My dining room is more of a “dining room” since there really isn’t a separate room for said dining experience. In reality, my dining room chairs are approximately 10 inches from the back of my living room furniture – and that’s when they are tucked in under the table. But this is a first home, right? And this is DC, right? And this is a pre-war mini-townhouse, right?

Right.

It’s supposed to be small, it’s packed with character, so I do what I can to take the space I have and make it functional yet lovely. I guess that would be the theme of all my décor and decorating – function yet lovely. I don’t really have the space here to just be lovely with what I buy and do, so everything has to have a purpose beyond just being lovely.

The dining room, however, did come together nicely.

Table: This table is about 10 years old. I remember my mom buying it when they moved back to Michigan and I stayed in Ohio to finish high school, or somewhere soon after that when she re-did that kitchen. The chairs that go to the table have a nice tan fabric and are a little more modern in their shape than you might expect just looking at the actual table. I have always loved this table, though, and through another move and two more houses, have always asked my parents to keep this for me someday – thank goodness they did!

Chairs: I found these chairs when I found the white little table in my living room. They were already painted white, but very dirty even showing some spills and probably food on them. Also, an icky (and dirty) fabric over the seats. I repainted all of the chairs with a bright white paint, and recovered the seats with a heavy silver upholstery, put them with the table and they seemed to really get along!

Window Treatment: You’ll notice in later posts that I have carried the same dotted window treatment on all the windows in the general living area. Brown with green, teal, and yellow dots.

Mirror: I put this mirror on the back wall to try to help the space seem longer than it is. It reflects the little bit of light I get in this room, and generally helps with the depth of the room. I got it from a wonderful entrepreneur I know, Cassie, who owns Primitive & Proper in Maryland. If you’re in the area and like refurbished furniture, she is wonderful to work with, has very reasonable prices, and incredibly creative ideas and pieces.

Hanging Votive: I can’t remember where I picked this up, but probably Anthropologie. I hung it in the dining room for a few reasons. First, I wanted to anchor that cornver with something a little fancy so it gave brought something to the “room.” Second, the ceilings in the house are low and textured so I wanted to draw the eye up to see where it’s hanging from. It’s just a little accent, but going back to my functional yet lovely theme, it has a design purpose besides just hanging around!

So now you know about my dining space. Next post we’ll move through another part of the downstairs, and in the meantime, let me know when you can come over and have a meal with me at the table!