Dining Room Plans

We're still in the thick of painting and nowhere near actually getting furniture in here, buuuuuut I wanted to put together a little round up of what I'm hoping to do in the dining room! (Patience never was my strength.)

As a refresher, here is the "Before" shot of our dining room. (This is the photo from the real estate listing.)

And below is a roundup of my plans for this lovely room. The chandelier is definitely staying (link to a similar chandelier), and I've purchased the following:

Wall paint color (Tornado Season by Behr) | Mid-century expandable dining table (West Elm) | Copley upholstered dining chairs (Target) | Classic cafe walnut dining chairs (West Elm) | Aragon indoor/outdoor area rug (Target) 

A few notes on my design choices:

• Paint: I wanted the dining room to be my "statement" room on the main level. Most of the house will be painted a light grey, but "Tornado season" will pack a punch in our dining room. We get a lot of great natural light in this room from those lovely windows, so hopefully it won't feel too dark. We've painted the trims white using this Behr enamel. 
• Dining table: I wanted a dining table that was simple but attractive. And something not so trendy that it'll be outdated by next winter. AND I wanted to have a table that was expandable and could seat 10-12 when fully expanded. I'm thinking ahead here for holidays, family dinners, etc. (A few more thoughts on the table below.) I ordered the table over Labor Day weekend, but we won't get it until mid-October.
• Dining chairs: To be honest, my ideal chairs would've been upholstered, but we plan to have kids someday and want to make sure our home design choices are family-friendly from the get-go. So we went with eight of these cafe walnut chairs along the sides and the two grey upholstered chairs for the ends of the table. Since we won't have the table for a few more weeks, it'll be a little while before I know if this will all work together, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
• Rug: I chose an indoor/outdoor rug for the same reason I chose non-upholstered chairs: practicality for use with future babies. Outdoor rugs are (theoretically) much easier to clean. I also like the color and pattern the rug brings in to the room without being TOO busy.

*A note about the table:

After I ordered the table, I felt like I was seeing it everywhere, and I worried I had chosen a table that was already TOO trendy! Exhibits A and B:

From actors Bitsie Tulloch and David Giuntoli's home tour on Apartment Therapy

From LaTonya Yvette's home tour on Cup of Jo

But then I decided that perhaps this was evidence in support of my table choice! I love how both families have made the table their own and have created completely different looks/feels, just by having different dining chairs. So in ten years, when I'm craving a dining room refresh, I can switch out the chairs, and it'll be a whole new dining room!

Just for fun, here is how Emily Henderson used the same rug I chose for our dining room in a living room makeover:

Image is from this living room makeover

Now, we just need to:

• Paint (ha.)
• Find window treatments (I'm leaning towards sheer white curtains to preserve the natural light, but I'm open to other suggestions!)
• Figure out a china hutch situation (I'd love to have a built-in buffet/hutch someday (something like this or this), but in the meantime, I might make over a hutch we already own.)
• Decide what else will go on the walls.
• Count down the days until West Elm calls to tell me my dining table has arrived.
• The chandelier is attached to the ceiling within its own little recessed space (I don't have a good photo to show this right now.). If we're feeling ambitious, we've considered using this tutorial to do a little ceiling stenciling in that space. Maybe something art deco-inspired, like this?

If you happen to have any brilliant suggestions or tips, I definitely welcome them in the comments! 

Under Contract!

Just in time to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, we went under contract on our first house!!

The real estate market in the Salt Lake area is insane right now, with home prices, interest rates, and demand for homes on the rise, with no sign of letting up soon. Even though the market isn't favorable to sellers right now, we felt like we needed to be looking. We were in no rush, since we are just fine in our duplex, and we have a spare bedroom, which means we could even live here with a kid or two down the road. We set a deadline of July 21st (our one-year anniversary) and decided that if we didn't find a house by then, we'd take a break from house hunting for a while.

Well, we submitted an offer on Friday, we received a counter-offer on Saturday (our anniversary!), and we went under contract on Sunday. It all happened so fast! It's still not a done deal, of course, and we won't necessarily get the house, but we are excited to even be in the game, and I wanted to make sure I documented it.

Today, we scheduled a home inspection and found a title company we want to work with. Keep your fingers crossed for us during the next 30 days! 💓

Apartment Update: Living Room Progress

It's officially summer (though I haven't been to a baseball game yet, so is it really summer??), and I can't even explain how lovely it is to not deal with East Coast humidity! I miss DC, but I definitely don't miss the weather this time of year. Utah summers for the win!

I actually started out this post with the intention of writing about a lot more than just my apartment, but it was taking me a while to get through even just the living room part of this, soooo here goes...

The good news is I'm definitely starting to feel more settled in my apartment. It's amazing what NOT living out of boxes can do to make a place feel like home! I think I've settled on my living room furniture arrangement, and I'm actually pretty proud of the little space I've put together. (Though in full disclosure, I've eliminated two of the throw pillows on the couch since this photo was taken, and I've added a wooden catch-all tray to the left of the TV (though I may change my mind on this. TBD; the suspense!) and a vintage green desk lamp to the right of the TV. I just googled how much these lamps sell for, and geez, the $5 I paid at the DI for my lamp was a friggin' STEAL! There's also a floor lamp riiiight in front of the AC window unit (you can sort of see the pole just to the left of the unit) with a yellow/turquoise floral lampshade from Target. I've had both the lamp and the shade since DC, so I don't have links for them.)

Check it out so far:

And just for fun, here's where everything is from –

Wayfair.com

Have you heard of Wayfair.com?

I ordered my bed from them last fall, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd been searching Craigslist, Goodwill and other thrift stores, local furniture stores, heck, even Freecycle... looking for the bed of my dreams. Apparently, the entire DC metro area was devoid of such a bed. :(

Enter Wayfair.

I've always liked the look of wrought-iron, but those can often be pretty pricy! I found this little bed via Walmart, courtesy of Wayfair, and I LOVED the look of it! I was nervous to order such a big-ticket item online (What if I hated it? What if it looked nothing like the photo? What if I had to ship it back??), but thankfully, it worked out. The quality of the bed isn't high-end by any means (you get what you pay for, right?), but the price was right, and I just think it's so pretty! (I mean, I'm single, people. If I don't have a super girly bed right now, then when? Actually, to be honest, I was trying to NOT go so girly with this bed, but it just worked out that way. :) )

My biggest complaint is the bed didn't come with instructions, but my amazing roommate Kathryn helped me figure it out and put it together. I added bed lifts for a little more height (and under-the-bed storage space!), and I couldn't have been more pleased with how my bed turned out!

October 13: I recently bought a new #bed, and I'm #obsessed! 😍 It's so much harder to get up in the mornings. 😛 #lovetober

A photo posted by yándary (@utahgirlami) on Oct 13, 2014 at 6:30am PDT

A few months after I got my bed all set up in DC, I decided to move back to Utah! :-/

Somehow, in the moving process, I lost TWO of the four legs to this bed, and needless to say, I was SO, SO bummed!

In a stroke of genius one day, it occurred to me to call Wayfair to see if they could sell me just the two missing legs. The manufacturer was a different company, so Wayfair gave me their phone number, and I checked with the company (Williams Imports). I spent almost two weeks trying to reach someone there, and NO ONE ever called me back. I called Wayfair again, shared my dilemma, and they took care of contacting the manufacturer for me and even sent me the missing legs at no cost. I can't speak highly enough of their customer service, and that alone will guarantee I'll be a return customer! They were kind, gracious, they kept me informed on the status of the legs via phone calls and emails, and I couldn't believe they didn't even charge me!

The missing parts arrived last week, and my dad came over last night to help me put the bed together in my new apartment. YAY!!


Here's what it looks like in my SLC apartment! (Looks a lot like it did in DC, eh? ;) Except you can see more of the actual bed frame in this shot!)

Feeling #grateful today to live close to family again and for my sweet dad who came from 30 miles away after a long day of work (he gets up at 4am every day) just to help me put my #bed together. 😊 #blessed #wayfair

A photo posted by yándary (@utahgirlami) on Jun 9, 2015 at 8:19am PDT

Time to move on to the living room! (My couch will be delivered tomorrow!)

Speaking of which, I'm considering one of these rugs from Wayfair. I'm not sure yet what I'm looking for rug-wise. I figure I'll get the couch and move furniture around and then see what colors I want to bring in via rugs, curtains, throw pillows, wall art, etc.

Any thoughts on these five for now?

Rug 1 | Rug 2 | Rug 3 | Rug 4 | Rug 5 

PS The rest of my bedding is from Target (gray body pillow, gray/white bed skirt (not pictured), sheets (sold out, not pictured)), HomeGoods (throw pillows; the pink one is from the little girls' section! ALWAYS look in the kids' section! It's a great place for throw pillows, storage baskets, accent items, etc. even select furniture items! And HUUUUGE thanks to Michelle for turning me on to HomeGoods!!! <3), Dillard's (light pink shams – I've actually had these for years, so no link), and Walmart – I know, right?? (BHG cherry blossom comforter set; what can I say? It reminded me of DC!).

PPS I'm not a fan of matching bedding sets, which is why none of these items came as a set. I picked items I liked in neutrals or complementary colors, so when I decide to switch out my comforter someday, I'll still be able to use most of these basic pieces. :)

The Great Couch Search of 2015

So, I moved in to my new apartment a few weeks ago, and I've been spending nearly all my free time shopping, thrifting, yard sale-ing, and generally hunting for furniture and those key pieces to help me turn my house into a home. (Two weekends ago, my mom, brothers, and I did a DI Tour of the Wasatch Front: we started in Ogden – Harrisville, technically – and made our way to EVERY DI, Savers, and Goodwill between Ogden and Sandy. It was amazing! Our favorites were definitely the Centerville and Murray DI's, in case you were wondering.)

The biggest ticket item I've been looking for is a COUCH! I've been researching online, searching for inspiration on Pinterest, and looking on KSL, Craigslist, etc., but I was struggling to find what I was looking for. So I made a Google doc and asked Facebook for help. I then spent the day texting and emailing with girlfriends across the country (thanks, ladies!), and I'm SO happy to announce I FINALLY bought a couch last night!! I'm a little nervous, because I bought it online and didn't get a chance to sit on it beforehand, but the online reviews were pretty positive, so I think it'll be OK. :)

Below, is the info that was on my Google doc, but if you want to just scroll to the very end, you'll see the couch I ended up with. ;)

(more after the jump!)

Reading Now: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

OK, this is not an Austin, Part 2 post (but don't worry; I haven't forgotten!). It is a post about the book I'm reading right now.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

I've heard a lot about this book, and since I'm in the process of organizing my apartment right now, I figured it was a perfect time to read it. I'm about half-way done, and I've already started KonMari-ing my stuff! (The KonMari method is the name of the method/lifestyle Marie Kondo teaches in this book.) The basic premise is to only keep things that "spark joy," and it's been kind of fun to look at my belongings and find an emotional connection with them. For the items you decide not to keep, you're supposed to thank each of them for serving you well, and then you're free to send them on their way, either to be donated or chucked. I know it sounds super dorky, but I like it! And "thanking" each item kind of makes it easier to part ways. It's also nice that the only rule for deciding what to keep is that it "sparks joy." I've always wanted a closet where I absolutely LOVE and feel confident wearing every single piece, and I'm sure having my entire home feel this way would be amazing! Plus, as an INFJ, I can appreciate making decisions emotionally, so maybe that's why this is working well for me. :)

Though, OK, sometimes the practical side of me struggles. For example, on Monday, I KonMari'd my way through my dresses/work tops, and there was one particular dress... I left it in my closet, because it's cute, it's in good condition, it has pockets, it fits me well... But it didn't spark joy. Even still, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it, because I actually need (OK, want) more work dresses. I went through a pencil skirts + blouses phase a few years ago, but right now, I'm really into dresses. You put on ONE thing, and you're done! No need to mix and match and coordinate tops and bottoms. One and done! Genius! 

Back to the dress... I left it in my closet, but it's been nagging me all week. I think at some point during the work day yesterday, I thought to myself, "That green dress doesn't spark joy." So when I got home last night, I put it in my donation pile.

I only wish I'd read this book sooner, because I've already filled up TWO big Ikea tote bags (clothing swap, anyone?), and I'm not even done organizing my clothes yet! (I thought I had PURGED my belongings before I left DC, but if I had Kon-Mari'd then, maybe I would've had more room in the UHaul for some of the furniture I left behind... :( sniff...) Who knows how much I'll get rid of by the time I finish the rest of my house! 

Wish me luck with the rest of the book/KonMari-ing! Here's hoping I don't end up with only three things to wear all summer! 😳

I am Not a Witch- Campaign Furniture DIY

I am not a witch.

Political jokes aside, I am also not "crafty." (Some background on my lame joke: my roommate is very artsy and crafts-y, but she thinks when people tell her she's crafty, it sounds like she's a witch. Ha ha.)

But I am thrifty (and maybe also cheap?). And lately, I've been seeing all sorts of DIY websites and blogs online with regard to home decor and crafts and things. So... after miraculously coming across my new (to me) desk and dresser for my new room, I took to the Internets for inspiration. I came across some surprising information. Apparently, this style of furniture is called "campaign furniture." (So fitting, no? :) ) And... it's worth some monies. According to Nifty Thrifty, this stuff sells online for  $a lot (!!) and is undervalued by Craigslist sellers. Look how CRAZY the price is for THIS dresser!!

My set started out royal blue and looked like this:

Perfect color for a 7-year old boy, but certainly not for me!

I started sanding/taping/painting the day I got the furniture but didn't have enough time to finish. I made the mistake of buying the cheapie spray paint from Walmart (Don't buy it! It did NOT work!), and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong... Luckily, my roommate and her boyfriend are pretty crafty people, and they saved me with better paint (courtesy of our local hardware store. Support your local, small businesses, peeps!) and sound advice.

Unfortunately, since I'm sort of juggling three jobs + school + you know, normal life stuff right now, I didn't get a chance to finish this project 'til the night before I moved. I stayed up 'til 3am painting and taping and such, and let me tell you, it's really hard to see what you're doing when you're painting outside by moonlight.

Some "during" shots:

I stood them up this way, because it was easier for me tor spray paint them horizontally.

Dry drawers + touchups the next morning

I may or may not have finished painting these a few hours before moving.

All the blue = spots I missed while painting at 3am.

Now they look like this:

Not done fixing my room, but at least the furniture is all in here!

Ooops! I forgot to put back one of the desk drawers. Heh.

Not perfect, but better than before. I'm actually quite pleased with how they turned out. Not too bad for my first attempt at being "crafty," eh?

Lessons learned from this project: 

1. Don't buy the cheap spray paint.
2. When attempting crafty things, having friends who are already crafty is extremely important!
3. Buying spray paint from your local hardware store = good for everyone.
4. Spray paint goes on better if the surface is horizontal, rather than vertical (ie- I had to turn the dresser on its side in order to spray paint the sides flat.)
5. If I can do something crafty, ANYONE can! Maybe one day when I actually have "spare time," I'll do some other "crafty" things. :)

For some more campaign furniture DIY's, click here, here, here, and here. To turn your Ikea "cheapies" (Ikea is expensive, y'all!!) into "campaigners," click here.

And to learn more about the history and current "trendiness" of this style of furniture, click here.