***

It's week 3 of the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda at Calling It Home and let's just say things are about to get all real up in here. "About to get?"... isn't this challenge half over? And yet... my dining room still looks EXACTLY the same as the day this challenge started.

Not to worry, progress has been made!


I made a visit to Tonic Living to source out fabric for the curtains.  I was drawn in two directions: soft, light and airy, or patterned and coastal. The Naga Blue caught my eye online but I wasn't sure if the cream background would work with our white wainscotting. The Eldon Stripe was one of my favourites. It has a great texture and has a nice transitional look which is just my style. Janine suggested I also consider the Amir Azure which Sarah Richardson had used in her rental cottage:

photo via HGTV.ca

It looks dreamy against all the white! The Montauk Pinstripe and Montauk Stripe were also contenders but might be a tad too sheer for the space. I wasn't sold entirely on the Artstripe Lagoon or the solid Tuscany Linen but brought home swatches because seeing fabric in the store and seeing it at home can be two quite different things.

In the end, I tried out all the swatches and the clear winner was...


Naga Blue! It made a bold statement that just stood out. Since we're going with a solid painted wall, the pattern will keep things from being too plain and boring. So the curtains are in the works... what else do we have on the go?

- Our electrician is coming later this afternoon to install some potlights. My gosh is Sean excited. He's waited for these potlights for years!
- Soon after that, we hope to have our drywall guy come in and smooth the ceilings.
- Now that we've had Chloe's birthday celebration, the wallpaper can finally come down. If you hear screams of frustration this weekend, it might be me.
- The light fixture and blinds are on their way to me as we speak.

I still need to decide on a paint colour, find a new sideboard and decide what to do about the chairs. The budget is getting really tight and I've made some recent purchases for the cottage so some things might have to fall off the plan. We've got lots of time to get it all done.... right??

Not many photos to share with you yet but follow along on instagram as we'll be making some quick changes in the next few days.