A Little Bit of Bling

Well, you know me enough to know that
 I love a little bling...

If that bling happens to be a chandelier that is covered in strand after strand of crystals draped all over,

 oodles of sparkly glass drops, lots of beads and facet cut crystals...

yep...
 I love it.

I am one of those people who think chandeliers belong in every room 

(yes, I drive my husband crazy)

To me, a chandelier brings a sense of romance and elegance
 to an otherwise  ordinary space.

When we started out in our cottage-

 we didn't really have a 'dining room' ~  we had a space in the kitchen.
Our kitchen is  large enough to allow a dining space
 if we decided to keep one there  but I craved something more dedicated 

Our cottage was built as a vacation home in the 1940's for a pretty well known family...

 you might associate them with bubbly bathtubs or even wine now

When they built their vacation home- it was informal and relaxed in it's layout and style.
 We purchased the property after years of it sitting... and sitting... and renovated just about 

every
square
inch of it
and  I knew I wanted a little more ooomph and pizazz
 than the relaxed and informal style that the cottage lent itself to.

 Here's where we started with this space:



Yes, that would be the lovely unfinished ceiling
(with a lightbulb dangling from it's wiring for the light)
no crown moulding, dark orangey stained knotty pine walls and a very very small window.
I almost forgot about that old air conditioner - it was also on the back wall.



Well  I had a lot of plans in mind... and a lot of PAINT in mind too.
:)

Our knotty pine walls are now creamy white
and a perfect backdrop for the farmhouse table and french style chairs.

We put bead board and beams on the ceiling
french doors leading to the back yard
refinished hardwood and oh yes, that light bulb was replaced with...

a little bling.

okay
 ;)
maybe a lot of bling.

Originally we had one large chandelier in here- but when
we brought the over 8' long farmhouse table in- that one chandelier just didn't fit
the whole table very well- and so I decided to go with two smaller ones.

I am loving them.

We also recently added the huge chalkboard on the wall
  It was such a simple project and I love the versatility of writing a message,
a favorite quote, the menu, etc.
Right now, it is set up for a wine tasting party listing the different wines available to taste

One of the things I tell people I am working with decorating and designing a space
or looking for an element for a room is that you should find what you love
 and what makes you happy and go with it-
whether it fits the so called 'rules' or not.

A lot of people think that chandeliers loaded with crystals
 just don't belong in a little old vacation cottage in the country with knotty pine walls...



yeah, well...
I think I told you before that I am kind of a rebel when it comes to decorating
(and maybe a couple other things too ;) )

Chandeliers make me happy when I see them
and I just like what I like and so that's what I go with.

Though these...

 I am actually loving.

sharing at

SNS
Dollys Designs