I am so excited to be participating in the One Room Challenge as a linking partner!  I have read with interest and pleasure all the posts of the talented designers and bloggers that have participated and I am looking forward to my first time…as an introduction, the One Room Challenge was started by Linda of Calling it Home  a few years ago and it has become a blogging event that I have looked forward to each year!

This year is no exception – 20 interior designers/bloggers/DIY’ers transform a room of their choice in 6 (very short) weeks…… so be sure and visit the home page and follow along with all the very talented people who make this happen!

I was even more excited about this whole process when my dear friends, Missy and John agreed that I could FINALLY get my hands on their dining room!  These lovely people had been putting decorating their house on the back burner while their daughters finished college, one daughter got married, several important milestones and travel adventures happened and, in short….LIFE was the priority!

The dining room was stuck in the 80’s and deserved a re-vamp – so, when a new dining room set was fallen in love with and unexpectedly available – a proper dining room was put at the top of the list!! Here are some “Before” pictures to give you a vision of where we are starting.

Missy and I had discussed the possibility of making this dining room do double duty as a library or reading room as well as a formal dining room, but she had her heart set on a traditional dedicated dining room- that was important to her – to have a classic, traditional dining room set, beautiful china on display and a beautiful entertaining space.  In the back of my mind, I knew that she would love some of the classic decor of crystal, china and silver and was keeping my eye open for inspiration.  While in Florida with another client I saw the PERFECT starting point in a favorite vintage and antique shop “The Carousel” and here it is…..a beautiful vintage crystal chandelier!  This is my starting point of the design….

Next week I will show my overall plan for the space and some of the demo getting the room prepared for its transformation…and it’s close-up!  Be sure and visit everyone else’s challenge and progress as we all go through this together!

And thank you for joining us on the journey, and thanks so much to Missy and John for letting us share our work in their home!

Cheers!

Meredith