The Reluctant Dining Room Makeover

Is it any secret that I have disliked our dining room table and chairs for a long time?  We don't even use the reproduction oak pressback chairs that came with our set because a) they are horribly uncomfortable, b) they are falling to pieces, and most importantly, c) they are not my style.

The dining set came by us at a time when we really needed a bigger table, and it was truly a blessing, so I have to temper my complaints about it, but it really wasn't my dream antique round oak or antique trestle table or something else indescribable that just captivated me.  Not that I'm picky about furniture.  Cough, cough.

After much talk and some Pinterest surfing, I got up the nerve to paint the thing.  I chose to stick with the good ol' Benjamin Moore mayonnaise, partly because we had three half-used cans of it in the shop (which is mostly because underneath my furniture affectations, I'm immensely practical,) and partly because I thought a black table would be too expected, and partly because I thought a bright color (like red or turquoise) would be too, too wrong and startling, and it scared me to bits.  Plus, I had a glimmering hope that using the same shade as my paneling would make the table fade away into nothingness.

Alas.

I also redid our mismatched yard-sale-find chairs with a different can of paint from the shop.  The T-back chairs were already a lovely shade of blue, with fabulous colors peeking through, but they needed a freshening due to a replaced (and exposed and bare) support rail. The color makes me happy, but I'm not convinced it's what my dining room needed.

I was stuck on recovering the cloth seats of two of my chairs.  I had $0 budgeted for this project, so I had to raid my fabric stash.  I came up absolutely empty.  And then my eyes caught some ratty jeans.

Denim?  Nah.  Too country.  Way too country.

But it gave me another idea.  I dove into my discarded clothing pile, and came out with a pair of corduroys.

All said and done, I'm not convinced on the table color or the seat covers, but they work for now.  The table really should be finished with some sort of protective coating (after another coat of mayonnaise to cover up nicks, fingerprints, ink, and rings left from glasses.)  I'm soooo not into country decorating, but I feel extremely locked into it with this table.  Any suggestions?

At least the pumpkins on the table are cute!

And thank you, Daddy, for introducing the kids to the fabulous sound effects one can make while perched on a corduroy-covered seat. 

Owen, Number Seven!

I fully realize this was Iron Bowl day in SEC country, and our favorite team did not do well. Boo!  But these pictures have been stuck on my camera for far too long--over a month?! 

Owen had been wanting an Auburn football cake for his 7th birthday for a long time.  We went with the football theme, and Jack, Helen and I brought cookies to school for him to share with his classmates.  The girls got the pompoms, and the boys got the footballs, and this was all there was left! 

We had his party on a Sunday afternoon, when Jason was sure to be off work and it suited the most family members.  Owen was a little disappointed that there was no Auburn logo on his cake, which sparked a conversation about Mommy's limits. 

It's still so great to see him blow out his candles!  I'm proud of all the work he's done in speech therapy, all these years.  It's amazing to think about how God is using him, even at his young age and despite his weakness with speech, to speak truth to others. 

Owen also has the gift of rhythm.  Jason and I cringingly bought him a small drum set.  I put it together in the living room, just because it was more convenient.  It was so loud it didn't stay there for more than a few hours.  Back corner of the basement, baby!

Helen snapped this shot of me, the chief cake baker and crumb cleaner around here.  Bless her for documenting me in my weary-eyed, swollen, pregnant state!  Happy Birthday, Owen.