I did a little something…

Something I’ve been looking forward to for months!

I decided last year to wallpaper the dining room, not to add formality but to create a “cozy” space for the holidays and family gatherings that take place in that room. The dining room has always been my favorite room in every house we’ve lived in. This is where we gather, we share our stories, our hearts and where all of life is celebrated. This room above all others, should be cozy.

I want people to be comfortable, to linger longer at the table, to enjoy themselves.

I chose a pattern that was very simple, a stencil, which I felt would be a perfect complement to the Colonial styled furniture I inherited from my mother.

At first, I was asked if I was going to sell it, give it to Good Will, paint it, or trash it…how could I?

Of course, it’s not trendy, it’s Colonial!

I remember helping my mother dust the table’s legs when I was small enough to walk to the next leg by walking under the table. She would hand me a little cloth, and I was so proud to be able to be her helper.

I remember her telling me how long she searched for this set, how the store salesman made fun of her for wanting such an “old-fashioned” style, she proudly ignored him, and bought the set anyway. She told me that the concave glass inset in the doors, cost more but were worth it. She told me that the first time her brother and sister in-law dined with them at the table, that her brother scratched the table with his cufflinks! The mark is still there. She gave me a handwritten recipe card with the formula for her own “homemade” furniture polish, it is still in my cookbook. Priceless.

Giving it away, or donating the dining room furniture, is not an option.

Painting over generations of my family members’ fingerprints, is not an option

Erasing their past and my own, is not an option.

So, I did a thing…

I wallpapered my dining room with a Colonial stenciled pattern, in a soft neutral that contrasts nicely with the warmth of the cherry furniture.

Warmth is the word.

Cozy is the feel.

Home is the reality.

By Thanksgiving I’ll add drapes and new blinds, have the carpet cleaned, and head for Florida. Our first celebration in this room will be Christmas, with a packed house. The very walls will be happy, the room filled with love and laughter, and all hearts at home.

I’m so excited.

Keeping the furniture is an emotional, heartfelt decision. I simply cannot, yet, let go of it.

All I have left of my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, are their fingerprints imbedded on the table. Oh! and one scratch from cufflinks!

I’ll post more pictures when I get the room, or at least the hutch put back together, and, if you have any advice on where to get linen pinch-pleated drapes please let me know in the comments, I’d really appreciate it!

Blessings to you all,

xx,