Juxtaposed Dining

Here is the most current state of our dining area. I say "current" because it is not the final product yet. I think it is still in need of a good rug but that will have to come later. We are very patient and persnickety about picking out pieces for our home. We never rush and we contemplate each piece especially the big pieces. Well, at least I do. I don't think Micah spends us much time in so called "contemplating" and leaves it mostly up to me. But in the final decisions he does make for a good second opinion and his judgment weighs heavily with me! Below is the process and story behind our choices in our diningroom design attempt:

One can call our tastes "eccentric" when it comes to furniture. It's all because of the contradictions that we feel between the rugged and the fancy. Micah, a Texas raised fellow, is drawn to the southwestern and rugged style. I am fond of that look too but then there is the part of me that is undeniably drawn to the fancy French fashion. When visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, I lingered in the rooms, dedicated to the French Royal furniture, like a fat kid in a candy shop. I used to just stare, for an abnormal amount of time, at the fascinatingly high quality and intricate workmanship of the pieces. Even a non-curator like me could distinguish how special the pieces were.

As the top decorator of the house (Micah being my assistant), I have decided even though there is a conflict in tastes, comprimise can be a beautiful thing. I don't have to completely leave out any evidence of my partiality to fancy French in the house. I have used this fancy instead for accent pieces that duplicate this French decor style. Such as the elaborate chandelier that we have chosen (courtesy of Craigslist and Micah's hard work for putting it up). Our dining table resonates our keeness to ruggedness. The table was from a local Americana store. The neatest aspect of this table though is that the table legs were made from recycled porch posts. The table didn't come with the chairs. That's another story and one I have to brag about! I got the beaten up chairs from a second hand store that had them displayed outside. I saw them passing by for a lunch break. Serendipity, you think? I got 10 of them for $70 dollars (definitely serendipity). We hastily painted them black to match the table and they turned out coursely painted but that was the look we were going for (or at least our lazy side seems to think). The original thirteen colonies flag we have hanging on the wall, we got from a flea market. Micah built the black frame for the flag. And of course, it is mandatory for a proud Texan to hang a lone star somewhere so that's where that came from.

There was definitely alot of work put in the dining room. There was alot of sweat and elbow grease between Micah and I. It makes me proud though that we saved alot of money putting it together. All for the cause of customizing, just to fit our picky,unique, and budget friendly taste!