Anna's Dining Room

Hey guys. You know what's cool about writing stuff and publishing it to the world wide web? Well, first it's pretty great that about a couple dozen people read it (thanks, Relatives!) and a handful non-relateds read it too. Meet some of the non-relateds, Anna & Kole and their little kiddos, Atticus & Sophia. Let's all do a collective sigh over this beautiful family, shall we? And they're just as kind & cool as they are good-looking. We gathered our families together over dessert and tea & Anna asked if I'd be willing to give her some input & ideas for her home.   Anna & the fam live in a Victorian across town. One little factoid about me is that I love Victorian homes. They're so stately with their high ceilings, tall windows, beautiful moldings & trim work and man--all that natural light flooding the rooms is just amazing. 

Anna's dining room is the first room you walk into off the front entrance. It has three gorgeous tall windows, fresh paint, a pretty chandelier, neutral wood floor, crisp woodwork and a newly installed wainscot wall. She's also got a perfectly-scaled table and chairs in the room, a skinny console table against the wall and a piece of artwork (shown below) that she is trying out.  The dining room already has so much going for it. High five, Anna. 

Anna really digs Emily Henderson's style, particularly her use of oil paintings & vintage finds but also appreciates a the occasional splash of Amber Lewis' bohemian vibe. In other words, Anna & I are style besties. We talked through mirror & art options/placement & furniture. There's a couple special considerations about Anna's dining room:           -it's the first room a guest walks into and it should feel inviting, not cramped           -she has two little kiddos & some storage needs           -table is multi-functional for art projects, homework, etc.           -there's not a lot of walking room around the table, so any furniture needs a very slim profile           -Anna has a console table in the dining room already, but it doesn't add any storage and             the base doesn't allow for baskets to easily tuck underneath Here's a couple interesting design quandaries that I wrestled with:           -is it weird to have oil paintings/framed photography of people you don't know? (Maybe-                 depends on if I feel connected to the work).           -would I want to look at myself in a mirror while slurping spaghetti at dinner? (No, unless I am                   having a really great hair day).           -would I want to hang a mirror on the wall to reflect light from the windows, even if it's too                  high to use as a functional mirror? (Maybe).           -should a floor mirror be used as a glorious statement piece even through it wouldn't add any              storage to the room? (Hmmm....) The practical side of me won out in this situation. I nixed the glorious floor mirror idea because it takes up too space without adding storage. I added a rug with a banded border to add the cozy factor and offset it from the wood floor. I sourced some vintage oil paintings and found a couple console table options that have a slim profile and add storage.  Here's plan A. The mirror's grid adds interest and some curves to a room with mostly straight angles. The brass finish on the sconces, console hardware and mirror add that collected, vintage vibe. And the artwork remind me of Anna & her family. And that bust vase is entirely non-functional, but I like the bit of funk it adds, like a really fancy chia pet.
Sources: paint//light//vertical landscape//flourish print//oil portrait//horizontal landscape//family painting//sconces//mirror//bust vase//console//rug//basket//table (similar)//leather parson chair (similar)//upholstered parson chair (similar) In Plan B, I switched out the mirror & console options. This console adds storage and ties into the reclaimed vibe of the dining table. The mirror above is fresh and crisp enough to keep the room from feeling too old: paint//light//vertical landscape//flourish print//oil portrait//horizontal landscape//family painting//sconces//mirror//bust vase//console//rug//basket//table (similar)//leather parson chair (similar)//upholstered parson chair (similar) In Plan B's room, I may even scatter some of the artwork on the mirror/console wall to add more interest, along the lines of this:

via

I could cozy up in either of these rooms. Which is your favorite?