Donna's Dining Room "AFTER"

Here is the dining room today. I incorporated most of Donna's favorite design elements. I used vibrant colors, shells, grand scale,animal prints, varied textures, and multi-functionality. AND, I hid the shredder and printer! Kudos to me!

Here, at last, is the finished dining room. Donna was the ideal client in that she trusted me completely. This long wall (formerly hidden by the mountain of boxes,remember?) was the ONLY place for a desk. This one is functional, beautiful, and capable of hiding the printer and shredder (a MUST!!!!!).

We both love grandly scaled pieces like the mirror, which just rests on the desk. Another Guild Shop find were the shadow boxes with sea fans inside , which I painted a different shade of blue. A happy accident (one of many) were the exciting patterns thrown on the walls and ceiling by the lovely new chandelier. I didn't plan that, but I will take credit.

My friend, Jerry, is eager to see the finished project. Here is a reminder of how the breakfast room looked....

...and here is the finished room, minus some books on the bookcase. What do you think?

Almost any room can be made beautiful by a rich wall color and a crystal chandelier. I framed the naked mirror with a custom frame from my friends at Davis Hardware at 1028 Studewood.

Here is the "breakfast nook"(breakfast for her dog, Harley, that is, as you can see by the bowl) in Donna's kitchen. She had already painted it a cheerful Restoration Hardware "BUTTER"(I'm not kidding....that is the real name of the paint). There are two windows that look out onto a lovely tree lined street(that qualifies as a "nice view") ,the same great shiny white crown molding as in the dining room and another "hideous chandelier".
On the other wall, out of view, is the microwave oven sitting alone on a table. I have very strong feelings about exposed wires, ugly appliances, and televisions...mainly that they should be hidden. So, the challenge in this room was to hide/minimize the microwave.