Divine Design Dining

The dining room was probably our biggest blowout yet, by busting down the wall between the kitchen. There was a regular doorframe separating the two rooms, but now there is an over a 4-foot entryway into the kitchen to make the spaces feel more connected. Danny wrote our names above the archway, under the drywall for someone to uncover in another 100 years. My brother Thomas learned the ropes from my dad and installed the insulation.

This white piano lacquer dining table and chairs were made for us (not really, but the gray Italian leather chairs match our portobello paint perfectly.) I love the clear acrylic base that matches the glass elements all around the room. The table has a built-in leaf so we don’t have to store it elsewhere when we are not hosting large dinner parties. The Christmas following our completed renovation, I gifted my family with “Kranny’s Kitchen Koupons” to redeem & request a special meal to be made for them, such as my great-grandma’s sauerbraten recipe. The peninsula bar stools give us spillover seating when hosting holiday parties, like when we reenacted Norman Rockwell’s painting The Thanksgiving Picture.

I chose a 6-armed chandelier to complement the 6-sided hexagon floors transitioning into the kitchen. I wanted to put raised paneling on the walls, but with all the windows, I didn’t think it would be seamless. Instead of having detail on the walls, I want to add detail on the ceiling by adding a medallion to give the room some architectural interest. All the windows make it light, bright and airy during the day; all the lighting makes it dark, moody and cozy at night.

I tablescaped with Leanne Ford’s Crate & Barrel dishware, black silverware or as I like to call “blackware”, tri-sized flameless candles (tall that represents Danny, medium that represents me, and small that represents Mondo), daisy napkins with a pyrite stone as a paper weight, fresh daisies & lemons to match the painting on the wall. My first dog was named Daisy so they show homage to her.

Allfield Construction & Remodeling, Leanne Ford for Crate & Barrel, The Show Place Furniture Galleries