Homes to Love
HHello! It’s been a whirlwind of a week—sorry I was a little quiet. I didn’t mean to go off the radar, but sometimes projects pile up and last week was one of those times. I’m back now and excited to share updates.
I spent a few days at Bloom Bash in Seattle, a creative workshop for entrepreneurs hosted by Michaela Warner and Ashley Slater. It was inspiring and energizing, and I’m looking forward to telling you more about it soon.
For today, I want to share ideas for our new dining room. Expect lots of photos. If you’re new here, we recently moved into a 1950s house in Seattle, so we’re starting fresh. You can find background links at the end of this post.
With so many projects colliding recently, I haven’t made as much progress on the house as I hoped. That said, I’ve been giving myself grace—moving in and adjusting takes time. Now we’re finally shifting into “house mode” and I’m excited to begin planning and making changes.
Living in the house for a few weeks has helped clarify what we actually need versus what we initially imagined. Observing how the space functions in daily life has refined our priorities and influenced the plans for the dining room.
This dining room acts partly as a pass-through to the kitchen with three openings; to reach the kitchen you walk past the table. Compared to our previous dining area it feels slightly larger, though the ceiling is lower and the layout is different.
At the moment the center light hangs slightly off-center on a chain, which doesn’t align well with our table. It’s a lovely fixture, but we’re exploring alternatives that open the space visually and better align with the table placement.
Most of the room is already painted white, which we like. The wall that leads to the living room is tan, so we plan to paint it white for a consistent, bright look.
Above is how the dining room looked the day we moved in. It’s essentially the same now, minus the moving boxes. Right now our console serves as a temporary coffee station on the back wall.
We briefly considered opening up the kitchen fully to the dining room, but that would require relocating appliances and dealing with complications like a stairwell—not to mention added expense. A full open plan isn’t practical here, though we might widen the doorway slightly to create more breathing room. Any change would be minor due to limited wall space.
Here’s the view from the dining room window. That little shed out back has so much potential once it’s spruced up.
I love that this room is essentially a blank canvas: good wood floors, big window, and beautiful views of the water and sunsets. The natural light makes it a pleasant place to spend time.
One idea I’m considering is adding built-in bookcases along the dining room wall that connects to the kitchen. Built-ins would give the room a cozy library-like feel while adding storage for dishes, cookbooks, and decorative items. It’s not decided yet, but it’s an appealing direction that mixes character with function.
I’ve always liked the idea of a library dining room—bookcases bring warmth and personality, and they could help transition visually into the kitchen.
Emily A. Clark
BHG
Blair Harris / Cobble Hill Townhouse
The Makerista
Decorating-wise we’re leaning toward a modern cottage look: clean, fresh lines with color and warmth but nothing overly fussy. Some inspiration photos include traditional molding and millwork, but our approach will stay simple and streamlined.
I’ll share more of the decorating vision in a future post since there’s a lot to cover.
Anyone have suggestions for doorbell chimes? I’d love to hear ideas!
PS. My book release is less than a week away—can you believe it? Tomorrow I’ll share a fun opportunity to show your own inspired rooms!