dining room changes, just in time for our Easter table

April 7, 2020

Over the past few months, we’ve been making some changes to our dining room. For some reason, this is the one room that never felt overly cohesive to me. It has been a slow process,

Over the past few months, we’ve been making some changes to our dining room. For some reason, this is the one room that never felt overly cohesive to me. It has been a slow process, but I really love the way it has ended up. The only thing left to possibly change is the chandelier, but I can’t quite make up my mind. After adding the formal table and chairs, I almost love the unexpected coral fixture to keep things a little playful.

Now that we have this room in order, I was really excited to create an Easter table that felt really special. It’s such a meaningful time and I want to treat it with the same importance as ever before, despite not being able to actually go to church and go about our day as usual. Don’t get me wrong, Easter could be just as special sitting on a picnic blanket. But in a time when we are home all day, every day, I thought it would change things up in a good way to have a more formal meal in the dining room, just as we might normally plan on doing while dressed in our Sunday best. I’d imagine that our morning will go a little like this…let the kids see what the Easter bunny brought, then attend church “virtually,” and then have an Easter meal. If you’re local to Charleston, I saw that Hamby’s is offering a pick up meal. We might do that. We also plan on having an egg hunt in our yard!

But back to the dining room and this tablescape. As I’m now looking back, I feel like we’ve come a long way with this space. You can see where we began with this dining room here after we first bought this home a couple years ago. I then shared an update here after we wallpapered it. The Annie Selke grasscloth is somewhat of a bolder choice for me, as I typically go for lighter hues, but I was craving some texture on our walls and I love the warmth it brings to our otherwise very light downstairs living area. Grasscloth is also such a southern, classic staple. Our home is newer construction, a stark difference from our last home, which was built in the 1940s. So adding in warmth and layers of texture brings in a little bit of that charm I often miss. It also helps to divide the space a bit. Brandon added trim around the entrance to the room, which you’ll see in a photo below, to further enhance this feel of separation.

I also changed the furniture! Our table, which I’ll show you another time soon when it isn’t covered with a tablecloth, is from the 1960s. It’s cherry wood, if I’m not mistaken, and has a burl border. I found it on Chairish, which is a great source for antiques and furniture of all kinds. I also saw it cross-posted on eBay, so that’s another good one to check if you’re in the market for an older piece, as is Etsy. The finish on the top of the table wasn’t in as good of condition upon arrival as I expected, but I feel like I got a really good deal on it, so it’s not a bother to eventually get the top refinished. I’m in no rush for that, though. Honestly, having a few surface scratches here and there kind of takes the pressure off… makes me not have to be so careful with the kids!

The chairs are from Ballard Designs. What’s so wonderful about them is the fabric is Sunbrella, so it’s easy to clean any spills. It also has a substantially longer life span than cotton. No one would ever guess it’s outdoor fabric—it’s truly exquisite in person! When designing these chairs online, you can also choose your preferred wood finish. Ours is walnut brown. The exact name of the fabric is “Sk Elowen Petal” Sunbrella Performance.

This rug is by Annie Selke. I’m a huge fan of their custom size rug collection. We have their Laurel Sand rug in our living room and foyer and it’s the best rug I’ve ever had. Substantial, soft, and classic all in one. Then I saw this new one, called Fleck, on the site and fell in love with it. Annie Selke’s rugs are such high quality and this one sets the bar even higher. Soft on the foot and super stylish.

The narrow butterflies painting on the back wall is by Joey Lancaster. I fell head over heels in love with her work when I spotted it on Instagram one day. Went on a deep dive, then finally emailed her to commission this piece. There’s actually one almost identical to it available at Blueprint Gallery in the exact dimensions. The tone and texture of it is incredible. I might write more about Joey soon because I think her work is very special and unique.

The drapes are a new add. We had them done by Kiawah Island Shades and the process couldn’t have been more seamless. They came to the house and measured, brought over fabric and hardware samples, and then installed everything just two or three weeks later. That’s like lightening speed when it comes to custom work. Custom drapery is definitely an investment, but woah does it make a huge difference.

These two paintings below are by Jordan Connelly. Jordan and I, along with our husbands, met on a boat in the British Virgin Islands about 5 years ago. We all immediately hit it off and had the best day ever island hopping. I didn’t know at the time that she was an incredibly talented artist! She’s also an ER nurse. So thankful she is now painting and sharing her gift with all of us. Jordan creates the most beautiful landscapes, many of which are southern coastal scenes, but she also does very special commission work. She can transform any photo into the most beautiful piece, which is the case here with these two. Here’s a better look at them and the original photos, too.