Okay, it's been awhile since my last post.  We've obviously been busy with the house.  First I want to share the after pics of the dining room paint project.  Remember the dark floor, dark trim, dark paint picture from before?  Unfortunately, I can't find a true "before" picture to show the extreme darkness -- must be on the other computer.  In this picture I've already started painting the chair rail, but here's a reminder:

Here's the final product: 

I made my hubby move the furniture back in there pronto!  I was ready to sit down for a meal -- no more TV dinners for me!  The kids were even excited to sit in their chairs again.  Here's the new furniture arrangement: 

For picture purposes I positioned the chairs like this -- with two chairs on one side.  Our original plan was to purchase two more matching chairs to make six total.  However, after pondering the setup, we're now looking for a 48+ inch bench for the other side.  I'm looking specifically for a flip-up bench that will also double as extra storage space for table cloths, placemats, etc. 

The kids thoroughly enjoyed how I placed their two chairs for these pictures.  When I tried moving them back, they begged me to leave them so they could sit side-by-side at mealtime.  I thought, "why not?"  Big mistake!  Mealtime is just playtime when they're only 12 inches away from each other.  Oh well, at least they enjoy being close to one another, which may not happen when they're teenagers. 

We haven't had our new dining room furniture (hutch, table, 4 chairs and 2 leafs that we scored on the Sell-n-Swap Shop for only $350) for very long, but I've always felt that the original hutch placement looked like we shoved it in this corner.  

Yes, I know this picture is deceiving to the eyes but the hutch really did fit in that cubby hole -- barely!!  I wanted the hutch to be the main focus, so we did just that by placing it on the main wall.  I think it worked out perfectly.  My plan is to fill the hutch with my Grandma Marianne's old glassware.  I can't wait to pull those boxes out of the attic. 

This room is definitely still a work in progress.  I need to hang my new curtains, hang wall decor, dig out my table runner and centerpiece, and I have a plan for that lonely corner where the hutch used to reside.  The jury is still out on whether or not we'll buy another area rug for under the table. 

First, we'll need to replenish the ol' bank account after purchasing our new sofa.  Pics on that when it actually arrives -- in 8-10 weeks!  What??  How does a sofa take that long to be delivered?  Well, we didn't order the stock color (Red,) and the color we wanted (Coffee) was a special order.  I sure hope it's worth the wait!