Thursday, December 1, 2011

The "New" Dining Room


Yesterday, I showed you the "before" color in the mostly unused room at the front of our adobe house. 


Here is a little hint of the color to come. I wanted colorful curtains and found some fabric that would have done the trick; alas, it would have cost way more than any curtains should ever cost. Instead, I bought some screaming yellow broadcloth on sale and sewed yellow and green and orange ribbon along the edge. Just having those heavy, dusty old wooden slat blinds out of the room was a huge improvement, and the yellow curtains are very cheery!


The rocking chair in the corner was rescued from the dump in New Hampshire, as was the little green table next to it. Now that I think of it, the picture frame, brass lamp, and lampshade all came from the same place--the Swap Shop at our old recycling center. I love this kind of recycling. 

The chair has been named The Beth Chair, in honor of Beth in North Carolina, a blogger I have only met via the Internet. She writes Blue Ridge Blue Collar Girl, and I hope you'll go right over and say hi. That Beth Chair will be painted the same green as the woodwork in the room, which you may or may not be able to make out in a later photo. 

The sweet little stained glass fan lamp was made by my wonderfully creative sister, Auntie Bucksnort. The two framed pictures on the windowsill are closeup photos of a mural in Santa Fe, taken by another creative relative, my very own son Benjamin.


You've already seen both the chicken cabinet and Gracie the cat on this blog before. That tilt-top table/bench belonged to my parents. It gets refinished once a generation, and I just completed my turn a couple of years ago. You can see in this photo that the room is a nice, sunny yellow. It was meant to be a faint buttercream, but fate apparently had other intentions. 


I put this not-so-good picture in so you can catch a glimpse of the green trim, there to the left. There isn't a lot of woodwork in an adobe room, so I figured that the green wouldn't be overwhelming.


This side of the room still needs some attention. Those bookcases, painted melon for our last house (and blue for the house before!), will get painted a nice light yellowy green. The pictures will get hung up, no easy task with our rock-hard adobe walls. That little cabinet is from Mr. Bean at the Las Cruces Farmers Market. We have so many of his pieces that we are running out of places to put them, but I love his wonderful color combinations and always want just one more.


This picture (actually a notecard by Diana Bryer in a frame) of a woman rolling out tortillas used to be in the kitchen, but the color is just perfect for the new room. 



Here is a closeup of one of the pictures that has been hung. The print is from the Farmers Market, and that is the frame from the dump, now spray painted and hung back-side-out, because I like it that way.


Yet another picture to be hung; it's a print mounted on a flat basket tray that came from... you guessed it! The dump!


Here is a quick snap of the new dining room, ready for action on Thanksgiving. It was a potluck, with Bucksnort doing all the turkey/stuffing/gravy/potatoes, etc. in my kitchen, and friends bringing along the side dishes and dessert. All I had to do was paint! We hadn't quite finished setting the table when I took this picture. I really should have waited until moments later, when the table was surrounded by a dozen good friends; laughing, eating, toasting each other, and talking as though they would never run out of things to say.


I used to read this book to the kids in my New Hampshire library, explaining to them that I would someday live in a house hecha de lodo, made of mud--and, I do!

17 comments:

Margie's Musings said...

It all looks just wonderful! I would love to paint my kitchen and get the wallpaper stripped off it. I will do that when Slinky is gone..if I am still able by then.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love the yellow curtains - so sunny!

Anonymous said...

The yellow adds a lot more energy to the room. We purchased a NM home that was in very good condition because we didn't want to begin our retirement with a lot of home projects, but the tan tile floors and tan walls are rather boring to us, and our Wheaten Terrier blends right into the surroundings. Our home is in Santa Fe, actually a few miles outside so we enjoy the beauty of nature and really love the howling of the coyotes. We are presently living in MN, and visit NM about four times a year. I am very interested in parents that maintain close relationships with their adult children because that is something I find important. Thanks for asking, or I wouldn't share so much! I will have to set up a Google account so I won't register as anonymous. Nancy

clairz said...

Nancy, since you mentioned relationships with adult children, have you seen my other blog, Recipes for Ben?

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Dreams really do come true!

The yellow is very cheerful and looks wonderful in that room. Sure brightens things up!

~Lisa

JC said...

Love your new room. You table looks very inviting. Sounds like you had a grand time.

Beth said...

I love what you've done with your room, Clair---I feel happy just looking at the pictures. The yellow is so cheery and bright. And I am thrilled to finally see my namesake chair! It just so happens that green is my favorite color. And it's particularly appropriate that it came from the dump because, as you may recall from a previous post I did on my life as a dumpster-diver, some of our most treasured possessions came from the dump. It's my favorite form of recycling!:-)

Ms. Becky said...

thanks for the tour Clair! I love what you've done with the room. it's very warm and looks like a home. and your Thanksgiving table was so lovely - you like blue! the best part of this post? your sister's name - Auntie Bucksnort. oh my. I want to know HER too! happy day Clair.

clairz said...

You bet I like blue, Ms. Becky! The next room to be painted will include lots of blue in the trim, and the two rooms after that (I have big plans) will be some shade of blue, with more yellow and green to come, as well.

Joyful said...

I love what you've done to the room. I thought it was going to be brick red though! I love red too.

I probably would have left the wooden shutters under the yellow curtains. I just love wooden shutters and I like to keep out the light at certain times of day. To each her own ;-)

I'm sure the guests enjoyed all the Thanksgiving goodness and your warm hospitality.

Michelle Meaders said...

I love that Diana Bryer picture -- I have it as a greeting card, too. It's called "the Tortilla Maker". The daddy is keeping the baby busy, and the kitten in the corner is so sweet! And there is a great old New Mexico truck out the window.

Deb from WhatsInMyAttic said...

And a never a more lovely house made of mud have I seen! Love it that you are brave with color; so bright and cheerful. A great makeover (and the green trim is a great touch).

WasSoggyInSeattle said...

Beautiful Clare!! I too have always wanted to live in an adobe house. I thought my time was close when we moved to NM but alas... not to be so here I am... miserable in Texas. :-) Maybe one day we'll get to return and STAY!!!

Nan said...

Wonderful, wonderful! Cheerful, bright, and so well suited to your locale.

Val said...

Love the dining room and all of the detials you shared!

Sage said...

Thanks for leaving your comment on by blog, Tumbleweed Crossing, about the skeleton dolls. They are so cute, I had heard about them but not seen them until I visited Sarah recently for the first time since she has been making them. So glad you know her, too, and have some of the dolls. I will let her know about yours. I see you visit some of the same blogs I do. I will add you to my list.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I'm having a great time catching up this morning -- cookings all done! Love the dining room. When we owned a house in Oregon we did the same thing after the kids were grown, turned the front of the house living room into a dining room, enlarged the kitchen into the dinette, and used the family room as a living room (the only one)....it worked beautifully. (Although the room wasn't anywhere near as colorful and artistic as yours!)