Let's discuss my dining room, part 2

Today I am going to inundate you with pictures of my dining room as it looks right this very minute because I am OBSESSED with my new antique birdcage! It's turned out to be the piece that was missing all along - something unique and beautiful, something to give the room that extra Oomph! I really wanted to place the birdcage on my buffet, but it would have covered up one of the mirrored wall sconces and I just love those a bit too much to hide or take down. So I played around a bit, and I ended up placing it next to the buffet, on the antique marble-top table (passed down from Nate's great-grandma). I LOVE it.

But as promised, I wanted to share with you the story of my dining chairs. As you all know, a single chair typically goes for at least $200 a pop (even Ikea's chairs start at around $100 a piece, unless you're looking at their folding chairs). Naturally, I did not want to spend more than $400 on chairs. Enter Craigslist. I found the chairs above listed at $90 for the four of them. I think I paid $75.

I tried out a few fabrics that I thought could work with the brown graphic rug that I had already purchased for the living room - knowing that the two spaces opened up to one another. This one was TOO similar to the rug.

I loved this one from Calico Corners and still think I might get throw pillows done in it. It's called Tilbury Lapis. But ultimately, because I wasn't sure what colors I'd want in the room, if any (remember, I had plans for a completely neutral space), I went with a soft neutral striped fabric my mom had sitting in the basement that she had bought on sale but never used. Say it with me, "Yay! Free is good!"

Busted out a few cans of my favorite brand of spray paint in 'Granite' Satin finish...

...to cover up this god-awful glossy veneered wood.

And voila! The aforementioned striped fabric. I did all the other chairs back in December, but for some reason never got around to finishing off the last one until a week ago. Hence, there is one dark chair in all the pictures I've ever posted of my dining room. Well, NOT ANYMORE, folks! I now have FOUR grey chairs. Hooray!

And remember this beauty I got from the Brown Elephant Thrift Store on Halsted for $25 or so?

...and recovered in this fun pink geometric fabric?

Well, that got a spray paint facelift too this past weekend.

And because I got a little camera happy... here are the two rooms as they are now!

I LOVE how the teal lamp and birdcage compliment one another. Add a dash of pink and some soft gray-blue accents, and you have the Domino cover (which you'll see in the previous photo sits perfectly atop my coffee table further complimenting the teals in the room).

So pretty! Just need to figure out what to do above that chest... 143 of you voted to hang four different prints. But it was a VERY close vote!

Don't you love that marble-top table?

Love the whimsy of the mushroom salt and pepper shakers, courtesy of you-can-probably-guess, combined with the whimsy of the birdcage.

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Here you can see how the two rooms flow together. All I need is this rug from CSNrugs in the dining room, some white drapes, a new coffee table, two accent pillows in the aforementioned Calico Corners fabric, and I'll be happy as a clam.

Do not hold me responsible for the horrendous light fixture on the dining room ceiling. Apartment rental, remember?

I loves!

Thoughts?