As you know, I’ve decided to build new benches for the dining room. I’ve had this bench and artwork arrangement on the walls flanking the pantry doorway (which no longer has French doors on it) ever since the first iteration of this room. And then when I did the colorful makeover of the room and turned it into a temporary sitting room, I kept this arrangement.
If you’ve been following along, you know that I’ve gone through so many other options and ideas for these walls — full floor-to-ceiling cabinets, matching buffets, etc. But I’ve come back to the bench and artwork idea because it’s what I like. I like that it gives me options to add fabric and texture on the benches and pillows, and I really love the bigger area for artwork that I would lose if I put taller buffets there.
Anyway, I’ve already shared all of that, so I won’t rehash it here. All of that to say that I’m keeping with the benches + artwork + sconces arrangement. And I need new benches because I’ve already repurposed one of those original benches for our bedroom foyer.
That’s a done deal. I don’t want to have to redo that bench again. And I’m pretty excited about the idea of building new benches anyway. I had those two benches in the breakfast room for almost nine years. The decorator in me is ready for a change, and the builder in me is ready to build something new.
And that brings me to the three benches I’ve narrowed it down to. I posted these options on my A2D Facebook page a few days ago, but here’s the thing about Facebook. Those posts are shared not only with people who follow me, but they’re also shared with people who don’t know me from Eve. They know nothing about me or my house or my decorating taste or style. And I don’t know about you, but if I’m wanting input on something, I like to get that input from people who actually “know” me. I’d never walk up to some random person on the street and ask for their input on a decision I’m trying to make, and sometimes that’s exactly what Facebook feels like to me.
So I thought I’d share the three options with those of you who have actually “know” me, have been with me through full room renovations, and know my decorating style and taste. Getting input from those of you who regularly visit me here on my blog feels a bit more like asking friends for input rather than asking random people on the street for input.
With that said, let me show you the three options I’ve settled on. All three of them are from One Kings Lane. And I should mention that I’m about 95% sure at this point that regardless of the one I choose, I’ll be keeping the benches a natural wood color rather than painting them.
The first one is this scalloped wood bench with the turned legs and upholstered cushion seat. Y’all know how much I love turned wood legs, and that scallop detail is so pretty. The legs on this one would be a little tricky to replicate, but I already have an idea for how I would do that. I’m pretty confident I could pull it off.
The second one is this pretty bench, and while it’s all wood with no upholstered top, I could upholster the top or add an upholstered cushion to the top.
The third option is this rope bench with the upholstered cushion. If I go with this one, I won’t be wrapping mine in rope. I would simply use the shape and design as a template for building my benches. I’m afraid that with two cats in our home, any rope-wrapped benches would become instant scratching posts, so there’s no way I’d spend all that time wrapping mine with rope for my cats to destroy. But I was drawn to the shape and simplicity of the style of this bench. I would probably add a little flourish to those corner brackets, though.
Those are the three I’ve narrowed my decision down to. I think the first one might be my favorite, but it’s only by a very slim margin. I really like all three of them, and I wish I had a place in our house for all three. I imagine building all three, and I think all three would be fun building projects.
Now on to the chandelier. I was hoping that I could get it finished yesterday, but I didn’t quite get all of the flowers sanded and painted. Hopefully I can get that finished up today. I’m so excited about how it’s turning out, and I can’t wait to show you the finished product. But as I was painting those little flowers yesterday, I kept wondering if they needed a little color added to them. I used my pastels and a little paint brush to add some color to one of them. I took this picture of the plain white clay flower on the left, the flower left white with only the iridescent finish in the middle, and the flower with the iridescent finish and just a touch of color on the right. I’m not sure why I included the plain white clay flower because that’s not an option at this point. I’ll either use all plain white iridescent flowers, or I’ll add color to the iridescent finish. Those are the only two options I’m weighing right now.
I do like it, but I’m trying to envision a light with 135 of those flowers with a touch of color on them, and I’m having a hard time imagining what they would look like. Maybe it’s too much and I should just leave them all white iridescent. And I guess I could always go back and add color later if I decide it needs some color once the room is closer to being finished. Anyway, you can let me know your thoughts on that. In the meantime, I’ll be in my studio sanding and painting the rest of these flowers! 😀
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
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