It’s taken much longer than expected (mostly due to water damage from a leaking boiler), but I’m finally ready to reveal a few pictures of our dining room, which is the latest stage of our ongoing house redecoration to be completed.
Our home is a typical red-brick Victorian terrace, and throughout we’re trying to preserve its original features while incorporating the kind of Scandinavian-inspired simplicity that we love (you might remember I posted some inspiration from around the web all the way back in April). This is the first room where I feel we’ve managed to achieve the right balance, and we can’t wait to make the most of it.
Strange as it may sound, the entire dining-room scheme was based around the two vintage Bertoia chairs, which we discovered via Bristol-based homeware retailer eyespy. They were the first pieces we bought, and they set the tone for the rest of the space. We wanted to create contrast by pairing them with a gnarled wooden table and spent ages trawling reclamation yards trying to find something suitable, all to no avail. Luckily good old IKEA came to the rescue with a chunky, solid-oak table that didn’t cost a small fortune. We still hope to stumble across the perfect second-hand replacement at some point, but at least we have something to eat off in the meantime!
To keep the focus on the chairs we kept the colours simple and soothing – grey and white, with a few powdery blue accessories – and added warmth through different textures. The sheepskin came from the Chatsworth Estate farm shop, which is only a few miles from the village where I grew up, and I like to think that the sheep in question had a happy life in one of the most beautiful spots in the UK!
The rug was provided by the lovely people at Benuta, who kindly let us choose something from their vast, reasonably priced collection. We settled on the cotton and wool Sloan rug, which arrived on the doorstep only a couple of days later. The colour and pattern work perfectly with the dove-grey linen curtains, and the flat weave is ideal for dining spaces as, unlike deep-pile rugs, it won’t collect crumbs – or hide shards of broken crockery for bare feet to find (I speak from experience here!).
The finishing touches include a collection of vintage sewing machines which I’ve been building up since inheriting my great-grandmother’s old Singer a few years ago, and a wonderful glass pendant light from Rowen & Wren. The print above the fireplace is the beautiful A peony for your thoughts from One Must Dash, and I love the way it echoes the shades of the Ditte Fischer vases which I picked up on a recent trip to Copenhagen.
I’ll post more images of our home as we complete more areas, but in the meantime I’d love to know what you think of this room…
All photography by Abi Dare
Benuta kindly provided the rug for free, but all words and opinions are my own.
It looks wonderful, Abi. So peaceful, serene and stylish. And those chairs – total swoon!! Xx
Thanks so much Katy! Sadly the cat has commandeered the chair with the sheepskin, though, so we don’t get a look in! x
Gorgeous room Abi!! What paint is on your walls? I’m having trouble picking the right shade of grey for our kitchen so I thought I’d ask the expert!! ? Thank you! x
Thanks Helen! We’ve used a very pale, almost silvery grey – Harp Strings by Valspar – in a lot of our house. It’s great as it reflects the light, but it has quite cool undertones so it works best in spaces that face south and get sunshine. If your kitchen faces north it might be worth looking for a dove grey with warmer undertones. Or you coul try French grey, which is a bit bluer and so looks a little more colourful. You’ve given me an idea for a blog post actually – watch this space! xx