Dining Rooms

Mr. B and I started 2014 by feverishly house hunting.  Though we saw lots of great options, we ultimately put it on hold for a few months, as we felt not quite ready to pull the trigger.

But that hasn’t stopped me from obsessively mentally decorating our future home- when we get there, I want to be ready!  I’m particularly excited at the idea of one day having a dining room. Right now, our counter doubles as a bar, and when guests are over, I pull out a folding table.  It’s fun, but crowded. The idea of an entire permanent space devoted to entertaining seems awesome.

Besides, I’m a novice at decorating, and a dining room seems like an easy first project to tackle. There’s not that much furniture and what you need is pretty straightforward: table, chairs, lighting fixture, place to store your china.

I know I want a very traditional, formal dining room, and very “done” looking walls- patterned wallpaper or a decisive color, and some molding.  Here’s my current inspiration for my way off in the future home:

I'm really into the colors in this dining room- they feel fresh and light, yet are grounded by that rich, classic wood table. Definitely some real inspiration here. 

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I'm thinking this is the perfect blank canvas- beautiful windows, natural light, tray ceiling, elegant molding, and beautiful floors. How much can you mess up decorating when you start like this?

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I love, love, love this traditional, almost colonial scene here. I love a round (or square!) table, and I'm obsessed with the transferware pitcher. 

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I love this wallpaper with this molding. It's so finished looking. These were some of my wedding colors, so maybe I'm biased there. 

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Finally, I like the idea of a hutch- great for displaying more transferware to match that pitcher!

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Patterned Powder Rooms

My cousin Pamela lives in a big old historic house in Summit, NJ. It’s got lots of period-appropriate touches, but my favorite is her downstairs bathroom. It's tiny, but covered in this rich red wallpaper patterned with gold flowers. All the fixtures are gold too, and probably vintage, as is the big mirror. And the whole room is framed in creamy white molding. 

 

It works because of the scale of the room. The deep color and bold paper design would be overwhelming in a large room, but in a small bathroom you don’t spend much time in, it’s wonderfully dramatic.

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This deep blue is a slightly more modern interpretation of Pamela’s bathroom, with similar molding. I love the contrast that the dark brown vanity provides.

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Graphic black and white is great- minus that intensely 90’s black toilet seat cover! This could make a great bachelor or bachelorette pad bathroom, depending on how you accessorized.

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I have  harbored an obsession with this bathroom for awhile now. I love this almost-neon wallpaper, especially contrasted with the mother-of-pearl tiles. Bright, beautiful, and feminine.

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If you’re a little faint of heart, neutral patterned wallpaper boxed in by white paneling might be the way to go. I love the sharp way the mirror stands out. 

 

If you’re interested in getting the look at home, Quadrille, Layla Grace, and Scalamandre are great sources for unique and beautiful prints.