Dining Room Inspiration

200 year old homes.  You gotta love ’em.  They are full of character and charm and random window placement, and Lord knows they’re built to last.

With that character comes leaks and expensive maintenance because nothing is “code,” and drafty windows and doors.

Just the other day, the kids were eating breakfast at the kitchen table, and Mac was sitting closest to a window.  He says to me “Mommy, it’s a little bit windy over here.”

So this is true.  We need our windows glazed.  We need new gutters.  A new roof is on the list, and some insulation would be nice.  But all that stuff is boring and makes me a little anxious.  it’s not pretty to think about.  Needed, certainly, but I like to think about projects that make me feel good, and lets my creative energy flow.  The boring will be addressed, in time.

But a project that I consider fun, and has been floating around in my mind the past few weeks, is giving the dining room a face lift.   Why not, right?  We’ve lived here almost 5 years now, and I believe Sean has recovered from me stressing him out with my last project.  Nothing too expensive, but I want to lighten things up.

Our hardwood floors are stained walnut throughout the house, and although I love the color, it certainly darkens the rooms a bit.  So with the dark floors and the medium blue walls in the dining room, it’s a little dark for me.

So I want to show you some ideas for our dining room and get your opinions.

It all started when I saw this picture on Pinterest.

LOVE the brick wall.  And I love that the brick has been white washed a bit.  With one brick wall and the rest of the walls painted white, I totally think our dining room can rock this look.

There is a such thing as brick tiles, and you apply them relatively the same as regular tile.

And I would like to apply brick tile to this wall:

Of course I’m going to tackle this myself, and will most likely wait for Sean to go golfing – for the weekend.  I’ve already watched several videos on youTube on how to do this, and of course will have my iPad at the ready, as I do with most projects.

I’ll need to change the lamp shades and the window cornices, and those will be a fun project, too.

So what do you guys think?  You like my dining room inspiration?

I would love your opinions!