My Pad So Far

I was pretty lucky when I bought my home because there was no major remodeling that needed done.  From the hardwood floors to the air conditioner to the kitchen cabinetry, everything had been updated within the last five years.  The only thing that needed to be done right away, like before I moved in, was paint.  And paint.  And paint.  Every room needed painting.  In a nutshell, the color scheme of my home was orange, red and green.  And two not-so-lovely shades of green at that.  It physically made my stomach turn and made me think of a grilled cheese sandwich with ketchup and a pickle.  Maybe not so bad to eat for lunch but not something I want to look at everyday all over my walls. 

This is the before picture of my dining room (as you can see I had already started painting it).

And this is my dining room now.  A neutral, lovely shade of light gray (Benjamin Moore's Stonington Gray).

I'm obsessed with the oversized picture of Chicago that now adorns my wall (I wish I would have taken video of my sister and I trying to get it into my small car!).  The gray rug was a bargain at only $20 from Ikea.  I spent extra money on the black pedestal table from Crate and Barrel just to have an extension which I will hopefully have to break in if I ever have Thanksgiving at my place. 

The ceiling light is also from Ikea and is so much better than the too-small candle chandelier left behind.  My only complaint is that the light is a plug-in so the wire drapes across the ceiling slightly and down the wall in the corner before I have it tucked behind the curtain and into the wall.  There is no on/off switch so if I want to use it, I have to plug it in and unplug it to turn it off.  Ugh.  So I have to kind of think of it like a pair of insanely high-heeled pumps...may be impractical but it looks good. 

I've had my eye on this cabinet from Crate and Barrel for years but never had a reason for it until now.  I finally have someplace to display my glasses and stand mixer.  Not to mention it holds my oh-so-important chocolate-filled apothecary jars.  Above it is a mirror I found for a great deal at HomeGoods which I LOVE.

My next purchase needs to be dining room chairs.  My temporary chairs are patio chairs from Target which were brought in for when my sister and niece visited and never taken back outside.  I'm loving the Louis ghost chairs by Kartell but have my eye on these from Ikea instead:

But I'm so indecisive.  Two weeks ago, I was obsessed with these Bertoia chairs:

 

And before that, I wanted these Windsor chairs:

Who knows what I'll get.  What do you think?  More pictures to come when the purchase is made!