{Creating the Ultimate Dining Room}

Whether your traditional or cottage, farmhouse or industrial creating the ultimate dining room is easy if you follow these simple tips. (don't forget that Thanksgiving will be here before you know it!)

The table - every dining room should have one.

My favorite type of table is a big hunkin' farmhouse one.  I love the aged wood from the reclaimed lumber tops, mixed with all kinds of legs. My friend John Duffy, from Stable Tables specializes in making custom tables with all kinds of wood, mixed with all kinds of bases and legs.
He recently made this round table with a iron knitting base for the bottom. Awesome!

My dining room table was made by John about 2 years ago, and it is my favorite thing in the whole wide house!

The Chairs  - lot's of them.

The whole point of using my living room as a dining room was so I could have a giant room, with a giant table, and have tons of people over, and hopefully have giant plates of food (that's edible).

So, I needed chairs, chairs, and more chairs.

I find them everywhere. People leave them at my back door. I find them in the trash and at yard sales. I might even purchase some from time to time. And I almost always spray paint them. Seasonally.

When not in use in the dining room, I place them around the house. Bedrooms, hallways, even my powder room has a chair in it.

Dishes - pretty much anything goes.

I mix and match. I buy sets, partial sets, half sets, broken sets, one of a kinds, pairs, WHATEVER I like.

Then I throw them all together on the table, and voila. Dinner for 72.

Fun, quirky, cute, and nobody gets the impression that they need to be on their best behavior, or that anything near fancy is coming out of the kitchen.

In other words, it sets the mood for the whole night. It's eclectic, just like the people there. And that's how I like it.

A place to put all your stuff - a buffet.

If you're like me, your not serving each person individually and plating the food like your some fancy smanchie chef. Nope. Your throwin' it all in one spot and telling everyone to get up, cause it's time to eat.

But I will put in on/in something cool. So, while my cooking is not so hot. I can put together a mean display.

Yes. I found this buffet in the trash. I know. Crazy.

And don't forget the drinks.

Slap those bad boys somewhere interesting, and you'll have your guest ewwing and ahhing all night. 'Cause the bar of course is the most crowded part of the house when you're entertaining.

So, all in all these are the basic parts you'll need to create your own "ultimate dining room". 

Want more dining room ideas?  You'll have to wait for my Flea Market Dining e-zine, which will be coming to you very soon. FREE. You're welcome.

Or, you can peek into my boards on Pinterest.

Here for Thanksgiving ideas. And, here for dining rooms.

{How to make a Kid sized Office}

There is a small closet just outside the girl's bedroom.

It was the perfect spot for them to set up shop and travel around webkin world, very important work for 6 & 7 year old girls.

I finished the hallway outside of this closet a few weeks ago with gym flooring as a chair rail.

Along with a collection of mis-matched frames and the kid's initials.

I painted the outside of the door black, to match the rest of the house.

The inside of the door I painted duck egg blue.

I added a 1"pine board as a desk top to the inside of the closet. And covered the edge with a vintage red yard stick.

Hung a rod below the desk top and slipped a small quilted blanket over it to hide cords and computer parts. 

Found a small ottoman that was used in their nurseries for a stool.

A wire basket is the perfect size to hang on the inside of the duck egg blue door.

Which, can be conveniently shut to hide messes.

There was already a shelf at the top of the closet, so I just slipped in some baskets to contain small items.

The back wall was covered in cork panels.

I used one of my all time favorite DIY projects, the globe pendant lamp, as a light source.

Officially one of my favorite rooms in the house.

linking up to

{Coffee Can Vases}

Start diggin' in your recycling bucket, 'cause today's project is waitin' for you.

I've had these vintage coffee cans for 'eva.

They travel around the house for different decorative purposes all the time.

This summer, they're planters.

But don't worry if you don't have the vintage cans.

Regular ole cans are just as cute, and cheaper! plus you get the extra bonus of using what's in them first.

(And by the way, are there actually people out there who drink HALF caffeinated coffee? Silliness)

So, go ahead. Dumpster dive in your own driveway.

{ Using ClipBoards for Art }

Jonas's room is still one of my favorite rooms in the house.
It's the perfect combination of flea market, little boy, and campy.
There's a lot going on in it, but somehow it doesn't look cluttered (to me).

I found some vintage maps and vacation maps & brochures on ebay lat year and gave them to my husband for Father's Day. (He lived in Alaska for 5 years pre me and the kids and he misses it very much.) He loves them.

But, the they sat around not doing much. So, after I saw a recent cover of Flea Market Style Mag, I had an idea. Clip the brochures and maps to clip boards and hang them in Jonas's room. The perfect spot.

They worked out great!

{ Junque Workshop Roundup }

We held our first Junque Workshop recently.

If you're not familiar with our workshops, they are a once a month event where we show you the proper safety and use of power tools and help you design & create unique and functional home decor items.
The workshops take place at Philadelphia Salvage Co. in beautiful Mt. Airy, PA

This month's theme was recycled wood frames.
"Girls Power!"...although the workshops aren't just for girls.

Here's some of the great frames that came out of the workshop.

We used all kinds of old wood.
Barn wood, bead board, vintage studs from demoed homes, scraps, etc...
The supply from Philadelphia Salvage Co. gave us endless possibilities.

These frames were out of this world.
Every one was so creative and each frame was different.  I love the layer look on the yellow and white frame.
I could have taken home each and every one and hung them in my house!

The green frame above has four cup hooks attached to it.

The women who created of this frame is going to hang small buckets from each hook and fill the buckets with chalk for outdoor sidewalk chalk storage.

The frame below has several cups hooks attached to the center to hang jewelry from.

Everyone used the nail gun, miter saw, and other tools you might have never thought you could use!

Even scissors. lol.

Susie was a sport and agree to this pose I made her do...

It was a fun day, and we were so happy to meet some of the faces we only know in blog land!

We'll be updating our schedule soon with some fun summertime projects for our next Junque workshop.

So stay tune for more recycled goodness!

{ G I V E A W A Y }

Happy Monday People!

We had a great day at Clover market yesterday, thanks for everyone who stopped by my space and said hello. It's so great to finally meet people I only know through the computer.

Today I am holding a GIVEAWAY on The Painted Home's facebook page.

The winner will receive ONE ticket to this weekend's workshop with me at Philadelphia Salvage. (details below)

To win a ticket you have to LIKE The Painted Home on facebook and leave a comment on the giveaway post on FACEBOOK - not here on the blog!

For a second chance to win, visit Philadelphia Salvage on facebook and look for their giveaway post.

The ticket is ONLY good for the April 21st workshop. 

Good Luck and see you at the workshop!

(More workshops are coming up in May and June ~ they will be announced on The Painted Home's Facebook page)

{ Workshop Series Announcement }

Do you see things on blogs and pinterest and wish you knew how to make them?

I'm really excited to announce a partnership with The Painted Home & Philadelphia Salvage.

Philadelphia Salvage is Philadelphia's first salvage and artist studio. They specialize in reclaiming pieces of Philadelphia's history through re-purposing architectural pieces and building supplies.

I used many pieces from Philadelphia Salvage in my designer room at The Philadelphia Home Show.

From antique furniture, to old school lighting, to vintage bead board, they've got it all.

They even have full time carpenters on staff if you'd like to use something they have in stock in your own home, just ask and they make arrangements to install it for you.

It a must stop if your ever in the Philly area.

So, with all that being said, how could I not spend my weekends there buying up all their bits and scraps to create my own "junque"?

Well, I do, and now you can too.

Once a month we'll be holding a workshop series right in Philadelphia Salvage's warehouse.

Each month's workshop will have a different theme. this month is recycled wood frames.

You'll use materials from P.S.'s huge stock of reclaimed wood, along with their tools to create your own one of a kind frame.  And I'll be there to help you along.

Follow us on Facebook to keep up with the announcements - 

The Painted Home on Facebook      Philadelphia Salvage on Facebook

Sign up soon, space is limited!

See you there.