Update from my Parents' House

There have been many changes since the last time I posted an update on my parents' house.

The biggest change is that the dining room is finished!

And we're all really happy with out it turned out. When I last posted, my parents still wanted to add a rug and a buffet. Well, we found both in the last couple of weeks.

The buffet is from a Craigslist seller called YesterYears Treasures. He takes older pieces of furniture, updates them and then sells them on Craigslist. The buffet is perfect and looks like it was made for the dining room.

The rug is an indoor-outdoor rug from Crate and Barrel called Savannah Cane that looks just like a natural weave. It's perfect for a dining room, as if any food falls on it, it can just be taken outside and hosed down.

The former dining room now study/ office is also looking a little more put together.

Most of the furniture was just moved from the front room back, but the rug was formerly in my condo. I gave it to my parents as it was just perfect for their space. We all love the new seating area, it is so warm and cozy to sit there with a book and feet up on the ottoman. We also put up an oil rubbed bronze schoolhouse ceiling light from Union Lighting.

So just as a reminder, here is how the two spaces once looked.

And here they are today.

The only thing we are now looking for is a desk for the space where the Christmas Tree is currently sitting. The little desk that is currently next to the pine cabinet will go. And eventually the two armchairs need to be recovered, as they have a few rips and tears.

The Big Switch

My parents live in a 100 plus year old house in the east end of the city that they renovated 14 years ago. A result of the renovation was that the front room, which was formerly the main room we used and watched TV in, became a kind of catch all room with no real function.

See proof below of the room where furniture went to die. And this is the first room visitors see when they enter the house.

My parents' house is open plan; the dining room has been behind the front room and next to the kitchen for as long as they have lived there.

We had debated turning the front room into the dining room and then converting the dining room into a study/ office. This would allow my parents to take advantage of the brighter, larger room for meal times and the room closer to where the main action is for computer and other office time.

Well after lots of talk and no action, today was the day we actually changed things around. And what a difference it has made!

The curtains are West Elm curtains we bought 2 years ago but only hung today. Nothing else in the room is new, but what a difference a quick switch up can make!

The room is definitely not finished. The armchair is in the corner because my parents' dog hangs out there while they are at work during the day, but eventually we would like to set up something else that will fit the room better. My mom wants a black buffet to go under the pictures, which would mean some of the pine furniture goes elsewhere.  And we are going to be looking for a rug to go under the table and chairs.

But for now, this change has revitalised their home and will enhance their dining experience. Amazing what you can achieve by looking at a space with fresh eyes and re-envisioning how it functions.