February 21, 2018
15 Comments

Dining Room/Front Room Tour

I feel like technically this tour should also say “office” too because I actually work out of this room the most lately! I use our spare rooms as an office/craft storage space but it’s a lot easier to photograph in this front room with its big windows and I can spread out large projects on the dining table so that’s a big help too. Anyways, besides that, we love to use this room for parties since you have have all your food spread out on one side and a big sitting area right next to it. I never knew what a sitting room was before moving to the south, but I guess it’s just a room made to sit in so I think we are doing it properly?? I actually made that table 5 years ago (my first wood DIY ever) and it’s still holding up just fine! I painted it white a few years ago and gave the legs a gold spray paint treatment and it’s just a nice, simple table that feels sleek and clean. Those molded chairs are also great for all the crafts, cat hair, and baby stuff that’s happening in this space since you can wipe them down really easily which is a big plus. I also highly recommend a cowhide for a dining room—hard to stain (even this light colored one) super easy to clean food off of, and basically waterproof! I painted that sputnik fixture gold when we moved to give it a new life and I think I’ll basically like any 60’s or 70’s inspired light in a house (here’s a similar one)—they just feel way cooler to me. I made these wall planters for the space a while back but they are perfect for adding a little greenery to the walls. PRO TIP: I usually use faux plants in wall planters because trying to water wall plants can be a dripping nightmares so it’s usually waaay easier to go the faux route here.  Little vintage touches (like those brass swans) are my favorite thing to shop for… I’ve been keeping a lot of my glass collection on that buffet table, but as Lola gets more and more mobile, they will probably have to find a new home soon! I also just printed out that Bardot pic at Kinko’s on their blueprint machine and then made a simple custom frame for it. She’s been there for a bit sooo I may switch her out soon and probably for Robert Redford. I mean any day that goes by without looking at that face is a bit of a mistake if you ask me. This bar cart is due for some rearranging as well pretty soon! Maybe we should get a bar cart with cabinet doors we can lock (or maybe something up higher like this) to keep Lola from crashing all the bottles over. I think she likes anything that makes a loud sound so I see her eyeing up this bottom shelf lately…(“wild at heart” print from this shop). That tall cactus is hanging out inside for the winter! He lives outside in the summer, grows a ton, and then we bring him back in for hibernation. We had to cut off a foot from the top this year just to get him in the door! He was only about 3 feet tall less than two years ago so it’s super crazy how big he is. For a little room refresh, I got this amazing flat weave rug from Arro Home (love that company!). We have another one of their rugs in the den and they are great for Lola to crawl around and play on since you can roll balls and toys around on the rug without them getting stuck on anything. That pink linen ottoman is also great for extra seating in this area and it’s a soft item that Lola can pull up on and practice her standing skills.

I love large scale prints and all the colors and chill vibe in that ocean print—the mint is perfect for my color palette. I’ve been drooling over those pink eye pillows ever since I saw them in some other home photos online—they are just too cute! They are also velvet which feels super plush and it’s nice to have some round pillows for shape variation as well. That sofa is actually a sleeper sofa which is great for us since we don’t have a lot of space but we can close the doors to this front area and then guest can have the whole space to themselves (and the bed is really comfy too).  It’s good to have an Instax out for parties or just to capture an everyday moment—I love the little collection we’ve gathered over the years. That awesome neon print is a Jeff Mindell photo (used by permission) and I’ll take neon signs or photos anywhere I can get them! We have a real neon in the den, but prints can totally give off that real neon vibe too. That little Palm Springs house is actually a scratch house I made for the cats! It’s still one of my favorite things I’ve ever made. I loooove it.  Our cats hang out in this room most afternoons and take lots of naps on the rug during sunny days (although not a lot of those this winter!). That cocktail table is so pretty but the edges hold all the crumbs and dust in like crazy—you have to vacuum them out to get it clean! Still, I love the gold details though. Love that simple photo display. And look how little Lola is!! That phone cutout was a 70’s advertisement I found in a vintage shop. I just keep moving it around the house because it’s too good not to display somewhere.                                     Lola’s shirt/ Enfants Cheris, Lola’s pants/ Efaster

Overall this is just a warm friendly room that makes me happy to hang out in or have breakfast in on a Saturday morning (you can see what this room looked like when we first moved in). We also have been purposely eating dinner as a family at the dinner table every night (even if the other half is covered with my work projects). I want to get Lola used to that habit so we started it as soon as she began solid food and we’ve only had a few nights where we haven’t done it (up until then we’ve always eaten dinner at our coffee table in front of the tv—guilty!!). We still have a few small changes to create a “Lola-proof” environment as she grows (like move out or create a barrier around that cactus for one), but she’s pretty cute as you can see so it’s worth any change we have to make 🙂

xo. Laura

15 thoughts on “Dining Room/Front Room Tour

  1. JEANNE ERICKSON

    So pretty! Love all the pink accents (wish my hubs would let me paint a wall pink! haha!). I have that same little faux snake plant/planter stand from Target, too. Thanks for sharing – super inspiring!

    Reply
  2. Amber Lehman

    Love it all! I have the massive beach print in my dining room too. It’s amazing and our four year old is always noticing new things while he is eating dinner :). One question: do you know what kind of cactus that is? I have a big deck I’m trying to screen off w plants in the warm months, and that guy would look so cool out there. Keep up the great work!!

    Reply
    1. thebandwifeblog Post author

      I wish I knew! If you see one that looks similar though, it’s probably the same, it’s just a 5 pointed tall star shape basically!

      Laura 🙂

      Reply
  3. Stacy

    Your neon print idea is genius! I have been wanting a custom neon sign, but because of all the words in the quote it would be a little pricey lol. Trying to think of a way I can somehow do a print instead!

    Reply
  4. TK

    I must know what the name of that pink paint!!! Between this area and Lola’s nursery, I can’t decide which room is my favorite. Everything is just goals?

    Reply
    1. thebandwifeblog Post author

      It was bought a long time ago so I don’t know! It’s a sputnick style so I would search for that!

      Laura

      Reply

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