Our Breakfast Room: Before & After

 

It’s always fun to look back and see how your house changes over time.  It’s been over a year of changes here and there, and the breakfast room is finished!  I’m so glad I took pictures of the house the day we moved in so I can see how much it’s changed.  This photo is from June of last year:

 

 

 

 

 

And, this is how it looks today:

 

 

 

 

We started by removing the window treatments (I love those windows and wanted to see the entire height of them).  We used the table we had in our dining room at the last house.  I almost sold it when we moved but am so glad I didn’t.  This area can hold a large table, and we need every inch of it. 

 

 

 

 

I traded out the caned back chairs for something a little more kid-friendly (no upholstery!) and found this set on Craigslist.  We changed out the light fixture for the Overstock chandelier I blogged about here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I actually think the color looks a little more intense in the photos than in person.  But, it is a lot of yellow.  I don’t think it would’ve worked if we hadn’t painted the walls white first.  (My husband says he likes how the yellow frames the green outside.  Can you believe he said that before I did?!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I originally ordered this runner for the back hallway, but I like the pattern it adds to our kitchen.  It also works with the framed burlap art (details here). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources 

Chandelier:  Overstock

Curtain fabric:  Azzuro Ikat

Wall Color:  Shoji White by Sherwin Williams

Farmhouse table: Ashley Furniture

White chairs:  Craigslist

Basket:  Hobby Lobby

Art: Burlap placemats from Cottage & Vine (IKEA frames)

Boxwood topiaries: Joss & Main

Sisal chevron runner:  Ballard Designs

 

 

PS—If you’re new to my blog and would like to see what the breakfast room in our last house looked like, you can read about it here.

Our Breakfast Room: Lighting & Other Updates

 

Thought you might like to see the latest addition to our breakfast room:

 

 

 

 

We replaced the lighting with a chandelier I found on Overstock.  This was what was there before:

 

 

 

 

I ordered this one because it was big and it was a good price for the size.  Plus, I figured I could make it a little more modern by ditching the shades and adding globe bulbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know about you, but when I order from Overstock, I rely pretty heavily on the customer reviews.  Everybody said the same thing about this light.  It was a great price but a pain in the neck to put together.  After three hours of assembling on a Sunday afternoon, my husband would agree:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I personally think it was worth his effort :)

 

 

 

And, on a side note, Overstock didn’t pay me for this post.  I just like to tell you what I think about things because that’s what I do . . .

 

You might recognize the farmhouse table from our old dining room.  I started out using the old chairs in this space, too, but it was amazing what crud my kids could cram into the caned backs.  I found these chairs on Craigslist for a great price, and they’re so much easier to wipe down. 

 

 

 

 

Next up?  Paint and curtains.

 

"What Would You Do?": Bay Windows

     

I'm kicking off my "What Would You Do?" series with a question from Sonja:     

Hi Emily,



I have a bay window that faces East that is also shaded. For almost 20 years I have had just the bottom half covered with lightweight curtains. I am sick of them and want something different, but don't want to block the little bit of light and yet I need privacy as the windows face the street.

Help.
Sonja

I decided to address this question first because I just tackled a similar problem in our breakfast area. Bay windows seem like such a great feature, but they can be a booger (can I say that?) to decorate. Here's what we recently did in our breakfast area. As with most of my projects, I was looking for an inexpensive--but stylish--solution.

Like Sonja, we needed privacy but didn't want to block a lot of light.  I used simple bamboo shades (from Home Depot) that we keep pulled up during the day but can lower at night.  The window never seemed "finished", however; so, I found 4 yards of one of my favorite fabrics (in a remnant bin) and decided to make curtain panels by using Stitch Witchery.

To hang the curtains, I used three inexpensive IKEA rods and sawed them to the desired length for each window, pushing the ends up against each other.

Since the curtains aren't for function, but just to make things pretty, I didn't have to worry about the curtain rings going over the brackets. In other words, I used shades for function and curtain panels to give the area some style.

The entire window treatment--rods, shades and curtains--ended up costing approximately $150. 

Back to Sonja's window for a minute. . . Although I used shorter curtain panels, I would actually opt for full-length panels (mounted close to the ceiling) on the sides of the windows here since she has the board and batten on each of the adjoining walls.  I think a shorter panel would make things seems a little "off" balance.

Hope this helps.  Now, it's your turn.  "What would you do" to Sonja's bay window?  Feel free to share your ideas or blog about it, leaving your link in the comment section. 

Have a design dilemma you want me to address?  Email your question, along with 1-2 clear photos, to info {at} emilyclark.com.