{Back to School Mantel}

better late than never...

Okay, so before I change my mantel to my Fall one, here's the "Back to School" mantel.

I love this old screen door I found on the side of the road. I cleaned up the wood edges with some cream paint and leaned it against the wall.

If you follow me on instagram, you already know that at one time there were granny smith apples sitting on the books. But, little hands got a hold of them and now they are in their bellies.

Enjoy! Fall mantel and 5 Days of Fall DIY's coming up soon!

Also coming up is a re-cap of the Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio that I went to this past weekend...

sharing at

{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.

{ Vintage Bar Towel Holder }

*disclaimer - this idea was stolen straight from the pages of Flea Market Style Magazine. (thanks FMS)

{ Finding your style }

It's not always easy to find your style.

Especially when you first move in to your home.

It takes time & tweeking.  And, even then, you'll probably wind up tweeking some more.

This is what my fireplace in my dining room looks like today.

I'm happy with it.  But it took a while to get here.

When we first saw the house, the room looked like this.

I knew right away I wanted to room to be a dining room instead of a living room.

And, I  L O V E  it as a dining room.

At first, I just thought the fireplace needed a tiny bit of color, so I painted it sea salt by sherwin williams.

Snore.

Something still was just not right. So, I Darkened the back wall and added horizontal stripes.

The stripes worked out great, but I knew the mantel needed to be heftier. 

So, we had a mantel made from old barn wood by John Duffy, from Stable Tables.

getting there...

Then, finally a little before Christmas, I painted the fireplace black.

Donk.  That was it.

Now, the fireplace works well with the rest of the room , and the rest of the house for that matter.

So, it takes a while, but keep tweeking.  i know I always will.

{ Our Woodsy Christmas Mantel }

linking to A to Z's 

Mantel Party

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