Center it on the wall minus the door.

Since you are going to place the decorative plates around the armoire I think you should center it on the wall. At first I was going to say center on the table but the plates changed my mind.

You really will have to try it and see. Post back pics. I have these huge padded things that I got at Lowes for moving furniture. They go under the feet of the piece and then you can slide it around to your heart's content :) Will make the decision that much easier.

Great idea to repurpose. Are you leaving the finish as is ? What about the inside ? c

Thanks Allison!

Sort of off-topic on the placement of the armoire but I'll ask:

Should I re-hang the wall vases on each side of the armoire in the DR along w/ filling the wall w/ the ironstone or do you think that will be too much? I love those vases but have never really been able to figure out how and where to use them to my liking and I've had them for about 7yrs now!

Hi Trailrunner!!!!

I will be leaving the finish as is. Sort of I guess - the kids went to town on it w/ crayons. DH swears he can get it off. Oh well - one of those things that I just shake my head at and chuckle when I see it. I didn't even think about the inside? Did you have any thoughts?

Remember this table I found in the alley on trash day:

I'm considering asking DH to paint the base light grey or cream and do something w/ the top in regards to refinishing that does not involve painting it then using it w/ the shield back chairs from his grandmothers set w/ white seat slipcovers. I'm having DH refinish the chairs in the original dark finish.

There's no way that I can make all of the styles of furniture match (all hand-me downs or alley finds so I want to try and pull off a sophisiticated eclectic look.

Now Trailrunner - I have to tell you about this re-purposing idea I came up w/! Our ancient TV broke the week before my birthday so DH and the kids used that opportunity to buy me a flatscreen TV. No need for the giant armoire anymore. I looked around and realized that we never use our buffet in the DR for serving food and the drawers are just a catch-all for junk.

So I flip-flopped them! The buffet now has the TV on it in the LR and the drawers hold all of the DVD's and gaming stuff. DH is going to retrofit the top drawer to house the electronics w/ a drop down front like he did w/ a bureau in the guestroom/ playroom for the kids Gamecube. He took of the front of the drawer, rehinged it on the bottom and put magnets on the sides.

The armoire will now house a proper bar for DH. He's not ever had one and I really want him to have one.

The table was such a great find ! I think the painted base will look great and the chairs with slips will really go well.

Did you see the buffet that ? painted and put her TV over ? It turned out great and I bet yours will look the same. Great idea.

As to the inside of the armoire...what is it like inside now ? Is your DH going to make shelves etc for it. It might be worth looking on Google images to see what you can find as far as retro fitted bars and see how others have reconfigured the "guts" !

As always you have such fabulous ideas. c

Great ideas - love the switcheroo! And your idea for the table is perfect. So many pieces of furniture can be modified to perform new duties, like your buffet - that's part of what makes old, quality furniture such a great way to decorate. And you have the perfect partner in crime!

I'd center the armoire on the remaining wall and then make paper mock ups of the platter/plates you want to hang and tape them up before committing. Because of the height/depth of your piece, I think some of the effect of that type of display may be lost compared to your inspiration photo, which is lovely, btw. And if that's the case, it might be better to use the armoire more toward the corner and use the wall between it and the door for your plate display. But again, do a mock up to get the room balanced the way you like it before hanging anything.

Please post pics when everything is in place! The inspiration photo is wonderful and I can hardly wait to see how you make this look your own.

I agree with the others to center the armoire on the wall if you have the room. Is your dining room large enough that it won't crowd the traffic flow? Love the idea of ironstone platters on the wall. I love my platters on my kitchen walls!

I can't wait to see it all come together. I love everything I've seen of your house so far.

I did not see the buffet that ? painted and put her TV over. I will have to do a call out for that.

The inside has 2 shelves on the top that are 1/2 the depth as the armoire itself. The shelves are far enough apart to house all of his liquor bottles and our glasses and leave plenty of space for DH to mix things on the bottom of the top portion. I can still utilize both drawers to house my serving silverware and the bottom of the armoire to hold my linens.

There is a rudimentary hole in the back of the armoire from when the TV was in there. I am going to hang DH's cheesey bar light that he loves and I love becuase he loves it inside the armoire and run th ecord out the hole.

Very good suggestion about a test run w/ paper. Honestly I would not have thought to do that. I think that the traffic flow will be okay but obviously won't know until I have everything just 'so'. If I need to add the table leaves for big get togethers I will likely swing the armoire to the other wall in the corner. If I think that the traffic flow will be wrong w/ the table closed I will put it on the side wall permanently and so be it.

Javachik - I really like the organic flow of that dish display! Very nice take on something very traditional.

Thanks arlosmom! I can't resist ironstone when th eprice is right. I even buy cracked pieces that I know I can't use. And my mom has pretty much given me everything that she's collected over ages. Whenever my mom hands me a box or bag w/ things wrapped in newspaper DH says "Great - more white dishes!" LOL!

lori 316's project...

Here is a link that might be useful: TV stand painted from a dresser

Personally, I would center it on the wall (minus the door was great advice!) But then I saw this pic and thought you could center it on the table just as this person centered it on the bed just my two cents.

[traditional bedroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bedroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_715~s_2107) by new york interior designer Tiffany Eastman Interiors, LLC

Oh my god. The more I see of your home the more I want to see of it and the more I know I love your eye!

TTodd, I wish you lived in my city. I'd hire you to be my interior designer in a heartbeat! That picture of your dining room is gorgeous.

Step 1: Center armoire on wall
Step 2: Hang ironstone
Step 3: Take photograph of new arrangement
Step 4: Post said photograph...and photographs of your entire house so we can all drool and shower you with well-deserved praise for your decorating genius

:-)

I would center it on the wall minus the door, as suggested above. This might also give you more space between the table and the hutch, if that's a concern. I had to offset my hutch from the table to allow enough room to push chairs back.

Love the roving bar cart posted by javachick!

I would try centering it on the wall minus door, but I've found that sometimes you have to cheat something like that in one direction or the other for function or for a balanced appearance. Our bed isn't quite centered on the wall because of the traffic flow to the bathroom on one side, but we also have a bay on the other side, so it sure looks centered.

If you don't want to paint the table top, try working on it with some Restor-A-Finish. If that is dried on paint on it, you might need to use some very, very fine steel wool with it and buff it with the grain. You can get the paint off but I'm not sure how good the rest of the finish is. Restor-A-Finish would be a starting point to see how much you can bring back what was there without stripping. It might even bring the base back to life -- then just polish those brass feet. If the finish on the top is in too bad a condition to restore, would you consider painting the top and leaving the legs stained? It's a beautiful table and I'm glad you gave it a new home. You are going to enjoy it, but I'd tell people where you got it after dinner is done. ;-)

As to whether the vases will be too much with your plates, I think if you start with the vases and then add the plates around them you can decide where you saturation point is. Or you could use the plates in a more whimsical pattern like that photo above and leave more room for the vases.

For the armoire -- try goo-gone to remove the crayon markings. Or more crayons -- then it's an art piece. :D

Excited to see this...such great ideas!! :)

Thanks guys but are you sure that you're looking at the pics of my real house and not my inspiration pics?!

I have been diligently working on the armoire this morning and am sooooooo excited about the 'switch'! Moving the armoire into the DR has given DH a full bar on the top, serving ware storage in one drawer and and empty catchall drawer for the other, I was able to put all of my linens (I don't have much since I always use white), all of my art and craft supplies in the bottom AND there is enough room for DH to make a shelf for the bottom so that I can put all of my cookbooks in there too! These are all items that have just been stuffed in the window seat bench and rarely used because it has just been such a pain to get to them.

For that DR table top I think I might see if DH will strip it at work and see what it is like bare and go from there. Or not - I'm not sure and not married to anything yet. The only thing that I won't do is paint the top.

lascatx - thanks for the suggestion of the wall vases. I'd really like to try and use them somewhere. Maybe if the armoire wall becomes too cluttered w/ the armoire, plates and wall vases I might try them on the DR wall that I'm painting black w/ chalkboard paint. That might look cool especially w/ the kids scribbles all over the chalkboard.

I wouldn't paint a dining table top myself, so I understand. I like the wood. The Restor-A-Finish is something you can get at the hardware store for about $10. I used it first on an antique radio cabinet that had been out in a garage, complete with paint splatters. It's in my house now.

Sounds like an exciting transition. Have fun!