Another finished room.

I wanted to finish painting my dining room before Thanksgiving.  That didn't get done, mostly because of the whole "let's come down with strep" thing (seriously, how did I get strep and neither of my kids did!?  Not that I'm complaining, but me and my immune system don't get along.)  So I was pretty determined to before Christmas.

The old dining room

You remember the ugly paneling?  I can't believe it took me this long, but it's finally gone.  I was a bit afraid of just painting over it- the paneling was etched and grooved, and I was afraid it wouldn't look good if I simply painted over it.  I also didn't want to spackle all the walls, and I definitely didn't want to rip off the paneling, particularly not knowing what was under them.

The grooves turned out not to be so much a problem.  Only one wall had really deep grooves, the others were just lightly etched.  It gave the walls a unique texture, something I can't seem to capture on film.  In fact it's not really noticeable unless you stare at the walls.

I had a little helper.

It was risky, but I went with a dark brown.  I knew it would make the room darker, but for some reason, I really like that for a dining room.  Not that we ever have romantic, candlelit dinners at home (Have I ever mentioned that my kids work off their dinners by running around the kitchen table several hunded times playing chase with one another?) but darker dining rooms always make me think modern and romantic.

Right now there's white curtains, but I'd like to get new ones eventually.  If there's one thing I've really picked up on in the past few years, it's the difference between cheap curtains and heavy, pricier drapes.  They really help a room, in my opinion.  And since it wil be awhile before we get new dining room furniture, the only things I really need to finish the room is some shelving.  In a small house, there's no such thing as too much shelving.

The only wall where the grooves are noticeable.

In the end, I'm really happy with it.

So now that the dining room is finished, the only rooms left are the kitchen and bathroom, plus the stairwell.  I'm trying to convince myself that I can remove tile on my own, but there's a huge spot in my brain that screams "Don't do it!!"  And for now, I'll listen to that voice.