, you can easily hang your own ceiling light fixtures with long cords that can plug into the wall. There are lots of plug-in options in drum shade fixtures.

source

To answer my reader’s question: the ceiling fixture needs to hang over the dining or breakfast table rather than in the center of the room, unless you have a secondary ceiling light hanging over the table. If you can’t rehang or rewire the ceiling fixture, simply screw in a ceiling hook above your table and swag the fixture (you may need to add more chain). That’s how we solved the banquette dilemma in my own kitchen. See how the chain is swagged here?

The Decorologist’s Breakfast Nook for Gatherings Magazine

Your lighting should always be centered over your conversation or dining area. If not, your room will always look “off” no matter what you do. As much as I love the image of the room below, it doesn’t feel quite right because the table and light fixture aren’t centered on the fireplace. However, the fireplace is in an odd place in the room – which makes it impossible to center the table on the fireplace. In this case, the center of the table wins out over centering it on the fireplace.

source

So ultimately, the placement of conversational seating and your dining table should dictate where ceiling lights should hang. As part of good interior decorating, it may be worth having those fixtures moved so that your space feels “right.” Or you can try the ceiling hook method and swag the fixture where it needs to be. Either way, you’d be surprised what a difference it can make!

Filed Under: My Decorology Tagged With: breakfast nook, ceiling lights, dining room, drum shades, gatherings, hanging lights, interior decorating, kristie barnett, light fixtures, lighting, living room, southern living showhouse, the decorologist, where to hang lights

Serial Furniture Rearranging & Other Disorders

November 18, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 17 Comments

As many of you know, I switched out my living room and dining room a few months ago and enjoyed a change of scenery in my home. As the holidays approach, I decided I wanted enjoy the fireplace (sans books – see here what I’m talking about) so I switched them back.

That doesn’t mean my living room looks like it used to, since I traded sofas in the living and enclosed sleeping porch. This is where the red sofa used to sit: