Dogs Don't Eat Pizza

Formerly The DIY Bungalow

  • Home
  • About
    • About Karen & the Blog
    • Thirty Days of Gratitude
    • Habitat for Humanity ReStore Workshops
    • Stories from the Bungalow
    • Dogs Who Don’t Eat Pizza
      • Bear, the Original Dog Who Didn’t Eat Pizza
      • Hank Dog
      • Elvis Parsley
  • Project Index
    • DIY
    • Decorating
    • Shopping Tips
    • Repurposing and Upcycling
    • Paint and Color
    • Organizing
    • Cleaning
    • Recipes
    • Gardening
    • Holidays & Seasonal
    • Friday Five
  • Home Tour
    • The 1929 House
    • The First House
    • Room Reveals
  • Advertising
    • Disclosure and Privacy Policy
    • Advertising
  • Media
  • Contact
You are here: Home / DIY / Someone got my message in a bottle…

Someone got my message in a bottle…

March 5, 2013 By Karen Cooper 8 Comments

(With thanks to The Police for my title quote…)

Yesterday, I sent out an SOS for my dining room. It was driving me insane. Couldn’t get it right. It wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t right.

It wasn’t…me.

I got some great advice from you all:

(1) Empty the room and start fresh.

(2) See if moving the buffet to the other wall and taking out the armoire changes the feel of the room.

(3) Check Pinterest, Houzz, and Hometalk and see to which dining rooms I’m attracted and get some ideas.

(4) Accept that I don’t like the table and that I made a mistake buying it (or at least that it’s not a permanent fixture here) and move on.

And I have taken your advice!

First, I stayed up on Sunday night thinking about this and I have accepted that this table is just not for me. I recognize and accept that, for the things that I got as gifts or bought just because it was a good deal (really only the table on that one) that really aren’t our style, I need to get rid of them. And I’m now ok with that. I didn’t sleep much on Sunday night coming to this conclusion, but I’m there and I’m ok with it.

Second, I did what my friend Holly from Storywood Designs (you should check out her blog – she’s amazingly talented!) suggested and checked out Pinterest, etc. for what inspired me.  What did I learn?

(1) All the dining rooms I pinned or liked had rustic, rectangular tables. Farm tables.

(2) All of the dining rooms had blue and/or green incorporated in them (not surprising, considering that I figured out recently that all rooms in our home have green in them).

 

Cool dining room
Eclectic Dining Room design by Other Metro Interior Designer Andrea Brooks Interiors

(3) Most of the rooms had brightly colored chairs – either painted or slipcovered in a bright color.

Dining Room with Painted Chairs
Eclectic Dining Room design by Los Angeles Interior Designer Tommy Chambers Interiors, Inc.

 

(4) All of the rooms had neutral walls.

 

countryliving013a

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj49/peoniesandpolaroids/countryliving013a.jpg

(5) And, as you can see from images I pinned above, they all have funky, brightly colored art.

Third, I have started emptying the dining room. Here’s where I am with that, so far:

emptying the dining room

emptying the dining room - other angle

Dear Husband is putting up with this – he gets that it’s a process.

So that’s where I am right now. This morning, I am going to pack up the “stuff” I am keeping and move it to the guest room to get it out of there. I will also make a pile to donate or take to the furniture consignment store I like.

I’m still taking advice on this SOS – please let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by!

You might also like:

  • Dining Room Design Next Steps
    Dining Room Design Next Steps
  • Dining Room Transformation: Day 1
    Dining Room Transformation: Day 1
  • Five Things to Stop Feeling Guilty About In Your Home (Friday Five)
    Five Things to Stop Feeling Guilty About In Your Home…

Filed Under: DIY, Paint and Color 8 Comments

About Karen Cooper

Hi! I'm Karen. I call myself a “recovering lawyer” - I traded in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY adventures. Join me for DIY, home decorating, repurposing and upcycling, and organizing projects and tips as I transform a 1929 Tudor bungalow into our home. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.

« A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock ‘n Roll
A Different Kind of Rescue »




Comments

  1. Angie says

    March 5, 2013 at 10:13 am

    Oooh! I love your inspiration rooms. I’m always a sucker for green and turquoise. Can’t wait to see how it all turns out! ~ Angie

    Reply
  2. Erin @ DIY On the Cheap says

    March 5, 2013 at 7:22 pm

    Can’t wait to see how the room evolves! Love the inspiration pics you chose.

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      March 5, 2013 at 8:28 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  3. doreen@househoneys says

    March 5, 2013 at 8:05 pm

    I like them all, but I’m especially drawn to the art work in the first one and the table in the second! Like you, I’m continually drawn to farmhouse tables and bright art. Your room will be beautiful!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      March 5, 2013 at 8:28 pm

      Me, too! I love the art in the first one. Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Michelle says

    March 8, 2013 at 10:08 am

    Hi Karen! Love your inspiration photos! You mentioned this before so maybe you’ve already started, but to modernize and freshen your room I would start by removing the chair rail and the curtains. You’re obviously drawn to pale wall color which will make the art work stand out. Also, you can always spray paint your existing chandelier a fun color to add some pop.

    Reply
  5. Roeshel says

    March 16, 2013 at 7:24 pm

    Beautiful inspiration, Karen! Can’t wait to see the process & transformation!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      March 16, 2013 at 11:09 pm

      Thanks, Roeshel!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi! I’m Karen. I call myself a “recovering lawyer,” because I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. This blog is all about DIY, home decorating, repurposing and upcycling, and organization. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.




find projects here!

My Daybed in This Old House Magazine!

Daybed from Old Doors featured in This Old House Magazine
Best of 2016 - Best Blog DIY Category - thediybungalow.com

Disclosure

Dogs Don't Eat Pizza is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.  Dogs Don't Eat Pizza also participates in other affiliate programs.

To see my complete disclosure and privacy policy, click HERE.

About Karen

A "recovering lawyer," I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home. Read More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
© Copyright 2012-2021, Dogs Don't Eat Pizza, LLC (formerly The DIY Bungalow LLC).