I think a nice decorative mirror would look better than that red tapestry. It would also help to make the room look bigger. Hope this helps :)

love this room! great job so far. a couple of suggestions, you need an area rug. large enough so that when you pull the host chairs away from the table to sit, that the legs are still on the rug. also, consider removing the table runner and use the piece you have on the wall over the buffet on the table. place a group of 3 vases various heights as a centerpiece. find a beautiful piece of artwork to hang over buffet, with a couple of buffet lamps. also the chandelier should be about 32 to 37 inches up from the table.

beautiful room - love what you have done with the walls. I agree with the two posts above regarding an area rug to give the room some warmth, and either a mirror or large artwork on the wall. I would suggest you find something larger and more interesting than the items currently displayed on the buffet. good luck!

Also love the treatment on the walls and that you've worked with different colors in other areas. That's usually really hard for me to do. Looks like the ceiling is really beautiful as well.

I agree that a mirror or large artwork would work better above the buffet. If you want to display the tapestry as a decorative piece, it might work to display on the table while not in use. Just a thought. Or if you have a matching piece, it could work on either side of the mirror/artwork.

For your window treatments, a darker shade like the mocha (?) you have on the walls might give the room a different look.

Hi, Kalili. I think you've done a nice job. I agree with the above posters that a mirror above the buffet would look great! You could even flank it with art, providing an opportunity to add more interest within your color palette:



I kind of feel that the window treatments need more "oompf" - more volume and perhaps layered over shades. A mocha or cinnamon, as suggested by Mariel Molina sounds like just the thing. You can even find some with the thinnest of teracotta/red pinstripes in them to match your wall hanging (that you relocate to the dining room table as part of a centerpiece).



Lastly, I do believe a chandelier with more weight would be a perfect compliment to that wonderful ceiling. Take a look at some of the wrought iron ones with crystals. Something like this would add a little more weight and tie in to the dark wood tones of your furniture.



I understand where the others are coming from by suggesting an area rug - great opportunity to ground the space, work with your color palette and make the space more intimate, but your floors are so gorgeous I don't know I'd have the heart to cover them!

I do hope you post photos of any changes you decide to make.

Thank you so much for your responses. Great suggestions!

So, the tapestry will come down for sure and be replaced with a mirror or artwork. I did try to get the tapestry framed, but at least two stores told me it would cost me nothing less than $350 (and this was with a 55% off coupon at Michaels).

To Susan Mills Design, where can I find the round mosaic mirror that you showed me a picture of? I loved the suggestion of white roses. Please send me links to more mirrors or artwork that you think would work on the wall above the sideboard. Personally, I would like to have a mirror flanked by artwork on either side. All in all, I do not want to spend more than a $100 for the mirror and maybe, another $100 for the artwork on either side. I have attached a picture of a mirror on Amazon and would like to know what you all think of it.

Regarding the drapes, it is not possible to replace them, but I can add 3 more panels (picture attached) in brown color in between the existing panels (4 in number currently).

A rug would definitely tie everything up nicely, but for practical reasons, I do not like a rug in eating areas.

Mjzurita, may I ask why you do not like the table runner?

Regarding the chandelier, it is 39" away from the tabletop currently.

Keep those ideas coming. I find them very helpful.

I will also be posting pictures of my living room soon, so be ready with your opinions - I love them!

hi,
I love the paint colors, the architectural detailing and the furniture. Great choices!
The chandelier should be from 30 to 34 inches above the top of a dining table.
The curtains are too short (they should touch the floor and even have some puddling in this style of decor), and also there needs to be more of them. Curtains should measure 1.5-2 times the width of the window. Also you have gone with a traditional style room, and so drapes instead of curtains would look a lot nicer and suitable for the room. Drapes are much heavier than curtains and have a fuller effect. I would not go with dark drapes or brown ones. If you get too matchy matchy with the walls you will make the room look and feel tired and it won't lead to very interesting dinner conversation. I think you have the right idea with the orange/red accessories and this would be a good idea for the textiles.
I would not add an area rug. I think area rugs in dining rooms are horrible ideas. When food and drinks spill then what? You end up with a stinky , dirty, stained rug where everyone eats. ew.
You can add warmth with the drapes.
Another good idea is to have a fireplace above the buffet. They hang on the wall and are electric or you could get something other than electric- butane for example. THAT would be faboo! :o)

Hi kalil, you are getting such great feedback, so many great ideas. We should have asked you about budget though first! The mirror is an idea for a round one, use this as a starting point if you like it as this one is from UK and would not be 100 or less. There are many great places you can search for one similar and fit your budget. Do you have Homesense where you live? They often have interesting decor items for a much better price than elsewhere. For example World Market online has some very interesting ones around your budget price.

The mirror I showed

http://changingroomsshop.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=137&language=en

World Market mirror

http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12429719

regards

Susan

oh and also check and see if there are any vintage or designer resale shops in your area as there may be just what your looking for.

LB Decor and Designs, what a unique suggestion about having a fireplace above the sideboard - it's just fabulous! I am going to look into it. Any idea about the cost?

Regarding the curtains, do you think adding more panels of the same kind as the existing ones will make the window look better with the extra volume?

One more thing kalil, the ideas I first put forth were to take your room back to it's traditional side, I feel some of your accessories are not and the room is in a bit of a tug of war. All the moldings, walls and ceiling are very traditional as is the chandelier. The hanging, table runner and the standing vase with reeds are not. As for adding more panels in a mocha shade, if you do that then add them to the outer sides and let them frame the white panels almost as if they were sheers. Other than that I would opt for new ones. Could you let the hem down on the white ones to just off the floor? Then perhaps let the mocha ones puddle to the sides if they are drawn back with tiebacks. If you have any questions about this please ask.

regards

Susan Mills

Oh lol one more thing, if you went for the World Market mirror then I would paint it silver to glam it up a bit to suit the room.

cheers

Susan

Great suggestions from the previous posters! I think the devil is in the details. If you have any leftover paint, please paint the electrical outlets in the first photo the coordinating color of your wainscotting.

Paint out your outlets to match the wall color. Replace pot with leaves for a sizeable tree that comes mid-point between your tapestry and the window frame. Place a rug under your table, large enough to hold the chairs when they are pulled out. The rug could be an Oriental that will carry the reds, blues, beiges, cremes, etc., or an area rug with some sort of pattern, using that color palate. Take everything off your credenza and replace with one single, substantial item and place to the right side of the wall hanging. Replace the chandelier with something that is 12" less than the width of your table. Drop the chandelier to 28-30" from the table, or whatever appears comfortable when you are seated. Replace your table centerpiece with something much larger and softer than what you have. Paint out the trim on your coffered ceiling to match your other paint color, and paint the coffered area the same as your wainscot (below the chair rail). Frame your tapestry and hang it as you would a piece of art (no angle). Change out your drapery hardware to silver or lucite. The wall in your hallway that carries the same wainscoting needs to be tied into the dining room colors. Not knowing what is in the adjacent rooms, it's difficult to know what to suggest. Perhaps the upper half can be in a white with the wainscoting the same as the dining room? Place pieces of art or a large mirror to reflect your dining room on the hallway wall.

Your room is very nice and my suggestions are nothing more than tweaking and "finishing". Good job thus far! :)

Hi,
Here is a photo of a Virtual Room Makeover I did for a client with a fireplace above the buffet. They can range in price anywhere from 150$ (less if on sale) to thousands of dollars. They did have them at Lowes before for a great price but am not sure if they still do. The trick is to make sure that it is either the same length of the buffet or just a bit smaller. IF you can only afford one that is much smaller than the buffet this could work just as well. In this case you would need to have an accessory on either side of the fireplace on the buffet. This will a) keep the balance b) keeps the decor of the room in line with the traditional style you are following. It could be the lovely vase of white flowers as Susan showed above and maybe a statuette on the other side (make sure it is fairly similar in depth or "thickness" as the vase but it doesn't have to be as high). You could then put some tea lights along the middle of the table (not too many you still want it simple and elegant).
As for the curtains if you added more it would definitely give the illusion of them being longer ( as I had said they should be twice the width of windows.) So add as many panels as you can. Also I would seriously suggest lowering them to the floor as they should be puddling with this style of decor. :o)

Susan Mills, we bought this house, we did not get it built ourselves. It is a beautiful house but has a traditional style. However, my preference for decor is more towards transitional or contemporary. The dining table set we have, falls in the transitional category. I am trying to steer clear of very traditional decor. I like your suggestion of adding the darker panels only to the sides. I am going to try that out. What do you think of the table runner?

Oh yes and further to above what i am saying- I keep saying traditional SORRY that is not what i meant. What I mean is FORMAL lol I don't mean to confuse you. Wherever I put traditional replace with formal. yikes I think I should go to bed now :s

Ah I thought I detected a tug of war. I think the right choice of art or mirror can assist you with bringing it back to what you love more than what you have. One of the things is that the paint treatment on both the walls and the ceiling draw attention to the traditional aspect. If you really love your hanging and want to keep it in the room then find a piece of framed art with a great frame at a thrift store or sale of some kind and paint the frame white, make sure there is some matting between the hanging and the frame. This would make it more substantial and work with your walls.

SM, I am afraid I don't understand what you mean by hanging. Is it the chandelier, you are referring to? If you have any art in mind, please send me links. Appreciate your generosity in sharing your time with me.

Oh sorry what I mean is your wall hanging. I had mentioned getting it framed but you said you had been quoted very high prices for that. So I suggest finding a frame wether it be already on a piece of art (even if you dislike the art, you can use the frame) or just the frame itself as long as you like the frame. You could always paint a frame to suit yourself, in this case perhaps paint the frame white as I would not try to match the dark furniture but provide contrast to it. Many times thrift stores have hideous art in a nice frame for not too much money.

No worries about my time. keeping busy on the laptop saves me from snacking:O

I know you have enough to read, can't help myself. The curtains are delicate and ornate, so is the chandelier. You need to incorporate more of this feeling into the room - cut crystal (glass) bowls, pitchers, or candle sticks, maybe a silver tea set. Bunch up groupings of things - remember the rule of odd numbers - keeps it interesting. Create a balance of traditional and contemporary. Maintain scale and voila! Lots of Drama. A few beautiful paintings introducing another color like a muted purple or a green or both. Use dark colored wood frames for a room like this.

HI -- One thing I don't think anyone has said is the wainscotting would look better if it was all the same white. The walls look cluttered with the inside panels another color. The room would look more elegant. Yes, the chandelier needs to be lower- 30 to 36 inches from the last bobble to the table. And, yes on the mirror or paintings. But I know you said you want to keep the drapes ,BUT they are wrong for the room .Too casual. That wall should have full drapes , wall to wall and full length. If you have more wall paint -- paint the wall vents so it doesn't show so much. Perhaps the wall hanging could be put in another room . I don't think it looks right in this room. I just found some great picture frames in our local Goodwill store for less than $4.00 each. There are great frames everywhere , you don't have to pay for custom. The tray ceiling could have a shimmery wallpaper or paint finish ( Ralph Lauren - Satins) And I think the room needs a rug. Something in a woven low pile with a pattern that won't show the marks . Some thing imported like ,french or indian or middle east made. It could maybe an investment piece.Watch for the auctions and sales, just make sure it is big enough for the room ( about 18 inches smaller than the room all around). All this can be done over time.You have a beautiful room and furniture to work with . You also have room for a bigger table some day.

Hi, nothing against the runner. I just think the tapestry on the wall would be a unique touch instead of the runner, with a vignette of vases of different sizes with a f
Seasonal floral.as for a mirror over the buffet. I like the idea for a couple of reasons, if you need more light in the room,it will reflect,but also it will reflect anything that is accross from it.my choice would be a piece of artwork.and maybe a pair of sconces with candles.

I think if you put the tapestry in a black frame and put one large vase on the buffet cabinet.