Dining Room Reveal

My "what was I thinking?" has turned into "I'm so glad I did!".


So, the last time I posted about my dining room (here) I was regretting ever pulling that first strip of wallpaper down.


I asked my self over and over, "what was I thinking?"

I eventually pulled myself out of the regret and started cleaning the tons of glue residue off the walls. My husband joined in and we found that it was going to be very slow going. There were a lot of really deep, big cracks in the plaster. It was only after we were almost done taking all the wallpaper down that I happened to be watching HGTV's Property Brothers when Jonathan mentioned that you should never take wallpaper off plaster. TOO MUCH WORK!


Yeah, I know.



By mid-June, not much had been done.  My husband's neck, shoulders and back ached and my allergies were acting up.


We realized that our ceiling probably should be painted first, but with 10' ceilings, we were dreading that too. We thought maybe if we hired the ceiling out, we could do the walls ourselves.


The glue was making us delusional.


You know how sometimes you just mention something in despair and it changes everything?


I was mentioning the dining room debacle to my sister and she just happens to have a son-in-law as a painter. She highly recommended him.


I called him, he came out and gave us an estimate for the ceiling and also to finish the walls too.


We went for it! He did it all! He got all the glue off, fixed the cracks, primed, and painted the ceiling and the walls.


Our house was upside down for only two days. We had to move everything into our parlor except for the large, heavy cupboards. They all got pushed to the center.

Enter Mike. He did a phenomenal job. The cracks seemed to disappear under his expert workmanship. I never knew he painted. So, if he is my niece's husband does that make him my nephew-in-law? Just wondering.


I really had a hard time choosing a color. I wanted a neutral, like a linen color. But being that the room is quite dark to begin with, linen in paint was just too dark. And I did not want a white white.


So what do I end up choosing? Sherwin William's Highly Reflective White. The name is deceiving because it is a very pretty, soft white in the room. My inspiration was the porcelain doorknobs in the room and that color was the closest match.


So here is the dining room BEFORE. You will see that most of the décor has stayed the same with some minor changes, but it looks so different without the busy wallpaper.

And these same views AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

You get the idea....

Sorry for the dark, fuzzy picture. It's all I could find. Now just a memory!



I love that I finally have somewhere to put my suitcase collection!

This was the wall with the awful large crack and many others and the plaster in the corner was all crumbled and holes. You can't see any of it now.

I restyled my bench....



This is the cupboard I have been waiting 20 years to hang somewhere in this house. It was in the dining room at my farmhouse and has been in the attic here since we moved in.

The wall looked a little empty and WHITE so I thought it was the perfect spot for it. I am still living with it and haven't even put anything in it yet!

Have you counted the number of cupboards in this room? Four!

Am I obsessed?

Did you notice the floors? While all the stuff was still out I treated them with olive oil. Just took my olive oil cruet and poured it on. I used a dry Swiffer cloth and spread it around. I had to wipe up some oil that didn't sink in, but most of it did. It does wonders to restore wood.

I got rid of the huge plate shelf and put my fish dishes on the wall shelf. They are pure treasures to me, given to me by my Grandfather after my Grandmother died. He said that I got them because I always caught the most fish when he took us fishing as kids.



Here is the lovely ceiling painted ceiling white. It helps to brighten things up a bit.

I love how my huge cupboard just pops against the white. The fact that it leans to the left is more pronounced now too. The floors are a little slanted!





I made a few new things for the dining room.

The ring clip valances, inspired by Kim at Exquisitely Unremarkable. I used 100% linen and I love how they turned out.

I recovered and repainted a stool I got at a garage sale for $2. I am so dumb that I waited to stencil the grain sack on it until after it was on the stool. It was trying, to say the least!

I made a new centerpiece for the table, using the same pine board and lacey burlap runner. The metal basket is from the shop I have a booth at, the cotton stems are from Décor Steals and the books are from garage sales.

One last picture. I love the vintage doorbell so we kept it right where it's always been. It just goes perfectly. 







I love how my things just pop against the white. I have been collecting old clocks and bread boards and so they have replaced some of the other décor items I have had in the room.

Time for a change....20 years in the making.

Hmmm, which room can I do next?

I already have color paint chips up on the walls in the parlor.....

What room have you been making over?

AnnMarie

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Home Sweet Home

Best of the Weekend

"Anything Goes" Pink Saturday

Dishing It & Digging It

Amaze Me Monday

You're Gonna Love It Tuesday

Summertime Summertime

How's your summer going so far? It's about mid-point and you know that once August hits, time really flies by. Have you done all you've wanted to yet?


Here is a my summer so far in pictures. There are some home improvements, graduations, a birthday, an anniversary and some other assorted things.


My daughter Jena painted our front porch for us. She insisted (for a price!) and we are so glad she did.


Isn't it pretty?

I almost didn't want to put any of the furniture on it. But I did. The pillows and rug are new. My attempt at adding more aqua in my life!

The bucket to the left of the chair with the twigs in it is new too. It is a vintage apple picking bucket, which is near and dear to my heart. I lived in an apple orchard and the pickers with these buckets slung over their shoulder was a familiar site.

My son Michael graduated from high school. Here he is with a few of his "lunch table" friends.

We bought him a few gifts for being on the honor roll, winning scholarships and just being an all around great kid. He turns 18 in a few weeks.

These are his new "kicks" as he calls them. They have to be LeBron James' brand.

He is teaching himself guitar and was using my old acoustic guitar. Time for an upgrade to a nice, red electric guitar.

Yes, we spoil him :-)



My granddaughter Chloe graduated pre-school and will start Kindergarten in the Fall. This is the year she will graduate high school. Yikes!!

Our silly kitty Cyrus turned one year old on July 1st.

He is not only silly, but a little crazy. Here he is playing fetch. He loves jumping up to catch his toy.

That is a real picture. It has not be edited :-0

We went to opening day of the Renaissance Faire in Sterling, NY. It is done very well with the authentic costumes and accents and events of Medieval England. This was the Sing-Along at the last half hour of the day.



We spent the 4th of July at a Red Wings baseball game with fireworks following. They are a local minor league team. It is nice to have them nearby to go in the summer for some baseball, peanuts and cracker jacks!

I went strawberry picking with my daughter. We ran out of time before we had to get back for pedicures so it was the fastest 2 quarts I ever picked. I got two batches of jam and a strawberry rhubarb pie out of them.

My husband and I celebrated 20 years of marriage on July 13th. It was a 90+ degree humid day so all we wanted to do was be in air conditioning. We went on a shopping spree at the mall, which was to buy anything we wanted the whole day. Looking back I didn't buy enough!


We also went to see the movie The Shallows. It was really good! All I will tell you is that it is about a girl on a rock in the ocean and a shark.


Our day ended with dinner at a restaurant called Otto Tomattos.

There has been lots of thrifting and garage sales and barn sales. My granddaughter Cassidy and I have been going on Fridays when she is with me for the day. We found this great barn sale nearby and spent an hour going through everything. I bought a lot of great treasures, some to sell, some to keep.

We had been working on our dining room and decided to give up and give in. It was just too much work. We hired my niece's husband to finish the job. It turned out phenomenal! There is still one more thing to be hung before I do a reveal.


Here is a sneak peak at the color. That's all I've got for now!

We have had a very dry, hot, humid summer so my gardens are not looking very good and the grass is brown and crunchy. I did enjoy my Mock Orange Tree in bloom in late Spring though. It is always a highlight of the weather turning warm.

I hope your summer has been all that you planned for, or hoped for.


There is still a lot of summer left so enjoy!


AnnMarie xoxo


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If You Are Allergic to Poison Ivy......

....you need to read this!! I found a near miracle prescription ointment that has saved me this year.

Now that summer is in full swing and we are all out in our gardens, poison ivy is a real threat. I started getting it yearly a few years ago and each season it was worse than the last. I say IF you are allergic because there are some people who are not. Like my husband and son. Frustrating.

My long-haired cat died last February. I did not get poison ivy that summer and I was thrilled. I credited it all to the fact that she was not rubbing it on me from being who knows where! 

 

So my Miss Kitty is gone, and my two kitties now do not go outside. So how did I get it this time...in my eye?

My doctor thinks it was an airborne thing.

Crazy!

Here is what is left of my latest bout with poison ivy.

It started in my eye that swelled up Sunday night with redness, itchiness and large bubble blisters underneath. And of course, until you know you have it, maybe on your hand, you scratch or touch yourself and more blisters appear. I had it all over the back and front of my neck, my jawline and one random spot on my hand.

Monday morning I called the doctor and went right in. I've learned that I cannot manage the rash on my own and that I usually need a high dose of Prednisone to get rid of it. Last year I needed two courses of Prednisone.

But going on Prednisone does not take the affects of the rash away immediately. There is still immense burning and itching and the potential to spread it on yourself. It wasn't until I called my friend Stephanie from church to let her know that I couldn't make it to Bible Study at her house that my relief came.

She suggested Clobetasol Propionate Ointment. She has a horse farm and deals with poison ivy every year too. It also comes in a cream.



I knew that name sounded familiar and when I went into my cupboard to look, there it was! My doctor had prescribed it for another totally different ailment and I never used it. I was mad at the time that I filled the prescription because it cost $35!

I used that stuff on all the different places there was a rash and within 24 hours it was significantly better. Like 90% better.

I call that a miracle drug.

So, taking the long way around to tell you, which is usually my way, there you have it. Get this stuff ASAP and cut your pain and suffering down by 10 days.

I felt it was my duty to pass this valuable information on.

You're welcome.

AnnMarie xoxo

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