Planning for the Dining Room

1. Mobile Pendant by West Elm

Love this thing. We actually ended up going with the black version, but the brass was a close second choice. Also a near buy was this guy, but it seemed a little large for the space we're working with. You should buy it, though, so that I can come look at it.

2. A Buffalo

Not sure why, but the buffalo print is really calling to be placed in a gold frame above the fireplace. Also, any idea for what do to with a dining room fireplace? It's not functional and it's take up some space, so I'd like to find a way to put it to good use. It's not pulling its weight at  the moment.

3. Dining Table

This guy is from West Elm, but Ikea sells a similar under frame and the plan is to create our own table top to go on it. Back to woodworking we go! Everyone is hoping that Santa brings us a miter saw this year.

4. A not boring rug

Not 100% sold on this guy, but the southwestern theme is appealing right now. So long as the area rug is not wall-to-wall like the current one, life will be great. Ikea seems to have some decent rugs, but my ears are open to other suggestions.

5. Shelving

Alcohol storage is critical. Bar carts take a up a little more room than I'm willing to part with, so we'd like to incorporate some sort of floating shelving to the walls, which are currently incredibly naked.

6. Knoxville Gray Paint by Benjamin Moore

This is already on the walls and I plan to stick with it. Not sure why everyone is so afraid of a dark wall these days, but I am embracing the heck out of it. The blueish hue to this pairs nicely with reds and browns.

Before any of this can begin, we need to have the dry wall replaced on the ceiling. You might remember that a J. Crew model stopped over last week to take a look. Unfortunately, a model doesn't always make for a proper handy man, so we're calling in the pros on this one.

We spend approximately 84.5% of our time at home in the dining room, so everyone is looking forward to this room getting its act together.