A couple of changes in the dining room

Because of the warmer summer weather, I was feeling the need to take down some curtains and let the sun shine in!


I took away the floral drapes:

and added some cedar, exterior shutters instead:

I also moved the vase with branches from in front of the mirror over to the window.



so now the mirror really bounces around the light since there is not something in front of it.

I love the shutters:

I found them on homedepot.com, but they were custom order so they took a few weeks to arrive. But that's okay....they were well worth the wait! They make the room feel more open, less formal, and even a bit rustic.

The next project for this room will be adding beams to the ceiling. Check out the tutorial here.

That will wait until fall since I am officially project-ed out. With the kitchen, dining room, and gardening outside complete (for now), I am taking a break to enjoy the rest of the summer with my kids. We have only one more week of swimming lessons and baseball, then we will be free to:

go to the pool
have a bubble day
go to the library
have a campfire and roast marshmallows
play in the sprinkler
have an art day
go to the Field Museum
go to the Children's Museum
have a picnic
lay around and watch movies
catch fireflies

am I missing anything?

In preparation of my now-7-year-old's birthday party we had at our house yesterday, I added some fabric to our outdoor spaces. I'll post about that, and the party, soon.

Have a great day!!