We recently purchased a new dining set at a clearance center. My parents generously offered to buy us a china cabinet for Christmas. I thought it might be difficult finding one that matched the table and chairs, so I started to look early. I stopped by the store once a week for about 10 weeks to check their inventory, and eventually I stumbled upon a cabinet that was missing a hutch. It didn’t have any noticeable damage, so I asked if they had the hutch. They said they could have it sent from another store. Its only defect was a missing glass shelf. We got both pieces for $650. Here’s a stock photo:

More updated dining room photos are here.

This made me want to do some research on the furniture and where it came from, using just a few item numbers on our receipts.

The dining table is by Stanley, and I found it for sale on numerous websites for an average price of $2500. The chairs are Winners Only X-back chairs, and 6 of them normally cost about $480. Lastly, our Chateau Louis china cabinet by Legacy would cost about $1500. In short, we got $4480 of furniture for $1500! It all matches perfectly. You would never know these pieces were not meant to go together.

I had no place to put my 12-year-old curio cabinet, so I decided to sell it on Craigslist. It was kind of sad to see it go, but I was able to put all of my little treasures in the china cabinet. I’ll also be able to put our new Christmas dishes in once we put in the second glass shelf. I will probably order it from the same glass shop that made the glass inserts for our kitchen cabinet doors.

I moved all of my Yankee Candles into the cabinet, but I ran out of space for things like tarts and jar shades. I found this little end table at T.J. Maxx, marked down to $30 from $80:

I added a covered wicker basket to the bottom for storage. A couple of days later, I found the framed print for $30 at Kohls (I love those additional 30% off coupons). It was kind of strange that I stumbled upon it. Ever since I started the black and white scheme in the dining room, I wanted a framed Steven Meyers print. eBay had the lowest prices, but I still couldn’t find anything of a good size for under $100. This was a great find for me, and I think it completes the room. Looking back, it all started with the chandelier as inspiration.

Whenever I list something on Craigslist, I find myself looking for other things we need to get out of the way at the same time. My desktop computer needed a new hard drive, but it was collecting dust. Micah and I use our laptops for everything now. I figured it would be a good idea to sell the computer and monitor while they were still worth something. It also let me free up all that wasted space on the desk downstairs, and re-purpose it as a place for paperwork and laptops. Eventually, the kids can use it as a space to do their homework. I moved our family photo albums out from the closet so they could be accessed more easily.

Fall is almost here! I don’t have many decorations, but a few festive things have crept their way in.

I can’t believe that in a few short months, we will be decorating for Christmas again!

We just returned from visiting our families. We stopped at Bearskin Neck in Rockport, Massachusetts. I have some happy childhood memories there. These shells are a souvenir from a little gift shop there, and are now a part of our coffee table centerpiece:

I love the clearance center for Raymour and Flanigan. We went there to look around the other day, and came home with a new dining set. Micah said it was an early anniversary present. The poor guy has to work out-of-town for the next two weeks, so all of the overtime pays for it. You have to admire his dedication to his job (and me)!

It has a few small scratches on the table surface that are barely noticeable, and it’s missing the leaf. Other than that, it’s perfect. I’ll live with any minor flaws when it means getting a heavy, solid wood table and six chairs for $850 instead of over $2000!

My parents gave me this CD set while we were visiting them, and we listened to them while having our first quiet dinner (ravioli) at our new table. I’m thinking it’s the closest thing we’ll get to a “date night” for a while.

We will have this for many years, and it’s perfect for our family of six.

We painted the upstairs hallway and living room a nutmeg color in 2006. We had just enough paint to finish it. I learned from that mistake later on, as it eventually needed a lot of touch-ups. I also discovered that my love of semi-gloss does not necessarily pertain to walls in a nearly 40-year-old house. I bought two gallons of a taupe color. I painted the hallway and living room, then continued on with the upper half of the dining room to stay consistent. It turned into a bigger task than expected, but then again, everything does when I’m involved!

The entryway and downstairs hall were also a warmer neutral color, so it seemed like we needed to divide the space. I chose a shade of green for the walls near the top of the stairs to accomplish that. It brings in color from my grandfather’s painting, the rug and coffee table. I think it worked very well. I will update the photos of the rooms soon. Here are the Behr colors:

Everything is nice and bright. I also touched up baseboards and trim in a few spots throughout the house.

I have been working on this for a couple of months now. I saw a photo of a black and white dining room that inspired me. The problem was that there was no way I could re-create it on a practically nonexistent budget.

- 1 Quart Color Place Paint: $13
- 1 Can Rust-Oleum paint: $0
- 2 Glass plates: $0
- Table Runner: $6
- Microfiber tablecloth: $20
- 2 Black metallic pillar candles: $6
- Tealight lamp: $7
- Tealight holders with tealights: $4
- Curtain panels and holdbacks: $50
Total: $96

These things were bought over time. I started with black paint below the chair rail. That shocked everyone, and it was difficult getting used to it. The windows have two white and two black sheer panels with metal holdbacks.

Then, I had to get creative. I already had the Rust-Oleum paint because it was purchased for the floor register in the kitchen. It has a very dark metallic finish. I painted the frame of a large mirror we were no longer using, along with two old glass plates. Those turned out surprisingly well.

I used the black paint from the walls on the tealight lamp (it had a chrome finish and was a Christmas markdown). Lastly, I painted the top and knobs of the pantry. It had a natural wood finish that didn’t match anything else.

I feel like it’s done now. I have tried a lot of things with this room and it never seemed to look right. It was tough because of the somewhat open floorplan, but it flows well because of the black sofa in the living room and some other elements. Here’s the finished product: