A Rapid Transformation

Since putting the curtains up, we became more and more dissatisfied with the browny-grey colour of the dining room walls. We bought a new paint sample in a lighter grey, and also tried the same white that the cladding is painted in (bear in mind we are not neutral people!) and just hated both of them. This room is a problem because in the morning it gets bright sunlight, but for the rest of the day has no direct sunlight, so although not dark, it needs a warm colour to make up for lack of direct light. Because the kitchen was completely tiled before we ripped it out, we'd just painted the dining room in the colour that best complemented the adjacent middle room, which is a gorgeous yellow. But because the three rooms are interlinked, the new colour for the dining room walls had to go with what was already there. Well I finally had the obvious idea of painting it the same colour as the kitchen, and its been a roaring success!Its gone from a room I didn't particularly enjoy spending time in, to a vibrant, smile inducing space in perfect harmony with its adjacent rooms and really enjoyable to sit and eat in (or to sit and write a blog post in!).

Unfortunately, because of the shape of this back area of the house, its hard to get a good angle which encompasses the whole space, and I also took these photos while Noah was having his nap, so they are rather rushed, but you get the general idea. Oh, I also have only put one curtain back up because, due to my perfectionist tendancies, I can't bear to look at the other one hanging there and awkwardly rumpling because it's slightly too long! It will be reinstated when I've taken it up.

 View from the middle room

From the kitchen (try to ignore the stripy high chair!)

 Our old Ikea shelves which I painted with acrylic eggshell to tie in with the cladding and kitchen shelves. They're not finished yet - the top shelf needs some things added.

 Nigella Lawson spoons set

 Photos on the ledge. 

We're currently deciding what to do with this wall. We don't want to hang pictures again and make another disaster, and I quite like the photos just sitting on the ledge, but Marno still prefers the idea of putting photos, though not the current ones, up. We'd do a uniform wall using the same frames, two parallel rows of six frames if we do do it.

 Close up of the ledge
 

 Shelves detail

I got this absolutely gorgeous card in Nest Vintage Living in Cardiff. I won't link because I'm sure I've mentioned it before. Its by Sally Swannell, and she has the most gorgeous selection of her prints as greetings cards. I had to but this as it just made me feel happy and warm inside. Everything about this print just says warmth, love and contentment. I'm hoping to get a pretty frame for it at some point. What a fab and cheap way of bringing art into your home - just buy it as a card (though this image is printed on high quality card, so you have to be a bit choosy).

Have a beautiful weekend; the weather's meant to be gorgeous here!

xxx Sam