Dining room makeover

Okay, here it is! I really wanted to pick back up where I had left off a month ago and go through our dining room makeover. This transformation happened little by little over the course of several weeks. I had fun taking photos along the way to track the progress. Can you spot the change in each picture? 

The beginning:

The end!

That last photo is our final product and beyond what I imagined our dining room could be. The room is so on point with who we are and our style aesthetic as a couple. I'll take the next few days to give you a little spot-by-spot tour of the room so I can include all the DIYs and sources without creating a novel.

Thanks for reading!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Hello, hello!

Hi guys! 

It is so good to be back here writing. I enjoy writing and the connections I have made with you lovely readers, but I really needed some time to miss it, (the writing that is...not you)! I hope you all had a wonderful August and soaked up the remains of summer. While my break away from the blog was full of both rest and play with my family, I also used some much needed time to focus on some home projects that have been on hold since...well, since we moved in and planned on doing them!

Over the upcoming weeks I will be diving into our dining room makeover, kitchen transformation, living room re-order, a new refinishing technique, a new shop stop, and of course some furniture makeovers, (one of which includes a couple of bedside tables made from a leather suitcase)! On top of all that, what I'm the most excited about is introducing you to a new face. A very beautiful, talented and creative face that I have the pleasure of calling a dear friend and soon to be sister in law. More on that soon. :)

It's a joy to be back in this cozy corner of the world wide web and I so appreciate you joining me.

Enjoying some time away together at Deep Creek Lake in MD

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Gallery wall refreshed, (and a temporary peace out)

Hi friends! In my last post I talked about our upcoming dining room overhaul. We're working on getting rid of {almost} everything and starting afresh. 

While the process of selling what we have and accumulating what we'd like may take some time, the first step I've already checked off the list is giving our gallery wall a little face lift. 

I love a good gallery wall. They're intimate, personal, whimsical and a wonderful statement of one's past and their hopes and dreams. They act as a large piece of art that sparks wonderful conversation. As I spent some time image browsing various gallery walls, I started pinpointing commonalities that appealed to me:

-Scattered frames as opposed to perfect, straight rows and columns.
-Gallery walls in spaces that are not too heavily decorated
-Monochromatic frames for a clean, crisp look
Here is our gallery wall before I tweaked it

 And after a few coats of glossy white spray paint

This project was as easy as it was satisfying!

1. Take all the frames down and remove the photos/objects
2. Lay out a couple large pieces of cardboard outside and place the frames on top, face up
3. Thoroughly shake a can of high gloss white spray paint
4. Evenly spray each frame, including the insides and along the outer edges
5. Let dry
6. Replace all the photos/objects back into the frames
7. Hang and enjoy!

I know this isn't for everyone - but it's a great first step in getting our dining room headed in the right direction for us! Next up: painting under the chair rail, (after settling on a color, I'd say the hardest part is done)!

This may be my last post for a few weeks. It's time to take some time. I'll be stealing a small portion over the remainder of August to enjoy some time away with my family, and the rest to explore some new and exciting business opportunities which I look forward to sharing with you soon! And of course, I'll come back with a few fun projects that I'll finally have some time to complete!

Au revoir mon amis!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.