the dining room.

Published on by Quandie

Today we are continuing the tour of our house with the dining room.

This room was added on to our 1904 farmhouse by the previous owners.  I’m guessing they added it sometime in the 70’s.  They salvaged the wood for the paneled walls from an old barn that was being torn down.  I’m sure they intended the room to be a family room, but since we’ve turned what was likely the formal dining room into a piano room, we now use this room as a dining room.

Over the years I have thought about painting the walls white, but I can’t help but feel like I might regret that down the road.  And once it’s done, there’s no going back to the original patina of the red barn wood.  Here’s a photo that shows that more clearly.

Back when dark stain was really in for wood floors, I had the wide pine floors in this room stained dark and I really regret that decision.  I wish now that I had left them alone too.  I’m not sure how difficult it would be to strip the dark and go back to a natural pine.  Maybe one of these days I’ll pursue that.

But in the meantime, I’ve tried to add lots of light colored furnishings to help brighten up the room starting with the huge Welsh cupboard on the back wall that houses my non-collection of ironstone.

I purchased this cupboard via Craigslist and then painted it in Miss Mustard Seed’s Linen on the outside and Fusion’s Linen on the inside.  In some lighting situations the Fusion Linen looks more grey, but in this room it has a strong green undertone that I don’t really like.  I’ve been meaning to re-paint that since I initially finished this cabinet back in 2015, but I haven’t quite gotten around to it.

  And gosh, I can’t believe it’s been 4 years since then!  Obviously it’s not an urgent matter.

I also whitewashed the cedar table that Mr. Q made.  He made it at least 25 years ago.  It was originally finished in a very shiny poly and the cedar was quite orange.  The whitewashing totally updated the look of the table.

The chairs were also a Craigslist find.  I painted them in Annie Sloan’s Old White and recovered the seats with old grain sacks.

I have another large piece of furniture painted in a shade of white in the room.

I purchased this bench at a garage sale.  Well, technically, my friend Meggan texted me about it and then I sent Mr. Q over to buy it.  The owners said that this bench was originally from Belgium.  I painted it in Miss Mustard Seed’s Farmhouse White.

This bench is a good example of milk paint that has continued to chip over time.  One of these days I should sand it down and add a water based sealer like Miss Mustard Seed’s Tough Coat to halt any further chipping (much like I did with this uber chippy chair).

Are you wondering what is on the wall behind the bench?  I’ve ‘wallpapered’ the walls on either side of the window using old rolls of player piano music.

They are just stapled in place, so when I get tired of them they will be easy to remove.

The ‘Charles Strand’ sign hanging above the clock is from the general store that Mr. Q’s great grandfather owned in Marine on the St. Croix, MN.  I found this photo from 1910 that shows the sign hanging above the door.  How cool is that?

I love how those guys are all just casually standing around in front of the store, probably telling tall tales.  I’m quite sure that one or more of them have to be Mr. Q’s ancestors because that is obviously where he gets his love of socializing.  I can totally see him hanging out down at the general store with a bunch of cronies.

Now, don’t be fooled by these photos into thinking I’m one of those people who keeps the dining room table fully set all the time.  I just thought it would be fun to dress it up for you guys.  I even pulled out my grandmother’s glassware.

The amber depression glass was perfect for a fall table.

After sharing all of these pretty pictures of our dining room with you, I now have to admit to the truth.  Our dining room is seldom used for actual dining and it almost never looks like it does in these photos.  It is far more often used as a storage facility.

You see, this is the only space inside the house where I can store my completed pieces until they sell.  I can line up as many as six or seven pieces of furniture along the walls in this room.

Right before I left for Florida I sold six pieces of furniture.  That pretty much cleaned out my inventory making this the perfect time to get some pictures of the dining room without extra furniture lining the walls.  Hopefully it won’t stay empty for long.  I’ve got a few Christmas projects to work on before I get back to painting furniture though.

There is just one room left on our house tour, Mr. Q’s study.  After I mentioned it here last week he decided to clean it out, which led to re-arranging the furniture.  He’s totally game to let me share it with you guys, so I’m planning that for next Wednesday.  Remember, keep your expectations low, but be sure to stay tuned 😉

30 thoughts on “the dining room.”

  2. The dining room looks great. I love the player piano music on the walls. Ans the Charles Strand sign is incredibly cool!

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  3. (correction) I made that table in the summer of ’88, so it has been over 30 years! Somewhere you’ve got a picture of a very young me working on it.

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  4. I had no idea Mr. Q made that table! It sure looks great and has been a workhorse for you. Your dining room is very lived in and welcoming. The buffet is the biggest one I’ve ever seen…will be a big job just to move the non-collection out of the way in order to paint! Love the room and looking forward to seeing Mr. Q’s domain.

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  5. I just love everything you do. I’ve said this in other comments and I truely mean this, yours is the one blog that I always open. Your designs make me feel good!

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    2. I have to say “Ditto” to Sharon’s comment! I have so enjoyed your home tour; I’m looking forward to Mr. Q’s office, but am sad that that is the last room! What about your outbuildings? We’d like to see those!

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      1. Well, I already included the photo cottage on the tour. The only other out building is the carriage house. I thought about including that, but it really isn’t blog worthy. At least not on the inside. In the summer it is my workshop and is a total hot mess 95% of the time. In the winter we park our cars inside, so not much to see. Back when I used to have occasional sales out of the carriage house I shared a few photos that show the inside (you can get a glimpse inside here).

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  7. This room totally surprises me. It has a totally different look that your other rooms but I love it I love the wood paneled walls, the beams, and ceiling. You are on point with the light furniture making it feel brighter and the room seems adequate for the large pieces. I read your blog all the time and love to see your finds but who knew you had so much ironstone…we just didn’t notice you slipping it in one piece at a time…I think you have a collection. Shhhh! Your table is lovely…and did your husband quit making furniture? He is obviously talented. Love the post..thanks for sharing.

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  8. I like barn board stained or whitewashed. Still the wood grain shows through but it is lightened up. Sarah Richardson has done a number of projects with that look and I love it.
    You’re dining room is lovely and it’s looks “comfortable” vs too formal.

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    1. One of the problems Sarah had in her cottage was that the whitewashed boards started to look pink over time, and I’m afraid I would have that problem too. Especially since I’d be starting with red boards. Definitely don’t want to end up with pink walls in there 🙂

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  9. Oh dear Linda…please please please never paint the barn wood in your dining room!
    I love the patina it has and like you said if you painted it there would be no undoing it!
    Such a warm space, cabin like! I am glad the mister is letting us peak into his space.
    He is a good sport!

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  10. First let me say I prefer the floors dark – they really are timeless.That ironstone loaded cupboard is such a beautiful piece and from my perspective the colors are perfect. You are very fortunate to have a room that can house a piece that size. This maybe my favorite room in your home. Well done!

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    1. I still remember going to pick that cupboard up when I purchased it. The seller lived in one of those huge McMansion type houses where every room is the size of a ballroom. The cupboard was dwarfed by the space in the room it was in. You could never bring most antique pieces into a home like that because they would be totally lost. I was quite surprised when I got it home and it almost filled my entire wall. It ended up being the perfect size for my room!

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  12. I think the paneling is dark…but gorgeous!!! Yes, you’d regret painting it but all the white helps lighten it up. Love the bench & your chairs. I really enjoy your blog.

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  14. Love everything about this room. The old barnwood and beams are just luscious. I love the contrast of all the white against them. Beautiful.

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