Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Decorating Input Please!

It's that time of year, again. The time of year when the sun is setting right around dinner time---shining right into our dining area. And right into our eyes.

Talia came up with a great solution over the weekend.

I dream of curtains like these from Pottery Barn, but they do not have a dreamy price tag. I think I need double width and that is pricey.
I have seen beautiful curtains elsewhere....all expensive.

So, with my mother-in-law to guide (or potentially to make when I say, the heck with it) I am setting out to make some curtains.
First I need to find the fabric.
Any ideas what I should do? What colors?
I tend to lean towards classic beachy. Is that a real decorating term? I doubt it.

I wish I could live in a movie.
Click here to see my movie dream house. 

This is my reality.
Leave your suggestions in the comments.
Leave me bunches of ideas.
Decorating is not my thing.
I have you, and I bet you're good at this.
Help a girl out.

11 comments:

  1. Don't paint your chairs...I LOVE those chairs as is.
    I am having curtain problems also. Please come out and give me advice!!! I thought of making some also...how much does material run by the bolt??? If you come up with something fantastic please share! AND we have the SAME problem at supper time! I need to get out the sunglasses for Nate...it's always in his eyes...

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  2. How about some bamboo roman shades from home depot(I hear they're pretty affordable) with just a panel curtain on each side. That way you can close the shades, and won't need extra wide panels. I think the colors depends on the colors of your home, but that white from Pottery Barn is nice. I bet once you get your new floors it will all fall into place. I think if you're going for that beachy look painting the table creamy white would look great. So many options, and trust me I know how hard it can be. Just stick with what YOU like and it'll look great.

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  3. An inexpensive way to make curtain rods is to buy electrical conduit and get it cut to fit. Then spray paint and add finials. Very very cheap and they are sturdy.
    Lisa Decker

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  4. As far as wall hangings go, I would put up those tin 1ft X 1ft antique looking squares. Hobby Lobby puts these and other metal wall decor for 50% off quite often. They also have a lot of cool looking large clocks that look good on walls as well. If you don't find anything you like, I bet Carissa has a bunch of great things available that would work as well. I would leave the chairs the way they are...I think they are beautiful as is. Hope this helps some. I am not a big decorator either but that is my two cents ! :)

    Erika Pritchett

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  5. I would leave the chairs stained and add seat cushions- perhaps a plaid or bold print. Be careful about painting the top of that table- it would probably scratch easily with paint applied to the existing finish. You could frame some of the beautiful photos of your family that you take and hang them on either side of the windows- the more the better. Wood laminate flooring would look really nice in that room. Just some thoughts-
    Chris Wall (Bruce's co-worker from California)
    PS It looks like a great room to work with!

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  6. ok, sweet kimberlee...

    i have the exact same problem in my eat-in breakfast area. we get the blinding morning sun!

    lots of options, but i'm with your friend traci (above). bamboo shades and some simple panels between the windows or just flanking the windows. i love using target or jc penny bamboo shades because they are cheap and look expensive. and i have pretty much used these white linen curtains from target everywhere in my house:
    http://www.target.com/Casual-Home-Linen-Window-Panel/dp/B000TDF56M/ref=br_1_7?ie=UTF8&id=Casual%20Home%20Linen%20Window%20Panel&node=51875011&searchSize=90&searchView=list&searchPage=1&sr=1-7&qid=1286380348&rh=&searchBinNameList=target_com_category-bin%2Cprice%2Cfinish_types-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Cmaterial_type%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=pmrank&frombrowse=1
    (the link is for the natural linen, but they sell the white at my local target)

    they are super nice and heavy--very much a true pottery barn knock off.
    by the way, is that a fireplace in your dining room?? you lucky, lucky girl. i would so move that table right in front of it (turn it longways if that makes sense).

    and i know you said before you can't do the beachy style because you're land-locked. you left me a comment once saying that, didn't you? i live six hours from any beach but i do what i like because it's my home and i want it to be what i like! you can most certainly do beachy if you want to! power to the people! :) (oh my goodness i'm so ridiculous, aren't i??!!)

    i'm going to email you an inspiration photo for your viewing pleasure! oh this is so much fun!

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  7. For the window...I have the same front window as you. I have some ugly sliding shades that I covered up with 2 panels and a wood valance. I like the way I can hide the shades underneath the panels...I didn't want to have blinds blocking our view out. Whatever you do though I'm sure it will look great!

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  8. I say, go beachy! You can call anything you like a decorating "term"! I agree with the posters that said your table/chairs are beautiful...but I also think that white would give you that airy, beachy feel you like.

    As far as the curtains..bamboo shades would be nice...and I love the white pottery barn curtains. If you make your own, you can buy those rings separately...JCP has them, I know. A navy blue/white stripe also makes me think of the beach...I think that would look nice as well. And, I don't know how much the curtain panels are, but with my huge front window, I just bought four panels instead of doing special order...I meant to sew sets of two panels, but haven't done it...and you can't really tell. My guess is ordering 4 might be cheaper than a custom order, but I don't know that for sure! So if you only want curtains, that might be a good option to look into.

    Have fun! And remember to decorate with things you like...you can't go wrong with your very own taste!

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  9. What the heck..this post spoke to me. I would paint the table black and put chair covers on the chairs. Walmart has great white canvas cheap! I would hang a double curtain. A gauzy white base full length of the window. Then cheat and only do two single panels on the sides. An aquamarine or burlap color would look great!

    Have fun!

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  10. Have you looked at sheets for your curtains? Any time I can't find curtains or fabric I like, I check out the sheet section. Flat sheets, with a small hole snipped in the end of each hem, make awesome no-sew curtains!

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  11. Your dream house is also mine!

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