LUCKY YOU to get that beautiful furniture! I do not mind the wall color one bit actually. Anyway you could take the curtains down so they do not visually distract us? OR do you need the privacy right now? I think the grandma part comes from the china closet being toooooo full. You need to weed it out and only show your favorite pieces. No stacking of cups or anything like that. Will the extras fit down below so they are still accessible? I like the pitchers with a cup or two, as they would go together. it does not all have to be china, either. You can use other things in there that mean something to you, that maybe also belonged to those relatives. SPECIAL things.

If the table does not need a table cloth, I would remove it. The flowers are nice, but way too small. Would that soup tureen on the top shelf work there instead? Also wondering if there would be a leaf you could take out of the table and store under your bed to give a little more room in there to move around.

Thanks abbyjean. I am lucky :) All the items in the china cabinet are also from my aunt/grandmother. I do need to weed it out more.

The table is actually beautiful, the best of all the pieces. I keep the tablecloth on it because that is where we eat all our meals and I have two young boys who are messy and I worry about messing up the finish, lol.

I also agree with the flowers. That is all the garden had to offer today! Maybe I'll put it on a small cake stand and add some candle sticks...

I just feel like it is all too brown/beige. It also goes right into the kitchen, which we will be modifying soon. I'll post some pictures of that once I wash the dishes!

Should I move the hopechest to a different room? There is a buffet I can put in its place that matches the china cabinet.

if you were interested in painting the furniture try this link for idea
https://www.google.ca/search?q=painted+dining+room+furniture&client=firefox-a&hs=4mJ&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=30PnUa3LNs-urgHHiYHIDA&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=606

NICE to know you USE this room AND THE TABLE! Those ladies must be smiling down on you and those little boys! Maybe find a table cloth with some pattern to it to brighten up the room as it fades away with the paint color. AND pattern would hide crumbs and lil boy messes!

OH, my, yes! Bring in the buffet! Are you kidding? Soooooo lucky to have THAT piece, too, and I bet it will fill in that wall better, too, and some of the things you weed out can go there! I am loving this!!!

Oh, the curtains... I usually keep them open. It is night, so I closed them. Unfortunately, they open on the front yard so you can see right into the house without them there.

Then, yes, you NEED privacy! Is it a short window? IF it is, the buffet will really work out well there and you can just find some blinds maybe???

anne, I would LOVE to paint the furniture. I am a big fan of shabby chic. I'm not confident enough to do it myself, though. I wonder how much it would cost??

Ok, I'll see about moving those pieces around and taking a new picture.

I have SO MUCH extra furniture around! I'm not complaining, most of it is great stuff, I just don't know what to do with it all. I am very happy to find this site!

Try Leisurelivingfurniture.com. She lives in Wisconsin and paints furniture that turns out amazing and is extremely affordablr.

Hold off on painting until you have enjoyed them longer like this, ok? I think with the right accessorizing, you will be happy happy happy!

for reference re shabby chic

click under pic legend link for info on paint/painting furniture

I also encourage you to delay painting the furniture. You have some lovely pieces which look as if they are in good shape. Once you paint them, it is too much work to convert them back to stain. Work on the other parts that you believe that need to be changed to really evaluate whether paining is the best course of action. Good luck with your project! You have a lot to work with for a great dining room.

Thank you all for the feedback about painting the furniture. I wouldn't do it any time soon, and you are right, maybe after I get things set up better, I won't want to :) I have another hutch I was using before I got this one and I started painting it. It looks just like the one Anne Dee posted...well except only one drawer is painted. That will go in my craft room (aka junk room for the moment) and will be good for storage.

Here it is with the buffet instead of the hope chest. You are right, abbyjean, it works better. I also put a little more on the table for a centerpiece. These pictures also show the color of the walls better.

The buffet doors are reversible from the rattan(?) to solid wood. Do you think I should switch them out?

I like how the rattan ties in with the chairs!!! WOW! You are fast....already changed it out and did the table, too. Nice job on both!!! OK, the window is twice as big as I thought it was. The curtains drape nicely beside it, so maybe that length is ok. The paint color looks nice with the color of the rattan....did you notice that?

Here is a bad picture of the chandelier. It was my mother's and I painted it white. It is prettier than it looks, I can't get a good shot of it. The table that is there is the old one, now where we do crafts. I handed the pink chairs down to my sister. Behind you can see the old hutch I started to paint and some of the (tiny) kitchen.

The kitchen will be my next post. We finally can afford to install the dishwasher that we bought 3 years ago and get new counters and move some things around. Maybe I should include it here, since they are open to each other?

can the curtain be closer to the ceiling. I think that always make the room seem taller.

IF you switch the table cloth, find a color in it for drapes. IF you stay plain, which is just fine, take a color from the china for the curtains.

What a nice sis, to share your furniture and I am sure she loved it! AND you must have a huge home to have a craft room. WOW! Would love to see the kitchen!!!

Bella_Mar moving the curtains up is a good idea. I was also considering doing a double rod with sheers under. Is that overkill? I just feel like there are too many hard surfaces and it needs to be softened up.

abbyjean, the house was originally a duplex, with 2 small units. We opened it to make a single family. It is a mirror image on each side. The 2 main floor bedrooms are only 10x11, but it means I get a craft (storage!) room and my husband gets an office. The kids have the 2 on the side of the dining room.

Genius for your home! AND sooo much character. I am trying to think about the sheers and curtains. GOOD thinking about softening hard surfaces, but I am just not sure the sheers and curtains are a modern look anymore. I realize this home is NOT modern in THAT way, but it just seems like there should be a better alternative.

I do want it a little updated. I'll post the kitchen once it isn't in embarrassing shape. If colors are going to be changed, I guess it should really be taken into consideration.

So the drapes would not open and shut....just there on the sides? Just panels there? What about a bamboo shade that rolls.....might be nice with the rattan.

Forgot to mention......the chandelier is another piece that you have that makes that room sooooo special!!! Nice job! I bet the boys love looking at it and maybe the glass shines on the walls for them, too!

a double curtain rod always give more dimension to a room. if its light and sheer it should be fine.

Have had a similar situation. Based on experience, some suggestions: 1) After trial and error, and same color "woodiness", painted the dining room a soft apricot. Not a color I would generally choose, but saw it in a number of restaurants I liked with heavy wood. It is warm, but also works as a neutral, and would go with the chair seats 2) It looks like the chair seats are covered with plastic...am I wrong? Take it off, and spray the fabric with Scotchguard. It will be ok, despite children. The floor is in more danger. 3) I went to an art supply store and found some beautiful large pieces of handmade paper in a light color (had texture, was inexpensive...$4 a sheet as I recall...and they were relatively big). Backed the hutch with that, using nothing more than double stick Scotch tape at the top of each sheet. Where the paper was not long enough, I just started the second section at one of the wood shelves.4) Used the top shelf plate rail for centering 4 items of similar color and shape. Have had 4 round silver trays (2 inherited, 2 silverplated from Goodwill), and have done a change-out using colored chargers. Yes, the plastic $2 each from Michaels. Fantastic way to add color at holidays. Put smaller items in front/around them. 5) Change out the tablecloth with seasons, etc. It's possible to do economically, still within your final color scheme. The kids will like the variety. (How many different colored leaves DO you see while eating your vegetables?)

I commend you for really using this beautiful family furniture in your dining room, and for having fresh flowers at your table. Your boys will grow up as people who appreciate nice things, and will respect them.

Here are pictures from the original listing, 4 years ago. This is supposed to be all the living space, so as you can see it is not a big house. Since we opened it up, we use the opposite room as our living room. There is also a good sized room in each basement, one is the master bedroom the other is a playroom.

nwduck, lining the back of the hutch with nice paper is a good idea. I wonder if there is a good tape to use that is easily removed in case I make a mistake or want to change the color? I'll also look up some pics for apricot as a paint color.

Yes, the chairs are covered in plastic and have been since the 30's or 40's! I never even thought about removing it. But I will strongly consider it once my youngest passes the age of coloring on everything he can reach.

Thank you all for your kind words!

Not a big space, but a beautiful space. Thanks for sharing! AND I never even noticed the chairs being covered!!! That is a LONG time for the plastic to be on there, so the seats must be in perfect condition. NICE you do not have to fuss with what the boys are doing as that is not fun for either of you.

I used just regular Scotch tape sticky on both sides. Didn't have a problem taking it off (although good fingernails help somewhat). Have changed mine out twice.

Developing what my son calls "the Death Stare" seemed to help me keep him in line. It worked well into his 20s.

It's a very pretty place. I think your kitchen is quite nice. Tons of people who post on here would kill to have one that looks like that!

I am on the side of painting the china cabinet white! I think it would brighten up the space a TON but I agree get some more ideas and things arranged better before making any harsh decisions! What are your favorite colors? I think painting the walls something brighter such as pale blue, a minty shade or even apricot as suggested would be great. Find some great fabric for a table cloth maybe pull a color from there? Second the idea of moving the drapes up, also could switch out for something with a print but not crazy busy?

I am very happy with the cabinets, I just wish there were a few more of them! I turned a linen closet into a pantry, that helped. I also have this shelving unit across from the cabinets. It needs to be straightened up a bit!

Unfortunately, the formica-type countertop is very cheap and is already warping and expanding on the bottom.

Should I start a new discussion for the kitchen? We are going to be installing the dishwasher, stove and microwave that have been sitting in boxes for 4 years, as well as a matching refrigerator we have been using on "the other side." I need to figure out the best configuration, pick counters & all that goes along with it.

Heather I would start a new discussion could help people stay focused on the project at hand :)

I think a new discussion would get you more ideas. There are "kitchen" people on Houzz that generally are more responsive to those discussions. Post pictures from every vantage point, show the counter and cabinets up close, and elaborate on your storage needs. That should get you some help, particularly regarding the countertop recommendations. If you can add a little hand drawn floor plan with dimensions, people love that. And everyone's house needs to be "straightened up" a bit. I'm staring at a rather cluttered kitchen counter as I type. :) Offhand, I'd say if you can put in another set of uppers and lowers where your shelving unit is, it might help. (Depends on space available.) I used a rather short counter space like this as a coffee/breakfast area. Mugs, coffee pot, toaster. Stuck a bulletin board between uppers and lowers for notes/happy thoughts/event tickets, etc.

I'll start one tomorrow. Thanks. The problem with the shelving area for cabinets is the window that is just out of view in the picture.

So, for the dining room I will do some research on the light apricot color. I'll also look into some other tablecloths. or patterned curtains. I really like the idea for papering the back of the hutch, so once I know my color scheme I will do that, too.

I will raise the curtains and consider the sheers. Did I miss anything? Would you put pictures next to the window?

Well, darn. I'd keep the drapes plain, or at most a pattern that is versions of the same color. That allows you to change the look of the room with the tablecloths. I'm almost ashamed to admit I have collected MANY through the years. Plain, colored, leaves, apples, flowers, stripes. holiday. I used tablecloths instead of committing to a pattern elsewhere I may not love after awhile. It can really change the look of your room. And even if you went with a creamy white paper in the back of the hutch, you wouldn't be wrong. It made me rethink painting the wood altogether! (Which I am absolutely thankful I never did.) I'd do everything else first, then consider the walls by the window. Every room needs some blank "breathing" space. Depends on what is on the wall opposite the hutch. It looks like you have some fantastic plates. Maybe you could attach plate hangers to some, and hang two on each side of the window, or a grouping opposite the hutch.

Geez, I need to be more efficient in my thoughts before posting. What if you took the two large tureens on the top shelf and put them side by side on the buffet with an arrangement in between? Or one, centered. At the very least, I would move them to the bottom shelf of the hutch. Heaviest looking things on the bottom, lightest on the top. And edit. You can always change what's in the hutch when you change your tablecloth. haha

I would paint the walls Ace Hardware's Sweet Cream and then get the following fabric from Calico Corners

regarding your table cloth - I have a plastic one(cotton or soft material backed) on my dining room table. The diningroom table is my desk now, but was the everyday table when my boys were little, so cheap and cheerful kept the good table good. Cleaning table cloths is not my idea of fun!

I agree, Kathy! The white lace one on my table is vinyl. I wish I could find more like it, you can barely tell.

Cheap and cheerful.......now we are talking!!!