Over the last year we’ve been renovating our first floor living space, with the kitchen and dining room being the main focus. When not sleeping, we spend LOADS of time in those rooms as a family. We cook A LOT. We also home school amidst those rooms.

About a year ago I wrote about the dining room and my ideas for the new space. It was red. It didn’t feel comfortable. It felt like a dining room, not a place to spend time…just living, and a place for living was exactly what I wanted.

I made an inspiration board with my thoughts…the vibe…the colors shifting from reds and warms, to cools and earthy. I wanted it to be inviting and cozy, with a wonderfully lived-in feeling. Here’s the funny part…I made the inspiration board and created a blog post last March. Work began in July with walls being replaced, floors ripped up, and fresh paint everywhere. I started putting the room back together in the fall, and I hadn’t looked at my blog post or inspiration board since….

After it was done, I went and looked at that post and my board….I was shocked at how similar it turned out to the vision I wrote about 6-7 months prior.

One of the only major differences from my initials thoughts for the room were the cool art posters. I decided instead to keep it all personal, with photos and artwork only made by family and dear friends. And I just LOVE the personal feel.

And this table…OH this TABLE…we searched high and low, and I thought I would go crazy looking for the right one for our large family, who often entertains. I wanted a really worn in, salvaged wood, rustic farm table. I just couldn’t find it in our price range. I was reluctant when I first found this guy, 50% off at the Pottery Barn outlet-I just KNEW I wanted OLD with character…but the price with 2 leaves that add-on making it seat 12-14 people?! I was sold. And we’ve loved it since.

We do schooling at this table and have a 40-ft chalkboard wall that runs down the hall right through the room. Would you believe the chalkboard wall was a last minute spontaneous decision? Schooling in there with that wall has been SUCH an awesome blessing. I can’t imagine doing it any other way now!

Thanks for looking. Soon I’ll get around to showing the whole kitchen. Oh man, was that an adventure.