Hey Shawna! Yes! I saw that post too and I was thinking I might use the tiles in my entry, that might work well for cleaning up dirt and messes and such. Anyways, her tile designs were rad. Thanks for sharing all the links!

Also, there would be scotch guard involved.

Hey, Thanks Ana! I’m glad talking about this process stuff isn’t too boring. I always like to know about other peoples thought process – I wish there was more of it! I credit my love of metallics to Emily Henderson, I took a leap after reading her “styled” book last fall and purchased brass rods for the living room, and I really love them. Now I’ve hints of brass everywhere. So we can both thank her :)

I agree! Especially because we have white frames on the other three walls, and new white linen curtains would help too (dreams…).

Hey Stacey, You’re right, Scandinavian is grown up, but often comfortable. To describe what I’m trying to get at more clearly, I want my space to still feel youthful, casual, playful, simple and comfortable (ala Scandinavian design), and not be too stuffy (like my Grandma’s house). Does that make more sense. Thanks for setting me straight ;)

I know, I worry about my kids and a future rug too. They are finally getting to the age where not everything falls on the floor, but still, it does. We mostly eat at our kitchen table, so it wouldn’t be getting as much every-day-wear as yours might. I do worry about that though!

I love the idea of a rug under the table, but my kids are hobos. Also, we have only a single dining table, so it has to work as the One Table for food, crafting, painting, play-dough, cub scouts, etc. Again, I don’t think there’s a rug that can hold up to that kind of abuse.

I think part of the trick to it is accenting the dark with a lot of white. White frames, white vessels and decorative objects, white pillows. It needs contrast to work, but I think it could be what all of us dark woodwork suffers could benefit from!

I used photoshop to enhance the wall color, change out the cushions and add the rug. It’s a great tool, but I know it can be spendy and tricky to use.

What program did you use to try out the different wall colors in your photos above? The dark walls look amazing!