Show Us Where You Live - Dining Room

I have been following Kelly's Korner Blog for a few weeks and she has a great post on Fridays called "Show Us Where You Live!" Its a chance for readers to show off their rooms and share decorating ideas. This week is all about the dining room, and since my dining room doubles as my painting studio, I don't exactly have a fabulous room to show off. So, I thought I would show you where we really eat anyway - The Breakfast Nook!

First up, the light fixture. We had a work weekend this past weekend and changed out the fixture. Gone is the builder grade light:

And here is the new fixture! What a difference a light makes - instant upgrade! A new light fixture is a great investment and can really change the look of the room.

Next is our breakfast table. I searched high and low for the perfect table and just couldn't find it. I wanted a round table but couldn't find one that I like that was also in the budget. We ended up purchasing this rustic table from Four Hands Home here in Austin. Four Hands supplies furniture to some of my favorite stores, including Pottery Barn, and they have great deals at their warehouse. This table was actually a taller "pub" height, and I chopped the legs down to a conventional height. For the right price, I wasn't about to let some little table legs stand in my way!

Add these real leather chairs I also scored at Four Hands for $110 each and you have a comfy spot for weekday meals. The centerpiece is a basket I bought from Hobby Lobby and it is filled with artificial apples from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has the best looking (and cheapest!) fake fruit selection around.

I also struggled with the wall decor for awhile. We have alot of square and rectangle shapes in the house, so I wanted to balance it out with something round. I was inspired by this vintage plate grouping and really wanted to put plates on the wall. The Husband was not so convinced, but I did it anyway and he didn't mind when I was done. To make the plates not look like they were just floating on the wall, I added the chair rail to anchor them and add architectural detail. It was a great improvement and cost me less than $40. I hope to slowly add more plates to my collection. I am going for a Tuscan theme with the colors and designs and enjoy hunting for additions at thrift stores and of course, Marshalls!

Lastly, I have these glass canisters that sit on the bar counter. Right now they are filled with lemons and wine corks, but I regularly change them with the seasons. At Christmas I fill them with little round ornaments, and in the Fall pine cones and leaves look great in there.

If you are new to the blog, I hope you enjoyed the little tour of my "Dining" room. Although my blog is mostly about decorating your nursery I also post ideas on decorating and DIY projects for the grown up part of your house! Check back daily for more artwork, ideas and inspiration!