A New Dish: Dining Room Renovation

Here are some photos of the dining room renovation I did back in December.  The back wall of the dining room (which now holds the china cabinet) was originally about 8 feet further back, but the addition of a larger master bath suite took up the space of two closets and part of the dining room. With the new wall came a new and significantly more elegant design scheme, so we kept the existing built-in bookshelves and the dining room furniture, but updated the paint color (from purple and taupe to gold and red) and fabrics.  We recovered the dining room chair cushions, which had been upholstered in forest green, and swapped them out for a sleek gold and black striped fabric that coordinates with the black and gold damask draperies.  The draperies are also custom, of course, and fully lined to protect the fabric from the morning sun that streams in through these eastward-facing windows.

The relocated wall crowded the existing pair of ceiling fans (which didn't really fit with the room's new style, anyway) so we removed those and installed a beautiful chandelier in the new center of the ceiling. The great advantage for the homeowners in this case, was that the chandelier was located in another room across the hall from the dining room, but clashed with the room's informal style. Now the lighting problems for both rooms have been solved, and all it took was a little time and some drywall mud! (Okay, and a new paint job for the dining room ceiling.)

The final touches are the framed art arranged on the walls next to the curtains and on either side of the china cabinet. The beautiful reds and golds of the poppies and lilies, and the metallic and gold-tone frames really tie the room together with the place settings on the table. The crisp white tablecloth really highlights the gold chargers and rich red plates. A long buffet table on the wall opposite the windows allows dinner guests easy access to refills on beverages or second helpings on dessert! Wherever diners look in this room, only one thought springs to mind: Yum!

Snow Tunnel

It's normally not often that we get snow this far south, but it's been an unusually white winter for Alabama. One of my fondest memories of childhood was another winter like this one, with so much snow you could get lost in the drifts along the side of our house.  My dad made us an igloo, much larger than the one pictured above-- big enough for both my brother and me to climb inside. The one I made this morning has already melted, so the snowman guarding the front door won't be in any danger of being overrun with guests, but for future reference, here's what you need to make your own Alabama igloo.

• A large trash can (preferably empty.) The trash can will serve as the "mold" to build your igloo or tunnel around.  The bigger the trash can, the bigger your igloo will be, but the more snow you'll need to cover it.
• Lots and lots of snow. Cover the trash can with snow and pack it down as tightly as you can. Make sure your walls are at least 2-3 inches thick, and thicker towards the bottom to help distribute the weight of the snow.  This will help your igloo keep its shape once you remove the trash can.
• A wheelbarrow is especially helpful if you need to move your snow from one area of the yard to another. Some people might call it cheating, but I'm pretty sure it's just smart.