2 Royal Purple Quirky Dining Rooms

Candadian House and Home purple dining room

I don’t think I own anything purple when it comes to home decor. I only own a few purple clothing items. I like the color but it is a shade I find intimidating to work with. I don’t know why. I’ve found 2 very fun and slightly formal purple dining rooms that help me see the potential of purple.

This first dining room is from Canadian House to Home. This room is a deep, royal purple shade. It feels light and airy against the white trim and the white wall. I love the mix of white accessories, including a thrifty white paper lantern. The colors paired with this royal purple make this color workable. I love it paired with that 70’s goldenrod shade and cool purpley cement gray. And and don’t forget the temporary pop of fuchsia from the fresh flowers on the table.This room is purple room that I can see easily replicated in a “real” home. Now to the other room…

The other room I found on the blog, Roomenvy. This room is a bit more “busy” than the Canadian House and Home one. I love a bold and obnoxious wallpaper. So does the owner of this dining room. There is purple printed wallpaper on the ceiling. This isn’t that innovative, being that is a very old-fashioned thing to do. And may I add a bitch to remove. It too us forever in our dining nook to remove layers and layers of wallpaper off a small part of the ceiling. Anyways, I like this dining room because it is over the top, right down to the royal purple rug. This isn’t fitting for my home and I’m sick of seeing bold colored shaggy things. Do you remember our blue faux fur covered cabinets? Well, I do and I’ll

Patterned purple dining room

never see shag as something quirky or retro again. So, this room isn’t something that I see easily being replicated in a “real” home but it is fun to look at. I could easily see a “real” dining room incorporating this bold print on fabrics and maybe having a yellow/goldenrod painted walls.

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I’m doing what I can to wrap up some of these projects before I go back to work. That’s keeping me very busy. And they’re boring projects too. Like cleaning, scrapping, touching up projects. These aren’t those creative projects that I crave.

-Victoria

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Whimsy Decorated Porch with Paper Parasols!

Midwest Living porch

I don’t have a porch, but I have a nice deck. Of course, the grass is always greener and we want what we don’t have. I didn’t think about it too much until I stumbled across this picture in Midwest Living. I love it. What a retreat! This makes me consider living in the Midwest if I could have a porch like this, well for a split second it does, I love the West Coast and this porch has a West Coast vibe with those colors and chrysanthemum Asian prints. I love the linens, the paper parasols, and the mix match chairs. Very cool look for reunions, birthdays, and wedding receptions.

We are having a beautiful weekend with lots of sun today here in Western Washington. The garden is thirsty but I don’t mind being outside. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

-Victoria

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Decorating with Paper Lanterns

I’m not one to decorate with paper lanterns. They just don’t fit with our house and our design. OK, so I mean that I haven’t found a way for them to work with our house or our design. I do find them attractive. They are so fragile, weightless, and light but they take up so much space and really can make a great focal point for a room. For something so “flimsy”, it can really make a statement. They are usually inexpensive and add whimsy to a space. If you add them to a room, it makes that room feel like a party and very festive.

I did find this really cute room in British Vogue. It’s a bit too cottage chic for my style but I do like it. (Don’t get me wrong. I do appreciate cottage style. I’m just not in the place or the home for it). I often find that when I see paper lanterns in decorating, it is often in a room for a teen or child. Paper lanterns can look too young and too dorm-like. This room may be country cottage, but at least it looks grown-up. This isn’t a dollhouse cottage. It’s quirky and fun. The lamp really pops against the paleness of the room. It’s a nice piece of art, a focal point, to have in this family room/library. I love red used as an accent. I’m such a sucker for it. David and I have decided that blue would be our new red, but I don’t think that has lasted.

pic found in British Vogue

I love red and vermillion and carmine. I also love these country cottage curtains against the red floral lantern. If you are going to have a country cottage you might as well mix floral prints.

Anyways, I also like the concept of this room and not just its style. I love that it is a library styled family room/dining room. Children can get homework help there. Children and adults can do art projects. Grown-ups can drink tea and look at design blogs on their laptop. It’s a nice use of that space without looking like a typical family room. It’s cute enough to entertain in. And it looks very “budget” friendly. These are the kind of pieces that one can collect from yard sales, thrift stores, and International markets.

Well, we’re renting that industrial buffer today to finish up the hardwood floors downstairs today. Boy, are my abs going to hurt tomorrow. Buffers belong in a rodeo.

-Victoria

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