Blog - at home with Ashley

Dining Room Reveal

Today I have a fun blog post for you- it’s the day we have all been waiting for! Dining room reveal day! Let’s back up to a before photo:

BEFORE

This is from when I started my blog 2 years ago:

Here’s what it looked like about a month ago:

As a recap, I’ve shared the mood board, wallpaper installation, reupholstering the chairs and the new art and rug.

To finish up the project, I updated my chandelier. Honestly, it was actually a bittersweet change. About 8 years ago I was working as a wedding planner. One of my favorite brides of all time had a big wedding and gave me a generous tip for being a part of her big day. With that tip I bought myself a chandelier.

I loved that black chandelier for years. But my tastes shifted and changed with time (as most people’s do). Plus, with the kitchen update, it left the dining room looking a little dated and sad. So I sold it and found the perfect replacement from Overstock! The Armstrong Brass Chandelier:

When we got the package, my husband and I were so excited to install it! We made the super fun mistake of unboxing it in front of my son. Don is 2 and loves to throw everything in the garbage. I’m sure you can see where this is going, but Don moved some of the pieces and we searched for at least an hour to find them. We were shifting through the garbage, looking under the sofa- the whole nine yards. Finally, we found it shoved into one of the light sockets!

AFTER

We put the chandelier up and love it! I added fancy Edison bulbs and it was the perfect finishing touch!

It is a Sputnik style chandelier. These first originated in the 1960’s during the space age. They are most common in mid-century modern rooms, but I love the edge they give my classic dining room! (you can read more about them here)

I love how it looks from the different angles in the dining room!

The chandelier is one of the first things you see when you enter our condo and I love what a beautiful focal point it is!

I wanted to share with you a fun gif of the how the whole room came together:

And as a recap- a before and after image

We had a mini dinner party to celebrate that the room is FINISHED! Now I need a new space to redo- the living room still needs a few things and the laundry room is scary. I also need to do my bathroom, but I’m saving that for October. Let me know what you’d like to see next in the comments.

table runner and napkins from Minted

Small announcement- for the month of August I will be hosting a cleaning challenge! Check back on Monday for a free cleaning schedule printable and full details.

Chandelier provided c/o Overstock.com. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Dining Room Rug with eSaleRugs

Hey hey! Who’s ready for a dining room update?! As a recap, I’ve been working on my dining room week by week. So far I’ve shared the mood board, wallpaper installation, and reupholstering the chairs. I am super excited about this week’s update because…. Drum roll please! I have a new rug and art to share with you! Let’s talk about the rug-

rug

So I am a traditional rug lover. What makes a traditional rug? Think of a Persian rug- usually they contain a border, and have designs like florals, intricate patterns, and center medallions. It’s what I have all over my house and I love the pattern. I feel like it fits well with my style and can be blended with contemporary furniture too.

choose the colors

I fell in love with the Aria Rug from eSaleRugs. It has pink, lots of beige (hello, I have a two year old that will inevitably make stains- so I wanted something that will hide dirt). And the best part, it has gold that is so beautiful when it hits the sun! #love

[Read more…]

How to Secure Art

Last October I shared my stair gallery wall with you. Guys- I loved this gallery wall! The art was so pretty together and the stairs never looked better! Here’s a picture to refresh your memory:

the issue

But let me tell you, it wasn’t super practical. Here’s the issue- I have a two year old who is learning to climb the stairs and has to hold onto the wall. This means that sometimes he held onto the pictures and pulled them down as he climbed the stairs. I have lost probably 5-7 frames this way. No one was ever hurt and it never damaged the stairs, just the cheap Ikea frames. I tried to secure them with a command strip, but it wouldn’t hold. Finally, I was sick of my stairs looking like this: [Read more…]

How to Style a Ledge Gallery Wall

Hi Friends! This weekend I worked on my dining room- the new rug arrived and I am SO excited about it! I’ve been sharing sneak peeks on my Insta stories if you want to follow along! We are gearing up for a big holiday in Utah- Pioneer Day (our State’s founding day). My husband’s birthday is coming up too so it’s busy and exciting over here.

how to style videos

On Instagram, one of my favorite things I like to share are my Instagram styling videos. I show you how to go from a blank space to a styled, beautiful space. If I know how to do one thing, it’s how to style and I want to pass on everything I know about how to arrange things in a way that is pleasing to the eye! Last year, I first put up the ledges and here’s how it looked like then: [Read more…]

How to make a Wall Hanging from a Mop

Wall hangings

Today we are talking all about wall hangings! A few years ago I got my first woven wall hanging and I fell in love! They are super customizable because yarn can come in any color. They add a ton of texture and interest to a space. And they really break up the monotony of frames on the wall. So I’m a fan! [Read more…]

Dining Room Chair Makeover

Have you ever had a project that isn’t done around your house forever and ever and you can’t force yourself to tackle it? We all have, right?

There’s one project that’s been nagging me for years- my dining chairs. I bought them 7 years ago from Pottery Barn. They came with a muslin fabric that was meant to be recovered. I liked the light color, but knew that down the line it’d need to be replaced. [Read more…]

How to Install Removable Wallpaper- Dining Room

Hi Guys! I hope you all had a great 4^th of July! Our family went on a little vacation and for 2 days I didn’t work at all (besides chasing a toddler around 😉 ) and it was just what I needed! Some time by the beach, good food, and quality time left me feeling so refreshed.

I am working hard on my dining room update. Last week, I shared with you the super boring before and the plans to jazz it up (I sound like I’m 90 years old writing jazz- haha). I am happy to report that the room is already looking much more exciting! Why? Removable wallpaper.

before

plans

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Our Kitchen Update 1.5 months later

In mid May we finished our kitchen renovation. And I’m still kind of tired from it- haha! It was a ton, ton of work, but I am thrilled with how it turned out (here’s the full kitchen reveal post)! I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it on social media and from friends, so I thought I’d give a kitchen update of what I’m loving and what I’m not loving.

hardware / faucet / soap / candle / brass vase / sink / tile / quartz / cabinets

The sink

Hands down, my favorite part of the kitchen is the sink. It is huge and beautiful! I love that it is so deep that if you have a bowl at the bottom, it’s not really visible so the whole kitchen feels cleaner longer. The part I love most about it is that it isn’t stainless steel! It’s granite and always looks clean. My old stainless sink consistently had water marks on it and it drove me crazy! I was talking to a friend about this and she says lots of people get water softeners just so they have less stains on their sink! So for me, this was definitely worth the upgrade! [Read more…]

Grocery Store Flower Experiment

I’m a flower lover. I think they are the perfect luxury- they aren’t too expensive, and when you have them, your home feels prettier, more inviting, and looked after and loved. Pretty much, I always have fresh flowers in my house.

flower quality

There’s all sorts of ways to buy your flowers- grocery store, from a flower shop, or you can buy a flower subscription service from a company like Enjoy Flowers. But is there a quality difference? I decided to buy a bouquet of similar flowers from both the grocery store and through the mail (I used Enjoy Flowers) and did what I call- the Grocery Store Flower Experiment! [Read more…]

How to Style your Home

Good morning friends! One of my goals with writing this blog is to encourage everyone that is it possible to have the home of your dreams! Today I am going to show you how to style four areas in your house. Arranging your accessories in a pleasing way is a really easy and affordable way to make your home look pretty in minutes! I will share with you the easy to follow formulas with videos that I’ve learned as a professional Interior Designer. I am so excited about this post and teamed up with Extra Space Storage to bring it to you. Here we go!