Dining Room Update...

...well, we've done a few projects in the dining room over the last few weeks. Here's some of the highlights:

Andy and I opted to just rehab our 90's brass chandelier. With a quick trip to Home Depot to pick up supplies Andy was able to take our chandelier from this:

To this:

Here's what we used:
-Rustoleum spray paint in Oil Rubbed Bronze
-Replacement sleeves for the arms (x8)
-25-watt bulbs (x8)

We opted to replace the old sleeves in a cream color instead of bright white to help soften the look. We also liked the look without the lampshades so we took the wattage on our lightbulbs down. I didn't toss the shades because it's highly possible that at some point I'll want to change it up. :) Anyways, this project was super simple. Andy took down the chandy, we cleaned it up, sprayed it, and then re-hung it. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I'm all for a thrifty but fabulous redo!


Next up would be my fabulous benches courtesy of my quite handy husband. I discovered a fabulous website, by Ana White, that has great FREE! plans for building your own furniture. Andy mulled over several possibilities before settling on this plan. If you know my husband you know that he is meticulous and a perfectionist when it comes to projects. So, tackling his first furniture building project was no exception. Here's how they turned out:

Finished and ready to be sanded, primed, and painted. Photo via Andy's iPhone.

Finished. I LOVE them.

To go with my new fabulous benches Andy's mom gave us these two old chairs. They were originally Andy's great-grandmother's and were residing at the basement at the farm. They are extremely old (I'm thinking 100+ years) and in desperate need of some TLC. They aren't done but here's a sneak peek of how they are coming along:

Fixed, patched, sanded, and primed...

Lastly, we have the table. Andy started refinishing it this fall and then the weather got bad and he hasn't been able to finish it. We are waiting for the pollen to die down and then we'll haul it back out to the backyard to finish it up. One of these days we'll redo the china cabinet but till then it works for now.

The table with one of two leaves in it...

One of my next projects on tap for this room and the whole house in general is window treatments. I'm still mulling the possibilities. For now the dining room is coming along and I'm quite pleased with the progress. On to another project, right?! Of course, there is always some sort of project to be done around here...

Update on the new table...

So here's a picture of our new dining room table without the two leaves in. We bought it a couple of weeks ago but I haven't had a chance to post any pictures. Andy sanded off the stain and then we had to haul it inside because we were hit with several days of rain.

Andy put the leaves in and laid down our drop cloths and got to work. He did a coat of primer and then a coat of black paint. We then hauled it back outside so that Andy could sand it down again. It now has a second coat of paint on it and it is waiting for another sanding. I need to take pictures of it with the black paint...I just haven't had a chance. Stay tuned. This is Andy's largest furniture project to date. I can't wait to see the end result...I'm already in love with it.