We have a lovely dining room with a lovely dining set. The unlovely part is it is hardly ever used. I do not host many dinner parties and we usually eat dinner at our round table off of the kitchen. For many years I have had a dream of turning the dining room into a library. I want to get rid of my current table and chairs and put in a round table and pile it with books and have a few comfy chairs to lounge in while we spend hours and hours reading books together. Anywho.....that's not going to happen anytime soon so I have decided to use what I have.
Rand looking out the window as the thunder rolls in.
I think I will remove the green jelly cupboard and put in a cubby-style book shelf for books. Right now we have books EVERYWHERE...all through the house. The bedrooms, the family room, the living room, DK's office, my work room. It would be nice to consolidate and put a few in the dining room/library as well.
I cleared off all of my summer decor items I had placed on the table and filled an urn with all sorts of pencils. This way the girls can sit down and do their summer work without any distractions on the table. I want to add a few more school-type items but don't know what at this point.
I'm also not thrilled with the stuff above the china hutch. I just put the arrangement there yesterday...a work in progress. The girls painted the two canvases on the right for Mother's Day.
This is my desk where I blog and do my PTO stuff and church stuff and Brownie stuff and bill stuff and all the other stuff-stuff that needs to be done!
This is just the beginning of my working dining room/library journey. Any suggestions you may have for me would be welcome.
To see what others are talking about, check out Lara's Talk About Tuesday!
17 tweets and twitters:
I love to see what you've done to your house. I am completely surprised to see the white trim/baseboards. In Erie you had all that beautiful wood.
I still have the same stupid dining room table and it is the last thing to get replaced in this house. I don't know why--it's the first thing you see when you walk into our front door. But it is low priority.
It all looks beautiful!
I have a rectangular dining table and six upholstered chairs that have been living on my front porch in a closed "closet" since I moved here two years ago (getting ready to leave). How nasty are those chairs going to be? They're buried behind boxes, so I don't know. I also think I want something with rounded edges, but I don't know what, and then what do I do with the china cabinet that I really kind of like?
I am no help to you!
And I have tons of books and want a library too! So when you figure it out, I'll copy you. That sounds fair to me, because all your stuff looks so cute...
I have no advice, but I always love seeing pics of your house. You have great stuff and your love of interior design really comes through! I love your blogging/PTO/bill paying/everything area! Especially the clock on the wall!
I know excatly how to help you.....It is a burden but I will store the polka-dot lamp for you..I know I am a great friend to help you out:)
It looks like Rand cut her hair??? I think the whole library thing sounds great. If the room is going to be there, it may as well be functional.
Oh, I so love your desk area. The lamp is too cha-cha! The CLOCK is amazing! Can't wait to see what else you do with the room!
first of all, your desk is so clean and tidy...all part of that ocd you talked of before, right?
i think that's a great idea, put the room to use in a way that you will use it!
I definitely think you should use your space for something worthwhile. Just think of the memories your children could have in that room. It could become the favorite room in the house.
I would utilize your china hutch differently to some extent. Why not use the drawers for art supplies or paper? You could put some crazy scissors, tape, a few glue sticks, craft paper, watercolors and scrap paper.
Find a place for a small wastebasket. Put baskets above the china hutch for storage if you feel you need it. You could do collage stuff in one of the baskets, like googly eyes, snippets of ribbon, glitter, buttons etc.
You could use the canvas paintings on the bookshelves in front of the books here and there, or even put the paintings on the top of the bookshelves, as it looks like there would be less room on the top.
OR--You could put the fun basket stuff in the drawer, make a cool wall quote for the top of the china hutch that relates to learning. OR, you could collect GLOBES and put it on top of the china hutch to represent learning. Or do kids art all the way across the china hutch to represent the art space, and globes on the top of the bookshelf to represent learning. You could also get some cool laminated placemats for the table so they could work on those and not mess up the table.
If you have more books than will fit on the bookshelves, you could put some of the smaller books, like paperbacks, in baskets above china hutches or bookshelves.
I'm definitely seeing a nice desk in that table and I'm loving the lamp & clock.
I like the addition of the urn with pencils--I think that is a great step. What about a pile of reference books or something like that next to the urn?
~ Sarah
So glad you're back. I missed you (your blog/life). I think that turning the dining room into a library/study would be so awesome, especially since your girls are really coming into the ages where that would be more useful than a dining room. Plus, you have such an awesome round table off the kitchen that you always use, why not turn the dining room into a library/study! What a grand idea. Can't wait to see what happens with it.
hugs.
I love your clock!!! I have a "clock thing" :) I would also love a library....we have the same book problem.. I am sure that whatever you do, it will be beautiful....you have the touch!
I can't believe that desk. All of that work done in that spot and it looks so neat!
Ok-I am going to be like Melanee and give ideas.
I hope that you don't mind. After all_I am sort of designer with a big mouth!!
I would paint the wall where the desk is. Use a nice warm color. Maybe a warm, rusty orange. I know that you think that is a crazy color.OOOh_I love it and it warms up a home.
I would pull the lead out of the table so it is smaller. Then, it wouldn't seem so huge.
I would put a run in there under the table. Paint the table a fun color and the chairs too. Or, get rid of the table all together and get a smaller one. taller than a coffee table, but the same idea of a work space for the girls.
I would use your hutch to store books. i would also start hunting at garage sales for bookshelves. They don't have to be the same. All differnt if you want. Just paint them all the same. That will unify. Find a loveseat and maybe acouple of large overstuffed chairs. Throws and some pillows. An end table or two with lamps. A floor lamp. I think that you would be set. If you went to garage sales, thrift stores (i don'tknow if that is your thing) mix some peices with new and you would have a space that every girl in cyberspace would covet!
Good luck! Can't wait to see what you do.
ps-move ur desk in front of the window. Then you could look at fun things.:)
I have the same clock above my fireplace...love it! We sell it at Whisperwood! The room looks great to me, wouldn't change a thing!
What a great idea to turn it into a library! My parents turned theirs into an office. It doesn't look as good as a library would but it's very functional. I need to find a place for books around here but I haven't decided where yet.
Your home is lovely...and I adore that clock! I remember seeing quite a few dining/library rooms over at HGTV's rate my space website. It was cool to see how many people who didn't use their dining rooms decided to go dual function and add bookcases and turn it into a almost-library. There are some gorgeous examples there.
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