One of the details I loved about this 1970s house when we first looked at it was the doors leading to the dining room. It’s one of those architectural details you don’t usually find in newer homes. But. a house built in 1970 is bridging the formality of homes in the first half of the 20th century (with front and back entrances, rooms for guests and entertaining, and ones strictly for practicality, etc.) and the modern, open floorplans that became popular through the 1970s and 80s. I love that this home leaned a bit more into old-fashioned choices along with upgrades that were modern for the time.
The doors are just slab doors, but I painted them Card Room Green and added (instead of cabinet knobs) and they look so sweet.
I still need to paint the dining room walls (they are just primed at this point) and give the ceiling a fresh coat of paint, but I couldn’t resist cleaning up the room and setting up some pictures. The dining room has been the dumping ground since we moved in. It was the family room while the floors in the studio, family/living room, and primary bedroom were being installed. It was the makeshift kitchen while the kitchen renovation was happening. And, in between all of that, it was storage for displaced furniture, piles of books, and newly arrived packages. This room has just never had its time to look pretty yet! So, as I was cleaning up the sewing machines and fabric from our recent sewing projects, I gave it a good cleaning and played around with the accessories a bit.
The chairs and table were a $40 Facebook Marketplace find we picked up a couple of days before Christmas. The table top is a little rough and all of the chairs needed some attention to make them sturdy, but I just love the look of this set. We have used it for family dinners, school projects, sewing projects, playing games, and assembling puzzles. I’m not going to refinish it or cover the chairs, because it’s just a placeholder, but it gave me the chance to look at sets at my own pace and not feel rushed into buying something that wasn’t quite right. $40 is less than what it costs to get dinner out for the four of us, so we figured it was worth the purchase and it certainly has been. And a tablecloth covers a multitude of deficiencies!
I actually found a great set that is right up my alley and I will likely pick it up tomorrow, but we’ll see. When we do have the right set, I will be giving this one away. I feel like we got our $40 worth. So if you’re local and interested, let me know!
I bought the antique glass-front cabinet from Ekster Antiques last fall and it is one of my favorite pieces. You can read about that HERE.
I decided to make the dining room the “portrait” room. Three of the portraits are master studies I painted and the painting of the young boy is an antique from the French Art Shop. The chandelier has been with me for years and was $4.00 at a yard sale.
I’m still figuring out the corners of this room, but for now, I have an antique clock and a Victorian easel holding a print I recently bought for the frame. I’ll eventually put one of my paintings or an antique painting on the easel. I’m still considering making this room a dining room/library, but I’m glad I’m moving slowly with this space.
Here are a few different views around the room as it is now…
The other corner of the room is still stacked with frames but I will get those cleaned up this week, so I can show the small oak cabinet we moved there from the former “mudroom.”
The tablecloth and pillows are from JSH Home Essentials. They offer beautiful fabrics, papers, linens, and other home decor products. I just love their prints!
The placemats are from Red Ticking. They don’t currently officially sell online, but you can reach out on their Instagram page if you see a product you are interested in purchasing. They showed these mats in their shop and I absolutely loved the texture!
I can’t tell you how much fun it was for me to set a table for a photo shoot again. It’s been a long time and I’ve missed it. I also told Jeff we were not going to rip out the bushes on the side of the house that produces these branches. I think they are Abelia bushes. They need a lot of pruning, but their branches have been so perfect for photo styling this summer! We’ll prune them way back in early spring, which will make them look nicer and should help them be even more prolific.
Anyway, I had fun clipping and arranging branches, picking through my linens, and selecting the tableware I wanted to use.
One thing that I’m really enjoying about the kitchen renovation is how it opened the sightlines in the house. I don’t want a wide-open floorplan, but I don’t want the house to feel closed-off and maze-like either. With the walls up in the laundry and kitchen areas, it felt like a bit of a maze if you weren’t familiar with the house simply because you couldn’t see into other rooms. Now, you can see into the dining room, family room, and hallway from the kitchen. It provides great decorating opportunities to create scenes through doorframes, which is one of my favorite things to do.
As the weather cools, I’m going to start painting the exterior of the house (just the trim and aluminum siding) and then I’ll start painting the dining room and living room/family room…
33 Responses
Very, very nice! You should have a glorious sense of accomplishment.
Give me your take on the direction your design style is going? I’ve been reading your blog for years and I’m seeing a change but I’m not sure how to describe it.
Oh, good question! I think growing as an artist has started to inform my decorating. I’m more interested in creating eclectic rooms with lots of original art on the wall and interesting things to look at. It’s perhaps a bit more layered than my previous homes.
One thing I love in both homes and gardens is the “long view.” You want to be able to see far down an axis and have a specific focal point for the eye to land. This can make both houses and gardens seem larger than they are. It is a great way to use cherished or interesting objects to be the place where the eye lands!
I would call your style “Sentimental Decor” which is my favorite. Things that have a story, a purpose and meaningful.
Your home is lovely. It’s fun to see some of the decor from your last house in a new space. Looking forward to seeing what you paint your exterior.
I love how your dining room has come together. Love a tablecloth on a table. I saw plates like yours recently at a flea market. They were 4 for $120. I about fell out.
That glass-front cabinet is drool-worthy!
I love seeing all of your things come to life. Thank you for sharing you with us!
Lovely, as usual. And the idea of a portrait room is definitely appealingly eclectic. Have you given any thought to teaching portraiture? Now that is an oil class I would love to take!
I believe you have the most beautiful taste and the best luck on finding just the right pieces. This is a gorgeous space and I hope you all have the best and happiest time here.
Love all the beautiful details in this room, especially the art. One thing about Albelia, it grows on new wood so don’t wait too long to prune it in the spring. Prune it very early spring or late winter.
Maybe hang a nice chunky tassel on the brass doorknobs…
It’s all coming together and is very lovely. The idea of gallery walls reminds me of MFA in Boston. Very European and it evokes a warming kind of feeling when I stand in that kind of space. Very nice idea, indeed. Have you considered molding or maybe faux bois on your dining room doors? Just wondering. Your knobs look so lovely on those doors btw.
Yes, I actually have considered doing a tromp l’oeil trim on that as well as other slab doors we have in the house, but I have much bigger fish to fry before I start getting into that sort of detail. 😅
Marian, it’s just stunning! Love how the room feels so nostalgic….almost like you can imagine a family dining there 100 years ago. I’m an antique nut so I appreciate the pieces that you use and collect. You have such an eye!
I agree with a previous comment that your style is changing. Of course we normally change with time, seasons, fads, trends, but you always seemed to stay true to your classic style. I see colonial, French and eclectic which fits that 1970s home. All the changes look fabulous.
We have 2 types of Abelia, one is pruned after blooming and the other in the spring. Check variety before pruning, we missed one season of blooms by thinking they were the same!
We pruned one last spring to see what would happen (I think we have 7-8 of them in a hedge) and it did bloom. It wasn’t as prolific as the ones that weren’t pruned, but I would feel comfortable pruning them back to get them to a better size and shape. Right now, they are very overgrown and there is a lilac bush behind the semicircle hedge that has grown taller than the house. Everything just needs to be pruned way back and cleaned up so it can look beautiful and thrive again.
This is one of my favorite posts since you moved into this house and I think you nailed the reason: “scenes through doorframes.” Those were always my favorite views of your other homes and I’ve been longing to see such views in this new home! It now officially looks like yours, and I just love the direction you’re going.
So pretty! I wish I lived close enough to take the table and chairs off your hands, but alas, it’s not to be. Also, the tablecloth is so sweet!
Lovely dining room! And I am placing my vote for a library in the dining room (when you get around to that phase). With lots of art of course!
Marion your 1970 home Reno has been an adventure that has had lovely surprises. I look forward to seeing it all unfold a piece at a time but based on your wonderful book Feels Like Home how to determine statement pieces, focal points etc. There is just so much to take in. I love it!
Yor dining room looks beautiful ! I have decorated my walls with my needlework dating back to the 60s (I am so glad I dated every piece). Also original prints of all the places I have visited over the years. So now that I am not traveling I can enjoy all those beautiful places thru those prints. I always bought a print, a book, a hat and a dish which are hung on my walls. And maybe a pitcher that was turned by a local potter and many from Bennington Pottery in VT. They do a pretty blue.
Your home and dining room are so beautiful! You are so talented! Would you mind sharing where you got the diamond print rug in the dining room? I love it!
Well, shoot! I always thought your family room was my favorite room of your 70’s house, but this dining room just knocks my socks off. I have been sitting here looking at the pictures for 2 days, trying to pinpoint the exact words to describe what I see and feel. It’s fresh without being trendy (thankfully!!). It is classic and warm, with colors and textures perfectly balanced. And for me personally, the big draw is the dark woods, matched with light walls and table decor. This is my favorite dining room, out of all 3 of your homes. More please, and quickly!! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us. (Our 1976 ranch had those same 2 doors between the kitchen and dining ‘area’. I removed them, seeing them as a block to traffic in and out of the kitchen to the dining table. And it works for us; like you, I use the dining table for sewing, some computer work, and holding board meetings and holiday dinners. I’m surprised the floor is not worn down from all the traffic. )
I love this room, every last detail. I’m so happy you took the time to style it for the blog. You are one of my absolute favorite designers and it’s amazing the bargains you find and make beautiful. Thank you.
Karen B.
Your dining room is coming along nicely. I’m interested to see what direction you go in with the table and chairs.
I’ve always enjoyed your tablescapes – it’s something I like doing when I have company for dinner.
Where did you get those water goblets/wine glasses? They are exactly what I’ve been looking for. The proportions are perfect.
I love that you kept the doors- even slab. Painted gives them a better look, I could see you doing a scene on them- like movable paintings. Love the iteration your style is moving in this house, Its great you let each house speak to you rather than forcing something that isn’t going to work. The kitchen is an amazing improvement and feels very in keeping with the house, actually more than the previous chopped up floor plan.
It all looks so cozy and charming! You really have a great eye for where to place things on your walls. I love seeing how you are transforming this house!
Would love to see the floor plan. As a « logistics » person it is hard to picture the flow and views just by the words.
Sorry if you’re already stated this elsewhere — but that rug!! Do you mind sharing a source if still available? Also, the texture for little kids — good idea or bad idea? I’ve been looking for that pattern & color for my sons room.
My fave post in ages! Love the art direction in there which makes me plead with you to do a library dining room! All moody and such!!