dining room updates

Happy Spring, friends!  We've been busy bees around here getting ready for the warm season.  I can't wait to share some updates we've made to our back patio.  But first I want to share some updates we've made to the inside of the house.  You may recall that we stripped the dining room wallpaper!  We were pretty nervous about this project since God only knew what condition these 100+ year old walls were in.

The wallpaper was here when we moved in and I honestly liked it.  It was a nice room to host dinner parties with friends.  But after we had kids it was way too formal for my taste.  This dining room is where our family eats dinner every night so I want it to feel more casual.  Side note: you can only imagine the condition the dining room chairs are in with 3 year old twin boys.  The entire set is in desperate need of a makeover… 

Everyone knows what a pain it is to remove wallpaper.  However, much to our surprise the wallpaper came down with ease and the walls were in pretty good shape!  We started early one a Saturday morning and…. 9 minutes later the dining room was wallpaper free.  Yeah you read that right… 9 MINUTES!  It was a DIY miracle in my opinion.

Here's a peek of the room stripped of the wallpaper.  (p.s. ever notice how my little one is always in pajamas?  We call him PJ boy - the kid loves to be comfy).

What a difference two coats of primer and two coats of Benjamin Moore Carlisle Cream can make.  I love how the natural light bounces off the neutral wall color making the room feel bright and breezy.  This room is now getting closer to the casual everyday vibe I'm striving for.

This weeping fig is also a new addition.  It's NOT artificial so fingers crossed that I don't kill it!

These water colors were a gift from my in-law's that they brought home from Venice, Italy back in 2007.  They were originally in fancy black frames.  I updated them with these rustic Reese Frames from World Market. 

Next up, painting all the trim in the room Bright White (not looking forward to that)... and styling this built in cabinet!!

Wine Barrel Lazy Susan

I've always loved wine barrel lazy susans but never the price tag associated to them.  Some can cost up to 200 bucks!  We purchased a couple of wine barrels from Craig's List last summer for $60 a pop and have used them for a few DIYs around the house.  

We removed the bottom of one wine barrel and originally used it as a table topper on the front porch.  As you can see it's received quite a beating over the past year.  Wine stains (no judgement please), spilled candle wax, sun exposure… it was pretty much falling apart and quickly turned to "trash".  It desperately needed to be brought back to life.

After cleaning the surfaces I applied some wood glue into the seams of each of the wooden planks one at a time and clamped them together until they were dry.

Then a little sanding and a couple coats of clear minwax.

I picked up this turntable at Home Depot for a whopping $4.50 and used MDF to mount the hardware for the lazy susan base (Andy did all the cutting of course).  

Then we attached the hardware to the wine barrel board making sure to use screws that would not break through the front side.

I can't wait to use this for entertaining!

I'm sharing this post with these fun parties this week:
Get Your DIY On at House by Hoff * Give Me the Goods at So Much Better with Age * Hit Me With Your Best Shot at Just a Girl and Blog * The Inspiration Exchange at Clean & Scentsible * Work It Wednesday at The Turquoise Home * The Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush * Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now * Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest * Link Party Palooza at I Heart Naptime