ahhhhh this room… the first (almost) complete room that we have done in the farmhouse. meaning it’s the only room we’ve painted and put new furniture in, light fixtures etc. so this is the before.. the wallpaper was layered and layered and took me almost a month to tear down. but i finally got it all completely off. then had to repair the plaster walls behind the wallpaper. needless to say…it took forever.
once the wallpaper was off we painted the trim with a glossy “space black” here is the thing though. we got it all painted and the paint started peeling off the trim. (i sanded it) and it seriously, peeled off in sheets. so for the next two weeks we peeled paint off the walls. then we took a belt sander to the trim and repainted it, finally getting it to stick. FINALLY.
behold the finished product! a huge thanks to my friend dann who is so excellent with color and helped picked out the colors for this room. the large coral cabinet was a find from my friend marks shop lost and found in grand rapids and i had to have it. i decorated with all of my favorite farm flea finds (say that five times fast)
the chairs were picked up from a discount furniture store in chicago and i paired them with a farmhouse table that i refinished a few years ago. it used to be layered with pink paint. i stripped it, sanded it, stained it and put a layer of poly on it. it was definitely a labor of love. oh and pay no mind to my hoard of vintage tablecloths in the cupboard. there are almost 250 of them. whoops.
i thought about putting cookbooks in the cubby but i couldn’t help but stuff it with my growing jadeite collection (oh and collie statues).
the wall sconces were my first purchase from schoolhouse electric. i needed something shiny and simple and these were a great price for a handmade US product. the large pendant light was my first purchase for the house (well intentional purchase for the house) from CB2. i must say it shipped for $5 and arrived in two days!
the curtains are the most recent purchase from our NEW local west elm! i love the sheer checked print (you know me and plaid). the room is kind of dark but needed curtains. the sheer was perfect! i just have to hem them a bit. of course measured a little wrong.
so what do you think so far? i need a rug for sure but i’d say other than some wall art, this room is coming along nicely!
Love the room…..
Love your blog. I look forward to the dose of inspiration I get every time I read it.
Thank you so much Amy! That means a lot to me!
[…] i heard thrown around and was kind of the gateway drug into my vintage addiction. now that i have my dining room almost complete i think it’s time to tackle the […]
Hi Abigail. I just had to tell you. I lived in the farmhouse from 1991 to 2011. We raised three children there and absolutely loved it. Once the kids were all gone out of the house, it just seemed to big for the two of us. We downsized. We love where we are now. Still in Allegan, living in the woods. That house holds so many wonderful memories for us. I love what you are doing with the place.
One of my (extended) family members lived there in the 80s. My routine has me driving by several times a week, and I have always enjoyed seeing the activity and changes over the years — animals/no animals, candles in the windows, ferns on the porch, repairs to bars and fences….
It’s a great property, and I look forward to watching you (Abigail & Joe) care for it as I drive past in the years to come.
Go Hope! ’97
This is so cool !!!! Thanks for sharing you guys! We absolutely love living here. We are having a blast with animals and the garden!