I am transforming this tiny dining room for the One Room Challenge, which is an important room to my client. Since there is not an eat-in kitchen in this historic home, nor is it the trendy open plan, he wanted the dining room to be a place where he could entertain his friends and family comfortably. A place where they could linger. A room that would become the heart of the home.
Emphasizing the heart of the home even further, my client wanted to use some sentimental family furniture pieces in the dining room and restore a set of Jacobean-esque dining chairs and table, circa 1920-30's, that had been stored away for many years.
Quirky and unique, this antique furniture deserved to get a little TLC.
Stripped and naked.
Ready for the stain finish...and some cushy seats covered in a new Crypton linen-like upholstery.
Table top set up in the finish room for second coat of stain.
Gorgeous! Place your dinner plate and glass of champagne on that!
Even though this is somewhat of a formal dining room setting, I am keeping the palette simple with pale blue hues and natural tones, but heavy on the textural features developing a restrained look, which is casually elegant and sophisticated.
Grasscloth in cornflower blue on the upper walls, an ombre beaded chandelier centered over the refinished antique table, cane and rattan accent furnishings, and botanical motifs are some of the pieces that will create a most inviting room for dining and savoring delicious dinners.
As you may remember from my previous post, there is only one window in this room since the former home owners had added on a bedroom and bathroom, eliminating two windows.
Because of this, I am taking advantage of this single window and dressing it up in a beautiful linen fabric screen printed in the United Kingdom, in an artful, leafy, stylized botanical print by F. Schumacher & Co.
However, I did not want traditional drapery panels. As always, I had to mix it up. I did a reverse pleat - more tailored and contemporary - with each panel being placed on the sides of the window, not eliminating any natural light, but adding a lovely, flowing texture to the otherwise very tailored room.
It was such fun working with my drapery designer in her workroom. She is a dear. Details are so important in the design process and she is always receptive to my sometimes a little unusual and not so common in the Deep South design ideas. After these beautifully constructed panels were sewn (her work is impeccable), I made a phone call and told her that I had another idea.
Which was...adding a mother of pearl button (or two) on the inverted pleat seam. We played with these pretty shells and placed them on top of each other in random ways. We even selected the color thread for these buttons, which is a small detail that many would not consider.
Details do make the design and there are so many more to share in this project. Please continue to follow along weekly here on my blog, Italian Girl in Georgia. Behind-the-scenes work-in-progress photos and videos are featured on my Instagram stories, and updates during the week in between my blog posts on my Instagram feed, @suzannemaccronerogers.
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Next post October 22nd.
