Delightful Dining-rooms Do Double Duty

Ah yes, alliteration ~ love it! It comes from reading so much, which is why I love this idea. I have a formal dining room in my current home. Since we are on the market, it is still a formal dining room. Everybody wants a formal dining room, but I never use mine except to walk through from the kitchen to the stairs or front door. We used to host the holidays at my house when the kids were little, so it came in handy then, but now it's really a wasted room.



onsugar.com

I have vowed that when we do eventually move, if there is a formal dining room in the house we wind up moving to, it will become a library/reading room/{board} game room and spot where my hubby can sit with his work laptop and not have to worry about clearing it away until he leaves for work the next morning. {The same fate awaits the dreaded formal living room}.



Found on Cote de Texas



This one also incorporated wine storage. You might never have to leave this room!




Design2Share

Love the library ladder here.

NY Social Diary

As well as incorporating pictures, artwork or mirrors hanging right on the shelving.

NY Social Diary

My Home Ideas

I really like that it seems like the space is being put to good use in these pictures.

I would most likely do a table off-center with just a couple of chairs ~ good for laptop work, playing a board game or cards or having a snack, with more comfortable chairs for reading in another area of the room. A butterfly extension table {stores the extension within itself} would work well for a plan of this kind. This way if I do host a dinner and need seating for 6 or 8, I can open it up and just bring in some extra seating.

Gee, I could have this whole house planned out before we even find it!

5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . .

Every Wednesday I'm highlighting a blogger who answers 5 set questions about themselves {nothing really personal}.

This week we find out 5 things about:

Marie from Decorator On Demand

Favorite music at the moment: Oh that is a toss up between Arctic Monkeys and Kate Schutt, extreme opposites I know, but it just depends on my mood at any given moment.

If you didn't live where you do, where would you live: If I didn't currently live in Austin I would be back in California realistically, but if we are in a perfect world I would live some place like Italy or Bora Bora, again extreme opposites, ha!

Favorite cocktail: This is easy, Mojitos! So refreshing with that smashed mint in them.

Best advice you ever received: Don't ever be anyone you aren't.

Person you most admire: Wow, I guess I would have to say my Mom. She has had some hard knocks in life but has dusted herself off and has excelled in everything she has done. Great inspiration!

Thank you, Marie!

Be sure and check back next week for more of "5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . ".

Oh, and watch your email, I'll be sending more emails asking for participants by the end of this week. Who knows, I may be asking you for 5 things we don't know about you!

Blog of the Week ~ Classic Interior Solutions

This week, Gayle at Classic Interior Solutions is our Blog of the Week.




These panels from Jessitt Gold are in Gayle's post about window treatments for sliding glass doors ~ always a challenge.




Using the pattern in the chair above and the wallpaper below {from Thibaut}, Gayle talks about Stylistic Design in Trends in Home Decor here.



I love the colors in this wallpaper and drapes.

Gayle shares a wealth of information on her blog and it is well worth the read. I encourage you to stop by Gayle's blog and say "Hi!".

Loving It & Passing It On

Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick wrote a post here, about these:

Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chick blog

Which she got from Amanda at Imperfectly Beautiful. I just loved these and kept looking at them, until the light bulb went off, and I decided to visit Amanda's Etsy shop and get some for myself. I found these:

Since I couldn't decide between the two, I bought both sets and figured I could give one as a gift. Unfortunately, that won't be happening. I have decided to be totally selfish and keep them both for myself! I love the pink and green {predictably} set, but I also like the set with the red and green. You can never have too much "Joy", right?

Amanda has more "Believe" blocks, as well as "HoHoHo" and "Joy", plus some other items she makes. She provides excellent customer service, following up with me right after I placed the order, letting me know it shipped and getting the package within a matter of days. You can't ask for more than that ~ a great product AND great customer service. Thanks, Amanda!

Hooked on Checkerboard Floors

Today I'm participating in Julia's {Hooked on Houses} Hooked on Friday feature. I love checkerboard floors! I've been dying to do one in my own home, but have not been able to ~ yet. I'm adding this to my wish list for when we eventually move.

In the meantime, I have these pictures for inspiration and hope they will tide me over for now!


Lynne Rutter decorative painter

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality {laundry room}

Kim @ Twice Remembered {studio}

Pure Style blog

Terry's Fabrics blog

La Dolce Vita blog

Canadian House & Home

BH&G

Belgian Pearl blog

atticmag

I think I found this on BH&G

5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . . .

Welcome to the second week of this new feature I'm trying called "5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . . ", where every Wednesday I will highlight a blogger who will answer 5 questions about themselves {nothing really personal}.

This week we find out 5 things about:

Laura Ingalls Gunn over at Decor to Adore!

1. Favorite music at the moment: To soothe the traffic beast my daughter made me a "mix cd" of Michael Jackson's greatest hits so I could channel my inner 80's girl, and I also love Lenka: Trouble is a Friend. But the song I am finding myself humming quite a bit is "Hero" by the Christian rock band Skillet. (I am totally rereading what I just wrote and laughing because it is all over the place. But I truly love all music~ much to the chagrin of my family and friends, as I sing all day long. A lot of 60's and show tunes.)

2. If you didn't live where you do, where would you live: My husband and I are at an age where we have begun to discuss where we will retire to. We have no idea. Since he was in the Air Force we were blessed to have lived and traveled all over the world and it is so hard to just pick one lovely place. However, it would involve a beach. He has however promised I will not be buried in Phoenix. I have come to appreciate the desert, but it is far from my favorite.

3. Favorite cocktail: I am a cheap date. When I do drink, which is very rare, I love Lambrusco wine by Reggiano and the Trader Joes peach champagne. But most of the time I just drink cola. Now who out there needs a designated driver?

4. Best advice you ever received: My all time favorite quote is by George Eliot: "It is never to late to be who you might have been." I keep this over my desk. As today is my first day of another semester sitting with 20 year olds, it helps.

5. Person you most admire: This is tough. Of course Jesus and Mother Teresa are way up there. But I am more apt to be touched by the everyday hero's like Mika Hill who is a wig maker. A custom wig normally runs 300-800 dollars and she just gives them away to alopecia and cancer patients. Just this morning I read about a local cab driver, Thomas Chappell, who is going to donate one of his kidneys to Rita Van Loenen, a regular customer he drives to dialysis. Wow. That makes me think "How can I bless someone today?"


So, there you have it ~ 5 Things You Didn't Know About Laura Ingalls Gunn of Decor to Adore. I knew I liked her! Here is a link to last week's post.

Be sure to check back next week when we find out 5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . {well, I can't tell you, you'll have to come back and find out!}.

Madoff's Montauk House

The Montauk house of Bernie and Ruth Madoff is up for sale by Federal authorities, along with its contents. I was surprised to see that the only really fabulous thing about this house is the view. Of course, it's not fully decorated and doesn't have a lived in look, but what do you think?


Madoff's Montauk House

Porch view

Porch view

Master Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Circular Dining Room

Living Room

Yours for about $8 million.

All photos courtesy of Associated Press