Eclectically Vintage: Dining Room Tour - Fun Art & Five Vintage Collections!

As you can see from the before picture, the dining room needed a serious intervention. Peeling wallpaper and extensive water damage didn't hide the original oak floors that just needed a good sand and stain to bring them back to life. New walls and moldings (that we matched as closely to the originals as we could) throughout the entire house remedied that problem. All that was needed in this room was a few coats of paint, two over sized, glassless lanterns which add drama and of course, a few vintage collections and fun art.

Before Dining Room

After Dining Room!

There were two empty walls staring at me and I needed to figure the best way to create impact. An inexpensive solution was using a fun coloring book of animals with colorful overlays. I was able to buy off the shelf frames at the craft store by having the mats custom cut (a cheaper alternative than custom framing). They add a nice modern touch to the room.

There are also five vintage collections in this room (I know, I have collecting issues). Glass demijohns (large, narrow-necked bottles made of glass or earthenware) are showcased on a table by the front window to let the light shine through. Then there's my collection of plates, some new but mostly vintage, that hang on another wall. Bought from an interior designer who was downsizing, voila, instant collection! I laid them on the floor until I found a pattern I liked, then hung by eyeballing them. Milk glass is the third collection. Pretty easy to find, I spotted these at different places and grew a collection quickly. Massed together like this against the dark hutch, they really pop. Collections are rounded out with mason jars with zinc lids, old white porcelain doorknobs that were in the house when we bought it and a variety of corkscrews in a silver bowl on the table.

The dining table was custom made. It's a solid piece and so heavy (no taking the legs off this thing!) and although it's not an antique, it's built like one with mortise and tenon joinery and no nails. This thing will be with in the family forever and it didn't cost much more than a catalog table. The rug was an eBay score! There was so much wood going on with the floor, table and hutch, I wanted to break it up with some color.

The black hand painted table under the plate collection is actually a tea table that I once had in my living room in place of a coffee table. Although I love the table, I thought it made the living room much too formal (which I am definitely not). Using it as a bar table in here works so much better.

Under the wall of art is an old bench on casters that I found at a store closing sale. It was one of their display pieces and I loved it's crusty charm. It's only been in the dining room a short time. Before that, it was in my sun room and before that in the kitchen of my former house. I love being able to move my things from room to room.

I hope you enjoyed the dining room and keep your eyes peeled for the next room (the kitchen!) of my House Tour.

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