Dining table and chairs for the green wallpaper

Moving from a smaller space to a larger one is great because there's extra room to wrestle on the floor with dad (and leave LEGOs strewn about, for days).
(just watch your step)

Of course the funny thing with any house is that the furniture that once fit perfectly, in that perfect room, might not work in the new house layout.
And that was the case with our old table.
It was great in the old house; but too small for the new one.
It looked funny.

So, time for a new dining table adventure!

In a previous Home Building post I shared that fun green wallpaper we had installed.  I had taped out a space on the floor where I thought a table should go.

Cause if you remember our old house, the dining table looked like this:

It was an old antique I found at a garage sale for $30!  It just needed a new facelift, which you can read about here.

And for many years it served as my white backdrop for photo styling, when the kids were so tiny.

I've really loved that table.  But we really needed something larger to fit the space.
So I started researching.
At first I thought about having one made.  Or maybe we could make it ourselves?
Maybe a very dark wood top with white legs?....to tie in with the exposed beams in the great room?
I still love that idea.

But then I went to IKEA, and found these, and it was just too easy.
(Norden Table •  Sigurd Chairs • Sigurd Bench)

The table is probably more space than we need....it actually extends to 119 inches!  Eeek...which just means we need to have friends over for dinner more often.  The table would be fantastic for a Thanksgiving get-together...and we could even pull it out onto our deck, which we did a couple times this summer. 

Mostly, I love how well it fits in the space. 

And the chairs make me smile, because they look like they're smiling.....and remind me of school chairs, and being a kid.

I went for benches on each end so it would be easy to get in and out of the exterior door.  And so little kids could easily climb up and down.

....and torment older siblings.

...and so I'd be shocked at how tiny they look sitting all the way at the end!
How did I get to this point in my life?  Just yesterday I was single and living in Los Angeles. 

Now, a word on the color.
I was a little worried about choosing a light wood shade since the floors are a driftwood shade and the beams in the great room are quite dark.  But.  I'm trying to pull in some more "natural" design pieces into the home so it feels more cozy.  I'm not a person that likes brown and tan, so this is a stretch for me.  But I think it'll work.

...and it might be a good excuse to buy this rug for our great room.  

Which, maybe I already did. 

What is happening to me??   Brown? Tan?

I do think it's possible though to pull bright colors and naturals in together.   

That's what I keep telling myself.

And guess what?....see those white bar stools below??  I JUST finished the covers last night!  Six of them.  I'm tired of sewing.  

And I should point out one home feature in the photo above---the "floating" ceiling above the dining room table.  It was our architect's idea to have the dining room pop down, since the great room pops UP.  Originally, we wired for rope lights to illuminate the box up toward the ceiling, which I was really excited about.  BUT.  We failed to put the rope lights and the large drum light on separate light switches....so they both came on at the same time.  And the large light overpowered the rope lights.  I was bummed.  And the only way to fix it was to cut into the wall, where we had JUST installed wallpaper the day before.  

Grrrr.

Let it go. Let it go!

So instead they installed a plug up there in the box.  So if I ever want to hang a mess of white Christmas lights from that ceiling, there's that option.
Christmas Dinner at the new table with a bunch of lights, some chocolate-dipped gingerbread softies, and maybe a few sparkle skirts or a sash?  Sounds lovely.

Little by little the house is coming together.  

I might take a few years before it's fully decorated.  But that's all part of the fun.

You can read more about our new home adventure in these posts here:
We’re building a new home!
Groundbreaking Party
From foundation to frame 
Stucco, shingles, and a pretty paint job 
Sheetrock, paint, and a double-decker deck
We moved!…and an ode to the old house
Tile, Flooring, Countertops, and Color 
Guest Room makeover 
Mosaic Tile and Wallpaper
The big Chandelier

Have a great day!