Home Updates: The Dining Room

I’ve been thinking about doing a home updates series on the blog for quite a while and am excited to officially get started on it! I’ve added the series to the main menu on the home page, you can find it in the “interiors” tab if you want to check in for new posts.

This series will cover two things in particular.

First, I will share the details of each room once I’m satisfied with that area and feel it’s complete (or at least nearing completion, since I’m constantly rearranging and making changes).

Second, I will share particular things of note that I think you would be interested in having the inside scoop on! Personally, I love watching the evolution of spaces and seeing them come to life from start to finish so I think it will be fun to document and share this with you!

Learning As We Go

This is the first time in my adult life that I’ve had a dining room that I love. In our last house, we chose not to invest in dining room furniture as that was lower on the priority list for us when it came to house updates.

We had a solid wood table and chairs set that Johnny had bought second-hand from a family member before we were living together and while not my favourite aesthetic, they were totally functional at a time when we had a lot of major purchases to make (buying the house, basically all the other furniture for the house, and paying for a wedding).

The woman who bought our last house asked if we would be interested in selling her some of the furniture. So we decided to part ways with the table and chairs at that time (along with many other items!) and that freed us up to begin looking for something that better suited our taste/style.

Dining Room Ideas | The Process

Because our main floor is open concept, we had to consider the room as a whole and think about what flowed well with the design and colour palettes in the kitchen and living room when choosing pieces for the dining room. Originally, I wanted to find a large light oak table; however, I was also craving a more unique option for the space. I knew I wanted the chairs to be a warmer wood tone since the floors are a lighter oak and when I saw the warm walnut frames on these ones, I knew they would be the perfect addition.

From there, I started exploring options for the table and Johnny actually came across the table we went with while scrolling Costco’s website (his favourite pass-time ha). Our table has a walnut base and a quartz marble-print top and I love the contrast of warm and cool tones on the piece. It feels like a great balance of masculine and feminine aesthetics (something I love to play with in design) and I couldn’t be happier with how it fits in the room as a whole.

When it came to the little bar area, I had a very specific image in mind and knew I wanted to find a cabinet with cane doors for extra storage and added warmth/texture in that spot. I scoured FB Marketplace for the longest time and kept coming up empty handed and then when I saw this cabinet from Urban Barn, I knew it was the perfect piece. If I had to choose a favourite vignette in our house, it’s that bar cabinet area.