My waffle: art in the dining room

Fun fact about me #34: I tend to jump the gun.  Case in point: last week when I posted a waffle about whether or not to paint my living room/dining room yellow, I casually mentioned that I wanted to replace the current chandelier in the dining room and purchase a larger piece of art.

But then I got to thinking…what if I hung two or three horizontal rows of pictures rather than just one large piece? After all, I’ve been admiring images like this:

Craig Kettles Design

and this:

Better Homes and Gardens

So this weekend I did some preliminary hanging. With placemats. And painter’s tape. This is how the back wall could look with two rows of pictures:

And this is how the dining room could look with one larger piece of art — the room could probably take an even larger piece:

So what do you think? Would two or three rows of art be distracting or a great focal point? Is one large piece a better way to go? Obviously, a big part of the decision depends on the artwork itself, but let’s say that I could find something great for either configuration.

PS — My waffle about whether or not to paint the dining room/living room yellow is still open! If you’d like to take a look and weigh in, just click here.

Do you have an idea for a no-waffle, fantasy waffle or just a regular old waffle? Click here to find out more about waffles or on the button below to contact me and get started.

My waffle: painting the dining room/living room yellow

Yesterday I wrote about the cheery yarn bombed trees I saw in downtown Seattle; today I’m debating whether to bring some of that same sunniness to my combined living room/dining room by painting it yellow.   Eventually I would like a larger piece of art on the back wall and a drum pendant to replace the current lighting, but right now I’m thinking about color.

The main color behind the table is Kelly Moore’s Creamy Natural — a whitish green; the darker color it meets in the corner is Beach Bum — a gray green.  The built-in bookcase is a high gloss white.

The living room is mostly Beach Bum as well:

Now you may remember how I was completely waffled (yes, waffled is not officially a word) by what color to paint my laundry room. My first impulse was blue, but after many readers encouraged me to try yellow — and after many trips to the paint store — I fell in love with Benjamin Moore’s Moonlight.

So what if I painted my living room/dining room Moonlight as well? Or maybe even going a bit lighter than Moonlight? I love the pops of yellow the cushions on the green couch provide and I think it would be nice to tie the walls in…but would a whole yellow room be too much, too intense?

The truth of the matter is that the sagey green colors are nice — and even nicer on a sunny day, so maybe I should just add a few yellow accessories rather than going whole hog yellow. But when Seattle is particularly gray and rainy I think about painting this big room and bringing the sun indoors. What do you think?

Do you have an idea for a no-waffle, fantasy waffle or just a regular old waffle? Click here to find out more about waffles or on the button below to contact me and get started.

Suzy’s waffle: art for the dining room

Amazing DIYer Suzy from Worthing Court has sent me a waffle about a tricky subject: choosing art.  In her case, it’s for her dining room.  Here’s what Suzy says about her dilemma:

I’ve been working to give my dining room an updated look on a low budget.  I’m a traditional girl at heart, but have grown to love the look of traditional mixed with a modern take on things and a little vintage thrown in for good measure.  Here’s my dining room “before.”

So far – I’ve painted my brown metal chandelier an antique gold, removed the shades and replaced them with round bulbs, added updated lamps and a container filled with nature inspired orbs to the sideboard and changed up the table with the addition of a vintage urn and peace lily.  I removed wall brackets from either side of the mirror, pillows that used to reside in the arm chairs and flag pendants that were hung with my draperies.  Here’s the “after”:

I really like the look so far, but my walls are looking kind of bare, especially the back wall, as you can see here:

I’m waffling over what kind of artwork to hang there.  I’m leaning toward something with a little bit of a vintage vibe framed in black frames.  I think I need a group of three pieces because of the size of the wall.  Here are my choices.

Group 1:

Group 2:

Group 3:

Would you like to be a guest waffler? I’d love to feature you! You can find out more about waffles here or just click on the button below to get the ball rolling.

Today’s waffle: owls

Owls? Yes, owls. I occasionally pass by an antique store here in Seattle and there are a whole row of these little porcelain owls in the window.

They’ve been making me think of the long-lasting owl trend in decor. How do you feel about the owl as motif?

This Owls Sheet and Duvet set from Dwell Studios has been around for awhile:

And of course there are plenty of owl stencils and decals like this one for kids’ rooms:

But there are also owl smartphone cases:

Owl umbrella stands:

Owl wallpaper:

Owl Calendars:

And of course, a multitude of owl pillows:

Are you digging the owl trend or are you ready for it to be over and done with?

What are you waffling about these days? Whether it’s a paint color or purse, let me know about it by clicking on the button below.

Rebekah’s waffle: will the couch, chairs and rugs go with turquoise walls?

I’m so excited to introduce today’s guest waffler: Rebekah, from the awesome blog, Potholes to Pantyhose. She’s not afraid of going bold with her walls (turquoise!) but she needs some help with the details.

Hello to all of my fellow Waffler readers!  I’m Rebekah from Potholes and Pantyhose which is where I share and photograph detailed tutorials of my DIY Projects, Recipes, Photography Tips and Remodeling Endeavors. I like to re-invent and create things around my home, but I like to do so inexpensively and with my own little flair.

Today, I need your help making some major decorating decisions. I married a man that actually cares how his home is decorated, but he’s given me the green light to redecorate the joined living and dining room spaces.

When we first moved into this house, we went very basic with the color choice in the living and dining room-as you can see here in the dining room…and here in the living room.

I’m ready for something a bit more bold, full of style and warmth.  Here is my inspirations in a nutshell:

This was the beginning of my inspiration — turquoise painted walls with orange accents:

(Courtesy Home and Decor)

I love these colors together.

(Courtesy Cococozy)

I am definitely going to paint the walls turquoise, but here is where I’m waffling: first, do I keep the black couch and the rugs that are currently in both rooms?

and second, will the orange chairs I already have go with turquoise walls?

Also — I want to add window coverings.  Any suggestions on color?

Weigh in. I need you.  I don’t want to let my hubby down-he’s depending on me to make some good decisions. Once I see that turquoise on the wall, I may just lose it…..

Would you like to be a guest waffler? I’d love to feature you! Click on the button below to get the ball rolling.

My waffle: West Elm counter stools

Okay, this is probably going to sound childish, but I’m really mad at our kitchen counter stools.

These counter stools were one of the first items I bought when we moved into our current house three years ago. After waffling endlessly, I gave up and bought these for $40 on Craigslist. So why am I holding a grudge against an inanimate object? Well just look at how that circular metal piece is gouging out the wood in the counter post.

I’ve tried fixing the holes with wood filler and every kind of stain touch-up pens Home Depot offers, but no luck. Every few weeks holes show up again — what can I say, my kids are wigglers and the stools just seem to get banged into the wood every time they sit on them.

Now you might think that once I bought these stools I moved on to bigger and better waffles. While that’s partly true, I’ve been keeping a look out for attractive, not-going-to-break-the-bank replacement stools. I think I might have found them in these West Elm Klismos stools.

I love how simple and unfussy they are, while the arch still gives them some visual interest. And while there’s still a circular piece at the base, I’m hoping that because the piece itself is flat it won’t cause the same kind of gouging as our metal, tube-like stools do.  A single or straight leg might work even better, but boy do I like the look of these stools.

The Klismos come in white and red, but white seems ridiculous with kids (plus food) and I’m just not feeling the red.  I don’t mind the chocolate color — but would that be too much brown in the kitchen? Or maybe I could lacquer them in a happy color…

What do you think?

What are you waffling about these days? Whether it’s stools are skirts, click on the button below to send me a waffle and get help.

Monica’s waffle: powder room faucet

Do you ever wish an item or space in your house would break so you could replace or renovate it? Monica — creator of the lovely jewelry website idazzle — had to unexpectedly remodel her upstairs bath due to some leaking issues.

Duravit "Second Floor" Sink

Duravit "Darling" Toilet

Monica explains:

Since the bathroom is directly over some spaces downstairs that are currently being finished, we decided to completely gut the whole vintage 1951 pink-and-burgundy tiled bath. Because it will function essentially as a powder room, we are going for some drama: envision 24×24 dark, almost metallic, tile on the main sink wall, lovely limestone tiled floor, Duravit “Second Floor” sink mounted on a floating rift-sawn oak vanity, and an in-wall Duravit “Darling” toilet.

Sounds great, right? But Monica can’t decide which faucet to use.

She’s using the Grohe “Essence” Faucet in the lower level bath, but worries it might be too utilitarian for the powder room:

Grohe Essence Faucet

Monica’s favorite choice is from the LULU line by Dornbracht. But of course, it’s $$$.

Dornbracht "LULU" Faucet

Another choice is by Hansgrohe:

Hansgrohe Faucet

And she recently discovered this one, from the IMO line by Dornbracht:

Dornbracht "IMO" Faucet

Monica realizes the domino effect of choosing the right faucet.  She points out: The sink faucet is only one decision. But then if you choose the corresponding shower fixtures, etc, then the price tag really escalates. So the sink faucet sets the tone, style and price for the whole room. Help!

What have you been waffling about lately? Whether it’s hardware or hiking boots click on the button below to describe your waffle and get some help.

waffler wrap up and recent poll results

A few weeks ago Thai-An presented us with a dress waffle: should she keep or return this Michael Kors’ sequined wrap dress?  66% of readers thought Thai-An should keep the dress, while 34% voted for returning it.

Here’s what Thai-An said when I checked in with her:

So I would not be a dyed in the wool waffler if I wasn’t still waffling a little bit about the dress. I am leaning towards keeping it though as I really don’t have an “occasion” dress in my closet. With our recent move, baby weight gain/loss, and too many viewings of “What Not to Wear” I have cleared out *significant* amounts of clothing so it’s not like I am in danger of being a hoarder and the dress really does make me happy. Ask me again in 3 months 🙂

Remember Mari’s waffle about how best to incorporate an art/lego/homework area into her family’s kitchen?

48% of readers thought Mari should purchase two Ikea Expedits with desks so each child could have a storage and work area, while 22% encouraged her to buy two larger Expedits and a central table.

When I asked Mari what she plans to do, she acknowledged that she’s still doing a fair bit of waffling, but she’s leaning towards the two large Expedit solution. Mari likes the idea of desks, but a large table gives the family the flexibility to eat meals in the kitchen. She’s thinking of heading down to Ikea soon to get inspiration. I think I might ask to tag along…you know, safety in numbers.

In pouf news, most readers have neutral feelings about this trendy accent piece: 31% love them, 23% hate them, and 46% can take them or leave them.  Some readers commented that they’re “a bit strange looking”, others explained they would love to have one or two in the right color, and reader Brittany admitted that they would “just be another thing the kids jump all over.”  That goes ditto for my kids, Brittany.

When I gushed about the tv show Portlandia, 40% of readers said they also love this show, while 27% think it’s not their cup of tea.  I encourage the rest of you to give it a chance, or at least watch Steve Buscemi in the above clip.  

Have a great weekend!

Rachel’s waffle: new living room furniture

Rachel knows it is time to retire her almost 20 year old couch and chair, but they’ve been so good to the family: as Rachel explains, these are the spots upon which “many beloved folks have sat, slept, laughed and children have jumped, spilled, cried, snuggled and napped.”

Despite their sentimental attachment to this furniture, Rachel and her husband are ready to start pulling together their living room and making it cohesive, the overall theme being “grown-ups live here too.” Tackling this cozy corner might be just the thing to jumpstart their overhaul.

Because there’s a couch on the far side of the living room, Rachel is thinking this corner would be perfect for a corner bench, rug and an extra table to use for art, snacks, homework, puzzles, games, etc.  The picture of this lovely banquette is giving her inspiration:

Rachel likes the idea of Ballard Designs’ Coventry Corner Bench

which she could put on top of the Dandelion Rug from Company C, a rug she’s been serially bookmarking but worries might be over-the-top

and then finish the corner off with either Target’s Cottage Dining Table

or Pottery Barn’s Cameron Fixed Dining Table

So what’s Rachel’s hesitation? First, she’s wondering if this whole bench/rug/table idea is the right direction to go in, and if it is, should she cover the bench in a deep red (a color she loves but might be overwhelming) or a more neutral (though less exciting) fabric that she could brighten with throw pillows. Or should she scrap the whole bench idea and find a great sectional and coffee table? What do you think??

What have you been waffling about? Whether it’s a bench or boots, a rug or a robe, click on the button below to send me a waffle and get help.

Holiday’s waffle: rug for under the kitchen table

Holiday from Holiday House Rules is back with another rug waffle!  This time her dilemma concerns Flor tiles and which ones work best with this knockout of a chair:

Holiday explains:

I got some chairs for Christmas and I love, love, love them. They technically match the Flor tiles I currently have under the kitchen table. However, I also have some extra Flor tiles in the same pattern, but a lighter color — not so much of a direct match, but lighter. I’m wondering if the lighter pattern will show the chairs off to better effect or are they just are too discordant with the rest of the room?

Holiday’s current Flor tile is Needlepoint Stripe in Camellia:

And the lighter color she is considering is Needlepoint Stripe in Laurel:

Here are some more pics of Holiday’s kitchen so you can get a better idea of the space:

So what do you think? Should Holiday keep the current Flor tile or change them out for the lighter color?

What have you been waffling about lately?  Whether it’s a rug or a pair of boots click on the button below to send me a waffle and get some help.