Nina, a Your Decorating Hotline reader, requested help with some of the details of her dining room.  She wrote:

“This room is a work in progress.  My style tends to lean toward contemporary.  I am searching for the perfect area rug for the room…no luck so far.  I am looking for a fatter vase to replace the one on the right of the buffet.  Also looking for candles for the table.  I love those stands I have in the corner but can’t decide what to put on them.   Any suggestions?”

Dining Room In Progress

Nina included the following photos of her dining room.  While reviewing them and considering her request for help, I took to heart her statement about leaning toward a contemporary style.

Area Rug Solutions

Nina had been searching for the perfect rug for the dining room but had “no luck so far.”  I suggested the following rugs I found at www.owsphinx.com  because each of them have the green and rust I saw in her photos and they reinforce the style of her art and the 3 pedestals.  She wrote back:  “I took a look at the rugs you mentioned, they are all really beautiful.”

 

Console and Art Input

Nina wanted to find a vase to replace the one on the right of her console arrangement.  I was more concerned with the overall look of the console in relationship the art.  I shared my concern with her, noting the wall art overhangs the console and it should not. 

I suggested two options: 1.  Moving the three pieces of art closer together so they do not extend beyond the console width OR  2. Adding a dining room chair to each side of the console to visually extend the volume of the furniture so it is wider than the art.  It turns out the art overhang bothered Nina too so she talked her husband into moving it and sent the following “after” photo: 

I had advised Nina that if she wanted to leave the accessories on the console “as is” a chunkier vase would be a good idea.  My suggestion, however, was to let the art star more by simplifying the console top.  The art has a lot of visual color and size variety going on and all that activity might be more focused with a simpler console accessory display – keeping the focus targeted on the art.  I suggested she consider something to simply fill the area under the center piece of the art – perhaps a long rectangular planter type shape filled with moss or a footed dish to hold a line-up of pillars.  She liked the idea and has added that to her shopping list for the room.

Pedestal Plans

Nina loves her three pedestal stands and I d0 too.   They add great color and texture to the the room and liven up an otherwise forgotten corner.  I thought the room needed something living and something simple for the pedestal display so I suggested Nina consider putting a big, fluffy Boston fern on the tallest pillar, a smaller soft planter of green on the smallest pedestal to complement the fern, and then an accessory of some sort (maybe a vase, a decorative box, the decorative plate that was on the console, or a huge multi-wicked candle on a plate) on the middle sized stand.

Nina liked the idea of the fern and is waiting for the spring plants to arrive at her nursery.  Meanwhile she started experimenting with other items and found around her house and sent me the photo below.  She noted the vase filler was only a “placeholder” for experimenting and she was thinking of some taller branch stems.

Next Progress Stage

During our email conversation I mentioned to Nina that the glass candle holders on her dining room table were not weighty enough and suggested darker candle holders with pillar candles would work better.  Since she decided to simplify the display on the buffet console she moved those candle holders to her table top. 

When she first wrote, Nina called her dining room was “a work in progress.”  As a result of our email conversation she is now closer to finding the rug she’s been searching for, changed the wall art arrangement, is simplifying the display on the console, is experimenting with things she likes on the pedestals, and she brought a plant into the room to add some life (on left of window).  Her dining room has now entered it’s next stage toward completion – check it out in the “almost after” photo below.

 

What’s Your Work In Progress?

Do you have a room that is currently a work in progress?  What are you up to?  What has worked and what obstacles are you facing?  Leave a comment below or email solutions@yourdecoratinghotline.com.  You know we love to hear from you!

Reminder:  Give-aways Next Week

We’re celebrating our 200th post next week with give-away drawings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on the post for that day and your name will automatically be included in the random drawing to select the winner.  

Our Tuesday drawing winner will claim an art print by Don Shan valued at $18.  The print of the winner’s choice will fit into their 11″ X 14″ standard frame.

 Our Thursday winner receives a 2-color personalized name and inital vinyl decal from Expressing You  valued at $22.  Think of all the great places you could put it!

Join the fun next week as we celebrate our 200th post!