An Almost New Dining Room Lamp

It was one of the first things we bought when we moved to DC eighteen years ago. We needed a table lamp so we drove somewhere in Virginia and my husband liked this long stemmed metal art deco lamp. It has been in storage since we moved to northern Virginia five years ago - until this week. A few years ago we got a Holtkotter desk lamp for the entryway. It’s quite heavy and is a real pain in the neck. It found its way to the dining room side board when we moved. It has a halogen bulb - which I burned my fingers on once - and it stopped working. We took it to the neighborhood light store The company is now out of business and you can’t find replacement bulbs. The light bulb was working so it had to be the lamp. When we brought it home we plugged it back in and it worked - and then it didn’t after a few days. We couldn’t even unscrew the glass shade to get at the bulb. So rather than try and find a lightbulb or fool around with this annoying lamp anymore I took out the good old standby to see if it might work. I never cared for the height of the lamp on a side table. It was just too tall. But on the sideboard it balanced out the vase and the metal pieces and blended in nicely with the large mirror behind it. So now we are trying to find a way to get rid of the heavy glass lamp shape without having to drive to the dump. At least we had a decent replacement lamp. 

Room and Board Sideboard

The day finally arrived! There hasn’t been this much excitement in our house for a very long time. Our sideboard was delivered this morning from Room and Board. We ordered it in early March after deciding it was time to clean up the very messy plant console we temporarily placed under the large mirror when we moved to northern Virginia three years ago. Aside from having to wait three months the service and communication was exceptional. I also established an account on line and managed the delivery date and all communications from there. You can tell it’s been a while since we have had any furniture delivery. Being in a condo we also had to coordinate the delivery time with scheduling the elevator. And wouldn’t you know the elevator needed a service repair earlier in the week that luckily didn’t interfere with the schedule. Now that the sideboard is here we need to figure out how to decorate it appropriately. I’m sure there will be several iterations until we figure it out. Moving one thing from one place always upsets the Apple cart. And we aren’t about to go out and buy anything. Now the holtkotter light has a home and it works after being repaired. The sideboard was made in North Dakota. Let’s hope for a long life. Now the house is finally beginning to feel more like home. 

Room and Board Sideboard

When we moved to Capitol Hill sixteen years ago we lived in a 500 square foot condo. After three years we bought another 500 square foot condo across the hall. That gave us a bit more breathing room, windows on both sides of the building, and a great apartment for anyone who came to visit. We didn’t have a dining room in either space - just a table that expanded when we had guests for Thanksgiving dinner. So when we moved to northern Virginia three years ago our 1000 square foot condo had a dining room space. But it needed a bit of something to fill in the space so we got a distressed console table to put under the mirror for several plants. Since we have been cooped up inside for over two years we decided the dining room might look better with an actual sideboard. It would give us a bit more storage space and then we could move the console behind the couch, or maybe even under the window. I’ve been looking for something for the last two months that would meet the criteria: 60 inches wide and dark wood to match the tables and chairs. We checked Crate and Barrel and Calligaris after finding some options on line. We didn’t like either one. Our go to was always Ethan Allen - but we didn’t like anything there. So we drove in to DC to visit Room and Board and finally found what we wanted without breaking the bank. Going to town reminded us of why we moved. There was construction everywhere, parking was ridiculous, and everything looked cruddy. We had been to Room and Board before but never got anything. So it was a bit of relief to see something that looked good and was made in North Dakota. It won’t be available until June but we don’t have anywhere to go and have plenty of time on our hands. It’s been a long time since we bought anything. I hope we like it. 

Houseplants Taking Over

When we moved to northern Virginia almost three years ago the dining room looked a little bare. So we got a console table to place below the mirror and loaded it with houseplants. They looked good, but lately they have been a bit overgrown and unsightly. So I took a scissors to them and cleared it up a bit. It’s always sad to cut plants back but after it was done it did look a bit neater. I moved one out of place overgrown plant over to the wine cabinet. Since the lamp broke there was a space for it. When the lamp gets repaired I’m not sure what I’ll do with it. My husband has been babying a miniature rose plant that came back once. Now he is hoping that it comes back a second time. That would be unusual but interesting if it does. Part of a plant that I cut off was placed in the little vase on the dining room table. It’s not the kind of plant that roots, so we will see how long it lasts. I have already placed cuttings in the wall vase so there was no room for the latest bunch. So they ended up in the garbage. Many of the plants look a bit tired with yellowed leaves and withered stems. The orchid we got from my brother and sister in law as a house warming gift has leaves but has not bloomed since. It all makes us wonder if we need to do something different in the dining room. Who needs a dining room anyway? My husband thinks maybe a sideboard with storage may be a better idea. I’m not convinced - yet. I’d rather do something with the den. This house just doesn’t feel homey yet. It’s got stuff from the old house with some new pieces, but the color scheme varies from one room to the next. It’s just not what I’d like it to be but my interest in making changes isn’t like it used to be either. So cutting back the plants was a good first step. Who knows what will be next? 

Lamps Plus Pro Track Task Lighting

It’s nice to have ambient light in the house. It makes everything look so warm and inviting. Since our tv bookcase cabinet is about fifteen years old, I added battery operated spotlights to the top shelf. But batteries don’t last very long. So when I was looking for uplights for the plant console table in the dining room, I was hoping to find a spotlight that gets plugged in. The area needed a bit of a punch being that it was dark in the corner, and uplights always look so pretty. The Lamps Plus Pro Track Task Light seemed to be just the right size, had an on off switch on the cord, and could be pointed in several directions. So I found a spot behind the bird cage and gave it a go. It looks just like I wanted it to, although the light is quite bright and there is no dimmer mechanism. The body of the lamp gets warm, but the light itself does not. It gives the space a nice glow and the shadows on the ceiling are lovely. I can think of a few other places that this sort of lighting would be nice. There are a lot of options out there. This one does a nice job. 

Bakhtiar Persian Rug for the Dining Room

When we moved to DC thirteen years ago our home was a 500 square foot condo on Capitol Hill. Obviously we lost a dining room space. Because we had no place for most of our furniture, we left several carpets and paintings in the Midwest. We just moved to Virginia and are comfortably back to a 1000 square foot place - with a dining room. Over the last six weeks I’ve been trying to make it cozy. It started with our monster mirror that looks like a window. Then came the chandelier that matched the glass of the table. Because of the peninsula we needed two counter height stools that could also be adjusted for additional seating around the extended table. The stools needed to tie the kitchen to the dining room so we did it with the chrome of the kitchen and turquoise of the table. We didn’t need a sideboard because of the huge kitchen peninsula and ample storage. So I searched for the unexpected narrow but long distressed white wooden console table to place under the mirror. And since we lost our outdoor garden, we decided to bring it inside and found just the right flower pots and plants. My distressed birds finally have a home. All that was left was to find a carpet that pulled it all together. The bare floor just didn’t look right without one. Although Persian carpets are no longer considered “fashionable” they are a major part of our decorating scheme. They distinguish each section of the living quarters and they, along with the paintings on the walls, bring our home to life against a very intentional plain back drop. After looking around in many different places and on line I found the perfect size and color carpet. It’s a “semi antique” wool single medallion traditional piece compared to the whimsical tribal designs in the bedroom, living room and kitchen. It has a hint of blue to tie in with the glass along with the rusty reds to match the living spaces. My husband was worried about what he thought we would get, but really admires it now that it finally arrived. It’s nice to have a dining room again. I think it finally looks cozy.

 

Collins Console Table for Plants

As with most things I study the subject matter for days before deciding on an option. Most recently the search began for a dining room chandelier which eventually took us to our favorite light store in Alexandria. Then we needed to get two counter stools for the very large peninsula that would tie the kitchen to the dining room. I found what we needed on Smart Furniture - a site that carried Connubia, a branch of Calligaris. The dining room was also in need of a sideboard of sorts, but I was envisioning a plant table that would fit the length of the monster mirror, but not reach too wide in to the space. The plan was to bring in some warmth, color and texture with flower pots and plants against the metals and glass of the mirror, chandelier and table. So that search began when I finally realized a distressed white color farm piece might be just the unexpected element for the space. After days of looking I found the perfect fit at Wayfair. The table arrived yesterday in a perfectly packed box and required no assembly. It was sturdy and looked exactly as I expected. So I went about putting the look together and still have a way to go. My husband hates the print I put on the lower shelf that essentially ties all the pieces together. We have a very different opinion about what belongs on what shelf so for now he owns the top shelf. I think we need more flowing plants and the tall items belong on the bottom. In the end the dilemma of carpet or no carpet will need to be addressed. But for now we just need to get the plants in order. What do you think - does the print stay or go?