The Gang's All Here!

I've been talking about my collection of mismatched dining chairs for what seems like years now.  Even before we moved to the house, I knew I wanted mismatched chairs finished in the same color with the same seat upholstery.  I started collecting chairs shortly after we moved.  Now that the dining room is finally coming together, I'm finally getting my act together with my chairs.  I have 6 total to refinish, but only 4 will be regulars (in addition to our 2 new upholstered chairs).  The extra 2 will be for the rare occasions when we have more than 6 people dining. Meet the chosen 4

They are finally repaired and sturdy, and waiting to be primed and painted.  There's a lot of pieces around here waiting for the same.  Guess I'll be painting furniture all winter.  There are worse ways to spend my hibernation months.

Chair Addict's Anonymous

I have so much good stuff to share with you this week!! Today's story starts at Marshalls.  It's a dangerous shopping vortex that can make hours pass in a blink.  I went in hoping to find a cute pair of shoes.  I left with shoes for me and Hubby, a sweater, and 2 chairs for the dining room. I wasn't really in the market for dining chairs... I have 4 currently in the dining room and 6 in the basement waiting to get refinished.  Ooops.  I blame Marshalls.  and my sister.

I think I'm a big enough person to admit...  I'm a dining chair hoarder.  I'm in the beginning stages of refinishing the mis-matched chairs in my basement, but lately I've been picturing 4 of those chairs with an upholstered chair at each end.

I guess this can be the big chandelier reveal too.  I still have to recenter the swag above the table and lower it a bit.  I think the dining room's coming along, though.  She's getting pretty!  (Please accept my profuse apologies for the rushed, terribly lit photo.  I owe you better, and trust me, it looks better in person).

There's one small problem with my 6 chair plan, though.  The dining table.  That's as big as it gets.  2 chairs don't so much fit on each side.  Much to Hubby's chagrin, I'm now on the hunt for a dirt cheap rectangle dining table on craigslist. Something lighter?  A bit less heavy, perhaps?

So, what do you think of my latest dining room changes?

Light Up My Life

.. or at least my house. I've gone a little light happy.  It's not my fault really, the dining room made me do it.

Ever since I painted and added the trim, the light's been bothering me more and more.

It's not a bad light, in fact, I have plans for it... in another room of the house.  Forget that it's not centered over the table (that can be fixed with a simple swag), it just wasn't jiving with the dining rooms new makeover.  I haven't been keen on it in the dining room since we moved in, but I forgave it because the rest of the room was untouched.  Jeepers, what decade am I in today?? "jiving" "keen" I could top it of by calling something "neat."

Anyway, back to lights.  We've got some installing to do.

It's not just in the dining room getting a bit of jewelry either.

These 2 new lights are going to cause me to rearrange the light fixtures all around the house.  4 rooms will be getting a different light (either new or relocated), and it's all because the dining room made me do it.  That's my story.  I maintain my innocence.