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Going for the Gold

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The dining room reminded me of a matador….a lot of red draped all over….lots of crazy….a whole lotta bull.   

Thank goodness we painted it.  Ole much. 

And over the past year and a half, we’ve been making some other improvements….like putting in a rug, adding some storage with a new hutch, installed the bar racks, and hooking up the light fixture.  Needless to say…it’s been a process of evolution.  In one point seven million years, you might be able to eat in there 🙂

I had originally thought I would put up plain jane white curtains.  But then I saw this yellow fabric at a local discount place.  At $2 a yard, it seemed like such a fun twist on plain ole jane.  Yellow curtains are like jane on champagne.   And we all know how Janie is when she gets bubbly in her 🙂  So I bought 14 yards ($28 for four almost ten foot panels is a great price)….that’s only $7 a curtain.

I actually did the curtains very methodically.  (forgivemeasIchokeonmyownlie)

I just laid the other curtain down on top of the fabric….added about 8.5″ on the length….cut and copied that three more times.  Two days of ironing (I’m pretty sure I could be the world’s slowest ironer) and sewing later….I had some flat panel curtains.

I just used clip hooks to attach them to the curtain rod.  I actually found the best price at Lowe’s of all places.  They were 14 clips for $6.   Now I have some spicy curtains to liven up the room.

I love how they puddle on the floor and they are super easy to get down to wash.

But my absolute favorite thing is that they balance out the gold ornate mirror that we put in there above the console-table-turned-changing-dresser-turned-buffet.  Even the height of the curtain rod and the mirror help make the room feel so much more even.  That’s really hard for me to do in this space since the ceiling is so high.

As I am sure you noticed…I added some canvases on either side of the hutch.  I haven’t decided exactly what I am gonna do with them yet…but when I do – I’ll be sure to let you know.  I am also collecting some dishes to do a collection of hanging plates and platters for over the hutch.  Hopefully that will draw your eye up so that the giant hutch will even look gianter. 

I also am thinking that the table and chairs are just completely impractical for the room.  I need more than just four seats in the dining room.  I have another place in mind for the chairs…so don’t worry – that texture will be used elsewhere.   And the table is just really old and I hate to change it structurally or mess with painting it when I might be just sending it off to live with a different relative.  I’m officially hunting craigslist. 

I also want to Rub-n-Buff the mirror to a prettier gold….not the orange-fake-n-bake kind.  No offense Lindsey Lohan.

Also – this room the whole house desperately needs the trimwork to be repainted.  I hate the tan…which actually looks creamy cream.  It’s not.  It’s tan.  And the ironic thing is, I had it color matched so that I could touch up some places and the name of the paint color closest to it is called “Irony”.  Can you believe that?!   It was only fitting that I was paying money to purchase paint I hate.  It’s like meeting the man of your dreams…then meeting his beautiful wife….isn’t it ironic….dontcha think?!  (name that song)  

I couldn’t help but photoshop to see how it might look with plain white trim.  WORLD’S DIFFERENCE in my book.

 Does anyone wanna come over and help me paint?  For months on end? 

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately.  Have y’all been going for the gold lately?

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  1. So much better! Can’t wait for our next place where I will put up curtains to my heart’s content. We’re military and even though we bought our current place, it was hard to justify putting up curtains in the main rooms because it would be more holes to fill in a few months. And we have perfectly functional vertical (shudder) blinds.

  6. Those drapes look fabulous! We still need to add some to our dining room, but honestly that’s kind of the last room of the house to get “done.” Luckily (or unluckily?) we’re hosting an after-wedding brunch for my sister-in-law this December, so my goal is to get it done by then. I think we’re going to do some board and batten!
    Oh, and I would totally come help you paint but I have an incredible amount of trim touch-ups to do myself 🙂

  7. I love those curtains! Awesome and totally balances the mirror out. I agree on changing out the table now to something that seats more of your lovely family members. I can’t wait to see what you do with the canvases.

  8. It looks great. I’d love to know the name of the wall paint color. BTW a good white for trim is White Dove by Benjamin Moore.

  12. I love it, Katie! What a beautiful pop of color! They really do help to tie in your mirror and play nicely with your yellow flowers 🙂 Love it, love it, love it!

  14. Hi Katie! First of all, we are almost neighbors (I live in Lilburn). Second of all, I love the new curtains. Third of all, a burning question – how do you color-match a paint color from your house? I’ve been eyeballing my walls and bringing home eight million paint chips at a time, but that doesn’t seem to be the most efficient way to do it. 🙂

  15. Where do you find rub and buff? I’ve heard of it and thought of using it for some brassy gold knobs on a dresser I’m refinishing. I usually stay away from anything gold, but I love these knobs and think they’d be smashing on a navy blue dresser.

  16. Ahh some Alanis Morissette’s to start the morning. That song will now be in my head the rest of the day. I love the slight short of color provided by tipsy Jane and such good deals. I would love to help paint if you could wait until Thanksgiving or Christmas when I will be in ATL. 🙂

  17. LOVE the yellow curtains. They add so much to the room without stealing the show. I don’t envy you at all with all the painting you guys have in store for you in this house. I keep hoping some paint company will offer you a freebie! 🙂

  18. Hi Katie,

    I’ve been trying to get in touch with you regarding our photo shoot last month. What is the best way to go about doing that? Have you received my emails?

    Your dining room looks beautiful!! Wanna come decorate my house? 🙂

  19. A little too ironic…..yeah, I really do think!

    I love the curtains and the pop of color. Yellow has become my color that I add to each room for a little extra kick. I blame Sherry from YHL! Have a great day!

  20. I love the yellow curtains in that room:) they look great and what a great price!! I’m currently trying to find white flowy curtains for our living room and wondered were the ones you had in there are from or the name of them…I need 91 inch long panels and that seems to be hard to find, but your looked super long from here!! 😉

  21. I love these curtains! They just make your room pop! Are you finding out the sex of this baby or have I missed that info. You look just great!

  23. love love love what you’ve done with the room so far Katie. It looks dahling… I was so hoping you were going to say lose the dining table… you could paint it in the meanwhile… i think it would look pretty darn nice painted white – same as your hutch – with some new fabric chairs in a pattern picking up the wall color and the new window treatments.. yay!! love that idea… how about you? hahah…. it is so pretty – rub and buff the heck out of the mirror to make it look more antiquey and paint the table – get new chairs – voila!! love your blog. always look forwward to see what you’re up to…. i live on Cape Cod so it would be difficult for me to come and paint but from the photos the trim is not even noticeable… the white really pops on the other hand…good luck but i say give it a good paint job first… good luck katie!

  24. I love the curtains! They’re such a nice pop of color!

    And I hear ya in regards to the painting. The crazy person in me decided to overhaul the living room this past weekend. We pulled up the carpet to expose the less-than-perfect hardwood underneath, pulled down a drop ceiling (who uses drop ceilings anymore???) and rip ugly floral paneling off the wall. Needless to say, I have lots of sanding, spackle-ing and painting to do. I need help haha

  25. Hi Katie…
    The curtains are beautiful and speak to me saying, happy, happy, happy!! Nice job.

    About the trim. Be careful what you wish for…you may get a million guests who will help. I painted all the trim in my house (a small cape) from brown to white. Primed it, 2 coats (I think, I can’t remember) and two coats of cream color paint.

    Oh, did I tell you it took me a Y.E.A.R to do. Painting religiously!!!! Yes, it did!!!

    Take one room at a time. If I lived closer, I would help. I love to paint!

    Barb

  27. ok, I usually LOVE all of your design, so you’ve got to know that first…
    but when you said yellow I was waiting for a hip, bright yellow. the pastel yellow doesn’t seem to suit you or your home. it’s awesome that it was cheap, but it seems out of place and not “you”….

  29. I’ve been painting all the trim (and doors… and hardware) in the house. Had the tan/cream molding, myself & now I can’t imagine what took me so long to repaint this! Like a breath of fresh air!!

    … this weekend will be tackling the living room & dining room. Trim, walls, replacement molding & all! Save me.

  30. Wow the original color of your dining room is the same as my kitchen. I hated it immediately, but three years later still haven’t repainted. I think it will happen this year. I’m going to refinish my cabinets first and it’s taken this long to get up the guts to attempt that step. On the plus side I did finish my endless stenciling project. I love the end result and I will never stencil a whole wall again.

    Love your yellow curtains! I think you’re right about the table. You could probably fit 6 chairs around it with different chairs, but the table is a little bit underscale for the room (that is a big room!).

  31. The butter yellow curtain are perfect! Who needs 60$/panel curtains, when there are great deals to be had at fabric stores to get the same impact for much less. I love your thinking, Katie Bower.

  32. Hey Katie! I’m outside of Atlanta and wondering where buy fabric? I have been looking for a great (ahem…cheap…) fabric store since we moved here earlier this year. Thanks!
    ~Sara

  34. LOVE the yellow curtains! You’re right about them balancing out and playing off the gold mirror.

    Where did you get those canvases? I’m having trouble finding canvases with those proportions which is exactly what I need for above my bedside tables in my master bedroom. Thanks!

  36. Song by Alanis Morisette – Ironic!

    Great song!! It’s like raaaaaaaaaain on your wedding day, it’s a free riiiiiiiiiide, when you’ve already paid. It’s like good adviiiiiiiiiiiice that you just didn’t take.

    LOVE the curtains and what a GREAT deal!

  37. Love the new curtains. I like how it ties in to the rug that’s currently in front of your door in the foyer. So much bright yellow!

    Also- I LOVE to paint trim! It’s a sickness, I think. We’re laying laminate and I can’t wait to be done so that I can paint the rooms. (Yes, I should’ve done this before the floors, but they came in earlier than anticipated and I couldn’t let it all sit in a huge pile in my living room.)

  38. Love love love how the dining room is shaping up, the new curtains are puuuuurdy. Are they more gold or more yellow? In the pic of the fabric on the roll it looks more gold. In the pictures of the curtains hung, the fabric looks more yellow…almost like the trellis rug by the door. Either way, love em!

  39. Katie,

    The soft yellow curtains against the grey walls, the lovely blue inside the crisp white hutch, the dark wood against the grey and white…really, really nice. The colors really complement one another. You always do such interesting and unexpected things with color. You are an adventurous explorer, and it is has been really fun watching your color style evolve so differently from your first house, which was equally wonderful.

    I hope you find a great table and chairs on Craigslist!

  40. Do you happen to know the paint color of the walls in your dining room? I absolutely love it! My apologies if you included it in the post and I missed it. I’m trying to sneak in some blog reading at work 😉 Love your blog!

  42. I was SO surprised to find those same curtain rings at Lowes last weekend. I had to buy 3 packs so the $6 pricetag did me right!!

    Loving the yellow 🙂

  43. I’ll come down and paint your trim if you send your boyfriend to my house to patch the 1 ft by 1/2 ft hole in the drywall my plumber made this AM. I guess it was worth it since he hooked up my new stove. No stove for 6 weeks has been wearing on me.

  44. Things are looking really good. 1 question for you…do you find it difficult to design such a large space compared to your home before?

  46. those look great, katie!

    the main reason i wanted to comment, though, is to thank you for saving me $20! i just bought 4 7-packs of curtain clips from target for almost $5 each, with plans to go back for the other 4 packs i will need once their truck comes in. i had looked EVERYwhere for a great price on the small ring clips…except lowe’s. the price for the small ring clips 14-packs here is $4.97. now, the 56 curtain ring clips i need for my downstairs’ windows will only cost me $20, instead of $40. thank you, thank you!!! =)

  47. Goin’ for the gold just in time for the Olympics! They look FANtastic and it makes me wish my first floor was gray with yellow/gold accents. But alas, it’s not. Great work!

  48. I have to admit that I was skeptical of the gray vs. red paint in this room but you won me over. The gray is much more calming, soothing, and modern. I was skeptical of the yellow curtains, too, but I love them! This room is starting to look very sophisticated and fun. I think a different dining set will look fab in here, too.

  49. Where is that yellow rug in the entryway from? I’ve been looking for one just like it for my bedroom. Love the new curtains – they are so cheerful!

  51. Such a transformation, it looks absolutely amazing! The curtains give the room a really finished look to the room. Bravo lady

  52. Love the yellow drapes! They really coordinate well with the room and look great with the wall color! Nice job! 🙂

  54. Hey, kb! LOVE my pictures, by the way. 🙂 I go back to zenfolio every day to stare at them.

    Anyway, since I’m local, would you mind sharing the name of the discount fabric place? I haven’t found anything like that around here!

  55. It’s like raaa-aaaain, on your wedding day!

    I’ve got some trim to paint as well. Definitely lacking the motivation to tackle that project.

  56. Alanis, and yes I can come help paint, but not until the winter because I can’t handle the heat

  57. Oooh! Pretty curtains – great job! What are you thinking for your new table? White, black, or stained?

  58. WOW! Those curtains are lovely – they really bring the space to life! Awesome find 🙂

  60. Love the curtains! Did you line them? If not, how heavy was the fabric. I love the light they let through. 🙂

  61. I love it. I know I say that every time I comment, but, really, it’s true. Yellow is where it’s at for me.

  62. Well, Ironic is officially stuck in my head. 😉 I have a house full of trim to paint too! I hate it. I also hate painting anything in general, which is “ironic” since I have painted every room in my house twice in two years(some three times). Pun intended.

    Good luck on your table and chairs search!

  63. I love love love the grey in this room, and the yellow with the grey is amazing! I love yellow and grey together. I just want to know where you found that fabric for $2 a yard… so jealous!

  65. lurve the yellow curtains. buttery and soft against the paint. with white trim eventually, totally beautiful!

  69. It’s Fabric Mart – in Stone Mountain next to K&G I believe. They don’t always have great fabric choices but generally speaking, they usually have good deals.
    xo – kb

  70. I sometimes just lay old Ikea curtains on top and cut along the line. Also, sometimes adding a lining can add enough weight to make it hang better too.
    xo – kb

  74. Oh yeah. It’s hard because I am so cheap and the larger space with taller ceilings means that you have to buy bigger more expensive furniture. And then you have to worry more about scale. All our previous furniture looks miniature 🙂
    xo – kb

  76. It’s a very goldy yellow. Not buttery yellow – more like the binding of a National Geographic cut with white by half 🙂
    xo – kb

  79. I love the pop of yellow against the walls. And I totally agree that the trim in white will be fabulous for the trim. But dear Lord,painting trim is up there with waxing my great grandmas bikini line. I’ve never done it, but I can imagine it’s up there on the horror scale with painting trim. I’ve done it in two houses and neither were nearly as large as yours. So, I guess what I’m saying is that I think I’m busy for the next few years so I just don’t think I can help. 😉

  80. Well – like pretty much everything in my life – it’s definitely a work in progress. Hopefully I can make it more me soon 🙂
    xo – kb

  81. I’m gonna find out – hopefully the baby will cooperate on Thursday during our appointment 🙂
    xo – kb

  82. That’s actually just white cotton fabric draped over the rod…and some too-short Ikea curtains 🙂
    xo – kb

  84. I just have to say that I am having a horrible day and when I go to your blog it always cheers me up! Especially those lovely curtains! Now pour me some of that alcohol on your bar!

  86. I love yellow and those are lovely curtains. I would be happy to help you paint trim after this morning sickness goes away 🙂
    Have you ever been to OHCO in Covington? That is my favorite place to buy fabric, trim, pillows & rugs for very cheap. They have a huge sale twice a year and fabric is sold by the pound. I don’t work for them, just a loyal customer.

  87. Ohmygosh. I love those a ridiculous amount. At first I was all, “Nooo! White curtains forever!” But then I scrolled down and immediately ate my words.

  88. I would totally come hang out with you & Will and paint until it was all done! Sounds like a good time to me….alas! I’m in Australia, so not exactly handy geographically!!

  89. Very calm and inviting! Nice splash of color in a subtle way…
    Love the muted paint color in the room …which is so my style! 🙂
    Throwing in a random question- Whats u’r favorite color…(guessing..would that be a shade of blue/ grey?)
    Cheers!

  91. Ack! Sorry! Chrome just inexplicably re-posted my reply from YHL to your blog, along with the reply I *meant* for you! Can you fix it! Fan/reader/internet browser fail. :/

  92. Actually I would love to come and help you paint your trim! I painted all the trim in my home when we bought it. I’ll be done with my summer master’s classes July 26th. I’ll even bring my daughter. She’s 15 months today and she can totally hang out with Will. Don’t worry I know he’s already spoken for my the beautiful Clara P. Ok, ok I know that will never happen but I do think it would be so awesome to meet you! I love the yellow curtains so much!

  94. I think you can order it online and I also believe that Michaels carries it sometimes.
    Good kuck rubbing 🙂
    xo – kb

  97. My favorite color…hmm…that’s difficult. I’ve always kinda been a purple girl…but I do love to wear turquoise…but if I see a nice shade of red or pink or green…I’m apt to change my mind. I guess I like them all so it’s hard to pick. I’m not such a fan of orange but that’s probably because I look horrible in it 🙂 Vanity first people.
    xo – kb

  100. haha…yeah…I remember the last time I waxed my grandmas bikini line….aww memories 🙂
    Speaking of bikini’s – your little man’s bouncer is hilarious.
    xo – kb

  101. Whoa, throwback! Alanis Morissette! I love name that song 🙂 Also, digging the yellow/grey combo & I hear ya on the cream trim problem, ugh. I have two rooms of trim yet that I need to repaint white too. Good luck!

  104. Looks good!! Oh my goodness, I WILL HELP YOU PAINT THE TRIM WHITE!!!!! All you have to do is holler. Or e-mail. or respond to this post. I bet I wouldn’t be the only one willing to help 🙂

  105. Thursday?? on my b-day? congrats! and hope all is well with you and the babe

  106. Hey Katie!

    Love the room! Quick question…I have a baby shower to go to this saturday and for gifts they want us to bring books. Do you have any cute ideas how to dress it up rather than just wrapping them in wrapping paper? Maybe a basket and ribbon? I’m horrible at this stuff! Please help a bacon-lovin’-sista out!

  107. Hi Katie,

    I love the yellow – it’s insane what an awesome difference it makes in the room! Kinda like Jane got beer goggles….no? too corny?

    Anyways – I saw that you got the fabric at fabric mart. I don’t suppose you know the style number of any info that could help us find it? Did you get it recently enough that it might still be there, or a zillion years ago and hoarded it?

  109. Alanis M would ♥♥♥ those yellow curtains !

    They do a great job of adding a warmer color to a very cool ( both style and color-wise) space. If you ever want to sell that mirror you have my email 🙂

    My TX home has trim that was that yukky dirty looking tan/cream.
    We painted every bloody inch of it, along with all the doors. UGH.
    Took us forever. And a day. Plus.

    I say hire it out-there are plenty of college kids that would do the job and it would save you and yours MUCHO aggravation. Or do the “one room a week” thingy…eventually it does get finished.

    Do you have a timetable of what you want to finish before the bebe arrives?

  111. I am a huge fan of using stuff to wrap that the mom can use later. A basket, a small tote, even wrapped up in a swaddling blanket is always super fun 🙂
    xo – kb

  112. LOL, no, you should live in the now …BUT I had a thought after leaving my comment-Imagine your hutch in that gorgeous yellow as well! ‘Cause, ya know, you don’t have enough to do 🙂

  113. Ooh, I love the curtains! Grey, white and yellow is a favorite combo. I would do that to my bedroom but the mister is just not into it (he’s weird, I know).

    I would totally help you paint if I lived locally, by the way. Painting party with mocktails and snacks!

  115. No lie, I was listening to an Alanis Morissette song while reading this.

    I’m battling a similar do i/don’t i paint the trim dilemma. On the one hand, it would make a HUGE difference in the room. On the other hand, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhihatepaintingtrimughhhhhhh.

  116. I LOVE THE YELLOW 🙂 Definitely makes the room “sunnier” than the white 🙂

  118. You always make me laugh and knock me over with your exciting design. Love the yellow curtains.

  120. I’m 18 weeks preggo and was wondering if you have been painting during your pregnancy? I usually hear it’s ok with a low voc paint but thought I would ask anyone. This is our first and my husband is SUPER cautious about what I’m around, very sweet of him but I’m trying to fluff my nest and he isn’t working fast enough! 😉

  121. Love the gray and yellow together! I think white trim will make a difference. I love freshly painted trim 🙂

    I agree something needs changed with the table. I think a darker table would be fab since you already have a ton of white in there.

  122. Very nice! I love how bright it is! That dark dresser/console is perfect in there. Great yellow drapes too, good work!

  127. could have sworn i posted a long post here… don’t see it now… don’t think i broke any rules… but maybe it was too long… hope all is well kb.
    xo
    Patty

  129. I have. Don’t tell. And I do take the necessary precautions…mask, well-ventilated space, low or no-voc paint 🙂
    xo – kb

  130. It’s up there Patty – and we don’t have any rules here 🙂 unless it’s to eat bacon 🙂
    xo – kb

  131. Love you blog!! You have ao much talent an such a great eye for decorating….by the way I am in love with the yellow morrocan tile rug at your front door. Where did you get it??

  132. When you paint the trim white, are you going to paint the ceiling the same color white? I hate the cream ceiling white crown molding thing I currently have going on in my house, but I’m worried white on white would make the crown molding disappear…

  133. I think I would paint the ceiling…but just a different finish (crown semi gloss and ceiling flat) so it would still stick out…just subtely 🙂
    xo – kb

  137. Do you find it more difficult to design a bigger home? The reason im asking is b/c interior decorating requires so much detail….a bigger home means more details and more creative thoughts on using up the space efficiently. We are currently living in my boyfriend’s parents place and they want to revamp the space but its really big compared to where we lived before….need some serious help! LOL

  138. I know what you mean…im running across this problem right now as we are living in my boyfriend’s parents place and they want to revamp the space and their home is quite large…its kind of difficult… 🙁

  139. Thanks for the info! I’m another local who has struggled finding a discount fabric place.

    The curtains look ahh-mazing.

  140. THANK YOU SO MUCH for this, Katie! I have a room that’s Tiffany blue with a yellow fireplace, and the room beside it is gray and feels much more somber. I wanted to try yellow curtains in the gray room to cheer it up and you just gave me the cajones to go for it. Thank you!!!

  142. Hi Jessica! Sorry it took me so long to get to your comment! Glad we got to chat today and please let me know if you have any other questions!
    xo – kb

  143. found my posat.. doh!! sorry about that… i ws rambling… can’t wait for tomorrow…i won’t sleep tonight… but i’m guessing a girl…

  144. I know its off topic, but I wanted to say that everyday I love coming across your sweet little boy on pinterest! So cute :). Obviously thinking of you and your fam this weekend.

  145. A ha, thanks for the tip on Fabric Mart…good fabric at a decent price is near impossible in Atlanta I’ve discovered!

  147. HI: I have a question about your china cabinet – did you paint it yourself? If so, how did you do it? I think it looks gorgeous, love the contrasting color inside. I want to do this with mine, but feeling a bit stumped as to where to start!

    Thanks!
    Heather

  151. The racks are from the Pottery Barn outlet and we added the glass holders on the bottoms (we got those brackets from ikea).
    xo – kb

  152. Love the curtians! I have been looking to do something similar. What type of fabric did you buy?

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