Friday, January 8, 2010

I am an insecure designer

Obviously there are more important things in the world than the way my dining room looks, but let me tell you - Last night, if you had hung out with me - You would have thought otherwise.

My dining room is a giant FAIL. and I hate myself for it.
I haven't totally written it off yet (only 99% over it)...but I have to have some hope that there is still a chance for it to turn out as beautiful as i wanted it to be.
The problem is, I am lost. I picked out Fabric I loved, a rug that i thought was perfect, I re-covered my chairs, bought artwork from Ethan Allen that seemed to be the perfect mixture of colors, had draperies made in that gorgeous fabric i picked....and still even with a bunch of elements that i love, It is not coming together. The samples lied - and their life size deliveries aren't meshing.
This is the room as a shell - before any of the accents were added. I did sort of make the mistake of picking my paint color first but I was in love with the idea of a navy dining room. With all of the bright white moldings I thought it would be perfect, so i picked everything to compliment and contrast this fancy wall color.
Then we found this gorgeous chandelier that I already blogged about, but it seemed to good to be true. It was in an antique shop that Pat's parents had gotten their ridiculously gorgeous chandelier in almost 25 years prior and we were lucky enough to find something similar. It was traditional and blingy - perfect for the room.
We hung it and I loved it.
Then i went shopping for art and this is where I think i started to go all wrong.
I had an identity crisis.....The fancy shmancy oil paintings that probably would have meshed better with the traditional room just didn't seem to be "my style." They seemed more fit for old people. So i opted to go with these kind of cool modern prints of a stormy sky. I loved the burst of yellowy gold and thought it would be so cool with the navy walls and the gold-ish sheen that my drapes had.
I brought them home, and even though i still love them - i am really not sure they fit the style of the room. I do have another place in my house where these could be used - but seriously, how did I get so far off track.....
The other source of huge frustration in this room is the rug. I was promised that this rug would arrive by the end of September "before my company arrived".....well it didn't. It came like 5 days before Christmas....and when it did it didn't really look like the 12"x 12" sample i was given months prior. It is missing some of the darker accents that i liked in the sample and it is more blue blue than the dusty grey blue that was in the smaller piece.
I am going to see if i can return it. There is probably no chance though.
The saddest part is....the one thing that i really really think is throwing off the whole room - is actually the paint color. THE paint color is what I LOVED the most. It was the springboard for everything else and now it is the biggest problem. How the hell does that happen?
I really thought i had an eye for decorating....but the more I do in this room the more inept I feel. To get this room pulled together in a way that makes you say "WOW" instead of "It doesn't look that bad" would be such a relief I can't even tell you.
I need to figure it out, I need to do it in a way that will not cost me any more money or make any of my past purchases a waste, and I need to do it fast - because it ruins my chi every time I walk past it.
The huge mirror I ordered from Restoration Hardware is coming tomorrow. It is my last hope. If for some reason It doesn't do its job like I hired it to do - You just might hear me scream. And at that point....if any of you want to come and rob my dining room of all of its mismatched pieces, I would seriously totally appreciate it - It seems that a large insurance collection is really my only chance for fixing this tragedy.
so if you were wondering what i was thinking today - I was thinking :
A.) i am a loser decorator
B.) I hate not having tangible things in front of me to choose from.
C.)Ordering a rug from a huge design catalogue sucks.
and
D.) would it be weird if i hung a "work in progress" tarp over the dining room entrances so that people don't judge me before I get this figured out?

4 comments:

Heidi Chandler said...

Love the navy walls! Goes amazing with the chandelier and the moulding. The next place I would go is drapery. Clean black hardware with silk panels in a grey silver sheen. or for more earth tones...a neutral silk panel. The navy creates a more modern feel so for the rug you might have to go very plain. Just something to soften the wood floors. When you are feeling drab about an eating space it always helps me to set the table with place setting and a centerpiece. It can inspire! I would get sconces for the walls by the window and put art underneath them. Get a Large long mirror for the wall that has the art on them now and if their is some kind of buffet, that would totally break up the hallwayness of the typical dining room. Then you can create a fun space to work with over the buffet!

OMG im so jealous of your house. A decorators dream! I hope you dont mind me having fun with it "outloud" I love deco challenges. A lot of the time it has to do with space planning the room. For sure though...get some pretty sconces to accent the chandelier.

=) I LOVE love LOVE the navy though.

Anonymous said...

Time to call in your sister!!!!

mrsrsm4 said...

Okay I finally made an account...it's Amanda btw.

So I think that you are being way to hard on yourself!!!! Something to try that doesn't cost any money would be to set the table...I know this sounds dumb but you are only looking at big things and not all the little things that tie it together. Get some pretty fresh flowers in a vase you already have....then stand back and look. I haven't seen the rug, curtains or the mirror..but I want to. The art...I think I agree with you they don't say fabulous dining room. I found a few pictures on the internet...they might trigger something??? I will send them to you.
Good Luck!

Sanctuary Design, Inc. said...

Pants! It's all about the accessories and it's going to be fine.... I'll help as sooon as I can!!!!
P.S. I love your "Work in Progress" tarp idea- for me!