Sunday, September 13, 2015

Renovation Update 4: Dining Area

The first room we finished during renovation was the dining area in the upper level of the home.  While it is a small space, it was probably the most work to complete.


Amongst the grainy MLS photos, there were two that gave us an idea of how the space connected to the rest of the home before we went to tour it in person:



A few days after closing, we took a couple of pictures showing the space without the previous owner's furniture.  With hopes of finding wood flooring under the dirty carpet, CT had cut away a section, unfortunately revealing sub-flooring.  These photos give a clearer view of the Mondrian-esque wall feature (why?), the black railing behind the door to the deck (Why?), and the oddly configured closet and shelving (WHY?).



After taking out the rest of the carpet, CT began the rest of the demolition, tearing out the above mentioned eyesores.



Next, CT's mom painted over the slanted black ceilings with bright white, and CT insulated, framed, drywalled, and painted the angled wall.



CT then moved down to the flooring in the dining space, which turned into a bigger hassle than we originally imagined it would be, as matching something new to the existing engineered hardwood in the living space was next to impossible.  We selected a size that was comparable, but were unable to match the color perfectly, as we were buying through a discount flooring website called Really Cheap Floors.  We don't mind the transition now, but it is perhaps something we will consider changing in the future so that the dining and living areas have a more seamless transition.


The last and biggest project CT took on in the dining area was the built-in shelving.  We wanted a bold feature that would carry the accent blue we used on the exterior to the interior, as well as display our collections of books and handmade ceramic pieces.  CT built and painted the shelving in our garage, then installed the three pieces into the available openings.  He then had to add drywall in between the two shelves on the left where there had previously been a closet in order to even up the space between each unit.





Then came more painting, adding trim around everything, and the installation of a modern light fixture from West Elm.  They no longer carry the fixture, but while it was still available, I was able to get a screen shot of it.  At the bottom is an Instagram photo of our space that West Elm shared on their website:


Here's the space pre-furniture and a closer look at the odd light we replaced:




And finally, our completed dining area, with a new West Elm rug and light fixture, and furnished with a vintage Garrison table and chairs found on Craigslist for under $200, two of our Brody bentwood chairs (blogged about in this post), a Lane bench (really a coffee table, but it's substantial enough to sit on and looks great under the large picture window) that CT picked up in a West Bottoms thrift store, and the cutest Mid-Century bar cart I bought at River Market Antiques.  As not to make this already long post longer, I'll detail the origins of the art and collectibles in another post.









2 comments:

  1. Ashley - I saw your blog pop up through mine (thanks for putting us on your reading list - you're on mine now too!)...great work on this room. I love your dining chairs, and the built ins really came out great. I'm starting to make my way "back" through your blog now - excited for the read!

    PS - You apparently have some rockin' antique and thrift stores around you, given all that you've found there in this room.

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    1. Thanks Doug! We have really learned a lot through our renovation process and definitely have the bug for all things MCM! I've enjoyed reading your blog and look forward to new posts!

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