Gizmo Tech Support: dining room

I just finished off a big bowl of low cal microwaved popcorn, so I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and blog, baby, blog!!!

Thanks for the wonderful response to my Q&A this past Tuesday.

NOW ON TO THE DECORATING!!!!!

I will continue with my dining area.....

This is my dining area.
It is where I dine.
But when I eat, I sit in my TV chair, watching Judge Judy.
My TV chair is where I eat.
Eating is different than dining.
Dining means using utensils.
(I don't always do that)
(If we weren't supposed to use our fingers,
why do we have 10 of them???)
(just sayin')

This is a picture of what my table would look like, if I dined.....

This is a picture of me, earlier today, eating my low cal microwave popcorn..

This is a picture of my usual dinnerware.....

I realize that this is just a bunch of cheap jokes, but I spent a #$% load of time today taking pictures and editing them, and I am bushed, and not up to spending a whole lot more time in front of this infernal contraption called a computer!!!!!

However!!!!!

Before I go, I have to share with the class.....

I know everyone has been freaking out about Picnic closing, but some of the folks at Picnic have started their own company called PicMonkey.

Right now it's free, and I have been having a ball using their software.

Here's a picture before I edited it.....

See how it's a little blurry?????

I'm not the best photographer.....

Here's the same shot after I sharpened it in PicMonkey

WOOWSER!!!!!

The fish is so much clearer!!!

Here's a shot that's too orange, 'cuz I hadn't figured out the white balance on my camera yet. (I did that yesterday!) (I am a rocket scientist!)

Here is the same picture after I edited it in PicMonkey....

I adjusted the color, the saturation, and I sharpened it.

Look at the plates on the wall!!!!!

In the top shot they're blurry.

In the bottom shot they aint!!!!!!!

I hope this was enough to entertain you guys until Saturday.

I'm still recovering from answering all those questions.

THAT TOOK ME TWO DAYS OF WORK TO ANSWER ALL THAT #$%.

But I am a gracious and lovely woman, and I never would complain or act like a martyr.

Later Gator

Partying at:

Now that I have finished going on and on and on about my kitchen, I will drag you guys over to the dining area of my little house in Florida.....

Wanting to continue the West Indies feel of dark wood mixed with tropical accents, I found this wonderful dining room table that had the feeling of a Spanish colonial somebody or other.

(I don't know what I'm blathering on about, but I hope you get my drift.)

I chose these really comfortable wicker chairs from janus et cie,

a wonderful

company that makes indoor and outdoor wicker. So although these are indoor wicker chairs, I was able to match the feeling with my outdoor wicker that I use by my pool.

(God, how chichi does that sound?????)

I made the seat cushions out of square toss pillows that I covered in vintage barkcloth.

CONFESSION TIME

I have a leetle leetle problem with controlling my urge to buy every piece of vintage floral barkcloth in America.

I used different patterns, 'cuz I like to mix it up!!!

and......

All this barkcloth started with some new barkcloth fabrics I found at the Boston Design Center.

No one else in the world likes what I do, 'cuz the fabrics I use are

ALWAYS

being discontinued.

This was the fabric I first found, that set the overall feel for my house.....

Here's a closer view.....

I think it's PRETTY!!!!!!!!!!!

I used it on the draperies in both the living and dining area, as well as my TV chair.

I found the chandelier at Antiques on Five, an antique store also at the Boston Design Center.

I tell ya, that place vacuums the money out of my pocket.

I guess it's only fair, 'cuz sometimes it

slides some money right back in.

OK guys, this was not a chandelier when I bought it.

I'll tell you what I did to it,

BUT FIRST.....

let me explain about the green drop crystals.

They don't belong on this chandelier. I hung them there to annoy my friend and neighbor (Chloe's mom) Lissette.

Every time she comes to my house, they drive her crazy,

SO, OF COURSE...I CAN'T TAKE THEM DOWN!!!!!

This piece was a hanging candelabra.

It had spikes at the end of each arm on which to fasten a thick candle.

So I took it to my trusty lamp guys, Blanche P. Fields, (also in the Boston Design Center) and had them wire it, add the bobeches, canopy, paint them to match and then add candle slips and make the lampshades.