Some rooms come together in a weekend. This one has taken three years, an eight-month hunt for a dining table, one discontinued dream piece, and eighteen family members coming over for Easter. And I’m still adding to it. Here’s how it went from before to after, and why the wallpaper stayed.
What came with the house
Before
When we bought the house, the dining room already had three things going for it: a crystal chandelier, a deep navy ceiling, and blue floral wallpaper on every single wall. Most people would have stripped it on day one. I looked at it and thought, oh, we can work with this.
The wallpaper is a little old-fashioned, but it's completely charming. The trick was giving it company bold enough to hold its own. The chandelier got a new personality with zebra print shades from Retro Wanderlust, which I bought before we even owned a dining table. Same with the green velvet drapes. Priorities.
The bar cart moved in with us right away, because of course it did.
The 8-month table saga
Then came the table. Or rather, the lack of one.
We wanted a vintage oval dining table. I searched. I searched some more. I gave dimensions and a wish list to a few of the vintage shops I work with. Nothing.
Way back when we first bought the house, we’d looked at a burlwood dining table from CB2. Sean was on the fence. Then I found a gorgeous table from Made Goods, fell completely in love, and was fully prepared to pay the multiple thousands of dollars for it. Sean liked it too! But once we added shipping, receiving warehouse fees, and delivery, it was getting a little rich for our blood. We still needed chairs. And our kid was five.
So I did what I do best. I pivoted.
Easter was coming, eighteen family members were on the guest list, and we needed somewhere for everyone to sit and mingle. We went back to the CB2 burlwood table, and honestly? It was the right call. The burl brings warmth and pattern without competing with the wallpaper, and it’s sturdy enough for real family life. (Made Goods doesn’t even make my dream table anymore, so the universe agreed.)
The chairs I didn’t have to worry about
The chairs were suspiciously cheap online, so I ordered two to check the quality first. I loved them. The mulberry velvet is the perfect color against the navy, the brass frames echo the chandelier and candlesticks, and they’re surprisingly comfy.
The best part: I didn’t have to panic every time my son sat down at the table. Expensive chairs are great until you’re hovering over kiddos with a napkin.
Corner by corner
The bar cart moved in with us on day one. Above it is the evil eye neon. I’m not usually a neon person, but I love evil eyes so much I have one tattooed on my wrist, so this one had to come home. Around the corner is an original by local artist Suyao Tian (@suyaotian).
Tucked in the corner is a curio cabinet from Loft Antiques, a Christmas gift to Sean. In front of it is a taxidermy duck from Succotash, a Father’s Day gift to Sean. Nothing says “happy Father’s Day” like a duck that will never leave. The side table it sits on was an estate sale find.
The games cabinet is actually from Target, years ago. New hardware made it look like something else entirely (yes, those are brass snakes 🐍), and now it stores all our family games. Above it hang the creepy portraits from Twelve Vultures, because every dining room needs a few faces watching dinner.
The mahogany and brass trunk was another estate sale win. The art above it is a framed, hand-painted Porter Teleo piece, gifted to me after a large order. Its twin lives in our bedroom.
The birthday paintings
The animal oil paintings in the ornate frames were a gift from Sean’s aunt, handed to me two hours before my birthday party last year. So what was I doing while friends were walking in and someone was setting up the speakers? Hanging art, naturally. They went up that night and haven’t moved since.
Setting the table
And because hosting is basically my love language, I went down a full rabbit hole on every single thing on this table.
The brass chargers were out of stock for months. When they finally came back, I bought two sets, then went back for a third later because they only had one set in stock at a time. Worth every minute of refreshing that page.
The marbled plates are melamine, and you would never know. They’re the Library Marble plates from Siren Song, and I’m obsessed. Pretty enough for a dinner party and tough enough for a Tuesday.
The leopard plates are from H&M, of all places. Proof that a good find can come from anywhere.
The napkins are by Ardmore Design, cut and sewn by hand in Johannesburg, South Africa. The print is inspired by the wildlife of the Zambezi River basin, with a leopard tucked among passion flowers and lucky beans, which are associated with magic in Zulu culture. They are not cheap, so whenever my birthday or Christmas rolls around, I ask for another set of four to six. Same story with the flatware, another rabbit hole, and another set on last year’s Christmas list.
The napkin rings are vintage tortoiseshell. I also have a set in Lucite for when the table wants something lighter.
The glasses are the punk rock glasses, and I buy them in bulk. We use them every day, and things break, so there’s a stash in the basement ready to go.
Add a cluster of brass candlesticks with twisty candles, pampas in brass vases, and little glass terrariums full of dried specimens, and that’s dinner.
Same napkins, different night
Every so often the Lynn Chase Jaguar Jungle comes out. It was an estate sale find someone gifted me, only a set of two, and I love it with my whole heart (yes, even the back of the plates have animals). Paired with inherited Baccarat crystal, vintage port glasses, the punk rock highballs, and Lucite napkin rings, the same Ardmore napkins feel like a whole new table.
More is more. It always has been. Now pull up a velvet chair and stay a while.
