out with the old...in with the...

new mantra for the new year. for me, the new year means the start of fun, new stuff by establishing some personal "challenges".
so, personal challenge #1: dining room makeover. we moved to our new home in july, 2006. it's a little over 30 years old and, while the former owners too good care of the place and made some updates, some updating still remains and - er - some of their updates are not our taste.
this applies to the pinky-peach floral dining room wallpaper. so, out with the old wallpaper scheme....in with something a little new...a little fresh. take down the chair rail. prime and paint the walls.
it's slowly coming along and i usually work on it an hour here and there when the kiddo is taking her nap.
i picked out the paint color already. "barley" by benjamin moore. i loved the fact that it was a feature color in the pottery barn mags during the fall and early winter seasons.

we are without a dining room set right now and it'll probably be another year or two until we buy the one we've already picked out {yay! one income joys!}. but, a girl can dream...and plan...so, i think i'd like to throw up some silk drapes on the windows... and i'd like to do pineapple or starfish accents.




i know the accents might sound bizzare, but i've started planning it in my head, and it's not {that} hideous.
my primary hope is that i like the color after it's up on the walls. we did a little sample swatch of this color...benjamin moore sells little jars that you can test the color prior to buying loads of paint. i wish i were a little braver with color instead of always going with the subdued look. but, i will look to punch things up a bit with accent pieces. fortunately, this is a step-by-step process, which means: i still have plenty of time to plan. and, i'm only starting with the walls...



anyway...gotta run and take down some more wallpaper!