An OMG Wallpaper!

I had an hour to kill before picking up Elle the other day, so I ran into Phelan's with my mom.  Originally I went in looking for wallpaper for the powder bath -- something a long the lines of map or city scene.  We've been eyeing these or something similar 

And this is what I found at Phelan's . . .

It's a map of London, but doesn't shout "London" and comes in two colors (left and right).  It's much harder than I thought to find something that is not cheesy or New York or Paris.  

Next we started flipping through grasscloth books for the Dinning Room.  I found two that I liked, but didn't love . . . until we found the OMG Wallpaper! 

Osbourne & Little 

My bad iphone pic does not do this amazing paper justice!  It is absolutely stunning!!  The background is a soft gold/silver/barely metallic tone with an emerald green water colored scene. 

The great thing about our dinning room is that it can hold a bold pattern like this.  One wall is completely windows, wall two is a doorway (a pretty big doorway, too) into the Living Room, leaving only two full walls that will be wallpapered.  

Wick-House Before & After

These before and afters are crazy!  Can you tell a single guy lived here before us : )  Enjoy . . .

Living Room

Other than painting, we really didn’t do much to this room.  We did add a doorway into the kitchen. 

before

after

 Kitchen

The kitchen ended up being on of my favorite spaces in our home. We went with marble counter tops and white subway tile backsplash.  If you’re on the fence about marble, do it!  It stains, gets rings from wets glasses, you can’t put hot pans on it, the list goes on!  But it is the most beautiful countertop option out there!  I like to think of each ring and ding as our mark and history on the house.  We added a wall of cabinets which served as our pantry (since there was not one before).  These cabinets are probably one of the most functional ways to build a pantry!  I miss them already.  The wall between the den and kitchen was taken down and rebuilt as a bar top, opening the den up into the kitchen.

before

after

 

Den

This is where we added square footage onto the house.  It was only about a 10 ft x 13 ft add on, but made a world of difference.  Since the washer/dryer were originally in the kitchen, we add a small closet in the den to house these.  

before

after

Dining Room

The previous dining room had french doors out onto the deck.  Those were relocated to the den.  This room also had the only doorway into the kitchen, which was moved into the living room.  The flow into and out of this room was way off!  Then a coat of paint and a new pendant light finished it off.  

before

after  

House Finds -- Drum Shade

I have been on the hunt for a light fixture for the dinning room since before we moved.  In an attempt to once again compromise Chase and I's idea for a chandelier we settled on a drum shade.  I really just wanted a simple white one or a shade with a light pattern.  After going to one too many lighting stores, we were at the point of wanting to open our own store with pretty shades, chandeliers, pendants, etc.  No need to open our own store, I have found the best place in Dallas for lamps and shades of all sizes!!!  ArteriorsToo is amazing!  The have a spot in the Design Center, but for good inexpensive things ArteriorsToo is your spot!  If you live in Dallas - GO THERE!

We found a white drum shade with the most subtle shimmer to it.  Next I was faced with the challenge of how to hang it.  It did not come with a chandelier kit, so it was up to my dad and I to figure this out.  After a trip to Home Depot we thought we had solved out problem.  As you can see by the picture, we were wrong.  My pendant kit did not do it's job.  We're still perplexed with this problem.  This shade may end up on a lamp at this rate!

This shade was too cool to pass up.  It is Japanese newspaper strips woven together.  Very neat!  I don't have a place for it yet, but I'm sure it will find a home as our house comes together.  

Let there be Light...

I've started the hunt for a chandelier for the new dinning room.  During the renovation, this room will only have a few changes.  One major one being the french doors will be no more -- meaning no natural lighting in this room.  The door into the kitchen is also being relocated around the corner.  This new chandelier needs to give off a good amount of light when need be, I'll also stick a couple of lamps and a mirror (for light reflecting) in the room.

I personally love the old, traditional, crystal chandeliers.  Chase on the other hand wants something a little more modern.  I'm determined to find a beautiful compromise.

Paint color will obviously be changed, and most likely the sad sad too skinny chair rail.  And ewww the previous owner's chandelier is out!  Funny, he was so adamant about taking that with him.  Yes, I will pay you take that!

Possible Chandelier Choices

found here

found here

found here

found here