Living Room & Dining Area: It’s all in the details.
The changes to our living & dining rooms (well, really it’s much more of a dining area) may appear minimal but once you see the before and after pictures you’ll agree that they were absolutely essential in creating the rooms’ transformations. Aside from opening up the kitchen into the living room and refinishing the floors, we put in a new sliding glass door in the dining area and new windows in the living room. Replacing the windows was not something we did solely in the living room, it was actually done throughout the house to make it more esthetically pleasing and also more energy efficient. The difference new windows makes is quite amazing (both to your eyes and wallet)! Pictures of the old and new windows can be seen below.
The new lighting pattern (also seen in the pictures below) is also one of those details that just had to be pointed out because although small, the difference is drastic. At purchase the living room was lit solely by table lamps and natural lighting, which only hit that room in the early morning hours. Therefore, when updating that area our preference was for it to have it’s own lighting pattern and not to depend on the kitchen lighting or the sunlight for brightness. We (and by we I mean Pavlo) installed 4 recessed lights surrounding a new ceiling fan. Isn’t the difference that four simple lights made amazing?!
Now for the dining area! Unfortunately the light originally installed in the space was hideous! However, just having the hideous fixture there was a blessing because it meant the ceiling was already wired for a light fixture directly above the table and that single fixture was going to provide plenty of light for the small space. Finally, a room that didn’t need added lighting! This meant the only change would be a quick switch of the awful old fixture for one more updated and, of course, coordinated with the pendants of the kitchen.
The walls were not just impacted by a simple coat of yellow paint (Sherwin Williams’ “Compatible Cream” to be specific) that matched the kitchen’s color, but also were enhanced with new 5″ base board, crown moulding, and new air diffusers. Although the picture of the diffuser is slightly blurry I felt it was important to include it because it is a perfect example of a small, but necessary, detail that makes a huge difference.
And that is how our new living room and dining room area came about!
So, I saw what you said about the dining room table in your post about the kitchen table (which is totally boss btw). At first I thought, yeah, I know exactly how the conversation with Pavlo goes where you want him to do something he will never do. But then in this post I saw the dining ‘area’ table and realized that I am relatively certain that i enjoyed many a breakfast at that table back in Charlottesville. I can sympathize with Pavlo for not wanting to let it go. But that said – Steph is right.
~Casey
p.s. I now read your blog.
I guess Pavlo had a reputation? I like to think he just knows what he wants but in this case he only THINKS he knows what he wants. I haven’t entirely won the battle of the dining room table but if more people keep telling him “Steph is right,” which is all I’m going to take away from this comment btw, then he’ll bend eventually! Thanks for reading!
Mrs.Catbay you are welcome anytime!
I like all the little details you did. Very cozy. i also love the color choices. I love the floor. can I move in NOW.LOL. Mrs. Catbay