Thursday, July 21, 2011

Banish the Bunnies!

BUNNIES!!!!!

I don't know whether you all noticed in my last post...THE BUNNIES in the dining room!  The hopping bunny wallpaper.  Well, it HAD to go!  This wallpaper was inherited by my clients when they bought the home....so there were no tears shed when it was removed!  Not only was it a little creepy...large hopping bunnies surrounding you as you eat a family meal, but it was dark, and dreary, and did NOTHING for the room.  I do have to wonder what was on the previous homeowners mind when they exclaimed "oh, my gosh that is the PERFECT paper for my dining room, I must have it!'  You certainly have to have that kind of love and conviction to put something like this up.

I DO have to admit the first time I saw it, I was a little intrigued, the graphic quality of it was kind of interesting, but the more I thought about it, the more I found it.... just odd.  And not knowing that my client's weren't the ones with a a bunny obsession, I said "oh, look at the bunnies..that is so cool!"  You never know who you are going to offend, and if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!  But once it was clear that it wasn't their decision, the bunny bashing began!

Here are the befores of the dining room.

This was right before they started the move.
looking into the kitchen...you can see the little eating area we removed.


First things first.... We decided on a beautiful blue.  It is Benjamin Moore Blue Haze 1667.  It really is a pretty, in a North facing room with lots of light,  it translates into such a nice clean blue...and doesn't turn green.

TADA!  Doesn't it look huge???

I added the cornices, A.) because the husband did not like the feeling of being draped in.  And B.) the beautiful buffet goes from window frame to frame and if there were drapes, there would be a just a sliver of light coming thru.  And then on the opposite window...the one you see when you enter from the  living room, we added beautiful drapes in a Robert Allen Print. A successful compromise, I like to make everyone happy!  The banding on the cornice and on the chairs is a really pretty yellow hounds tooth.  Doesn't this room have an elegant comfortable feel with lots of Southern Charm??


Still deciding on a rug....seagrass?


New Chandelier and inserts on the chairs.  Everything else was there before...even the candlesticks!

Can you believe this artwork was there before...it sings in the room now!

Isn't it amazing that the same furniture and artwork looks brand new paired with a new paint and fabric.  Many times people think the furniture is the problem....and in some cases it is, but in this case they just needed a new beautiful blue back drop.

So..... there you have it folks, all we had to do was banish a few bunnies to make this room one that will stand the test of time.

Happy Hump Day!

3 comments:

Holly Gruszka said...

Talk about a breath of fresh air...it's amazing the difference. And those bunnies are completely strange?? I don't get those. But let's talk about the new look - it looks 100 times better and so inviting. I love that Robert Allen fabric. Nice job!

pve design said...

Gretchen,
I did admire those bunnies, but how wonderful that the fresh coat of blue which makes the room look beautiful and much larger. I would love to see a coat of white on the chandie!
pve

SHERRY HART said...

Gretchen...beautiful. Love the blue on the wall with the yellow. Having the panels gives it just the right amount of fabric to warm up the room.....Love.