I have a less-than-exciting to you but super-exciting to me update today.
We have officially resolved the placemat issue! We were so disappointed after we left Crate & Barrel last week because we had been so excited to find a nice style, high quality placemat (they’re harder to find than you might think) and we felt like we had exhausted all of our other options.
Luckily, I got the Crate & Barrel catalog in the mail this week, though, and saw a photo of all of the placemats in that line – and guess what? They have an actual gray one. Not a looks-kind-of-gray-but-is-actually-tan gray, but a full-fledged, charcoal gray. Oh happy day.
We headed to the store to exchange the brown-ish placemats for the ones we really wanted, and we quickly realized that the reason we had overlooked them before was because they looked black in the store. So, we’ve officially learned our lesson to never assume that just because we like something in the store we’ll like it at home as well.
Once we snatched up our new, charcoal placemats and headed back to the house, we knew we had made the right choice.
They’re definitely a bit more navy-ish than gray, but that’s actually perfect for us. We have big plans to bring some navy into the dining room, and we love that these placemats will tie the navy we’re going to bring in to the gray walls, since it has tones of both of the colors.
I love that from different angles in the room and under different lights, the placemats change from a silvery-gray to a deep navy. They are gorgeous and they’ll hide stains way better than a white placemat would have (which was our alternative).
We are definitely starting to see our vision for the dining room come together – once we get the chairs reupholstered (hopefully soon!), get some curtains, and buy a centerpiece (we know what we’re going to do, just have to find the right stuff) we’ll be just about done!
And, since I feel bad for giving you a slightly lame update post today, I thought I’d share a quick sneak peek of the fabric we finally settled on for our living room curtains.
We haven’t bought it yet (we just have a little swatch) but we are so excited about the amount of color it will bring into the room, and we can’t wait to see how much it brightens up our (very gray) living room.
And, just so you can see how we’re bringing it all together, here’s a photo of the curtain fabric draped over the chevron plates – all of the colors “go” together so well, and we like how it will bring the two rooms together nicely, without being too matchy-matchy.
Our ultimate goal for this house is to create a Sarah Richardson-esque space where there are layers of pattern, color, and fabrics that looks eclectic but still put together. We know that things are going to look a little crazy until we get all of the layers put together (like our all-gray living room, or our fun chevron plates with the crazy technicolor chairs) but we think that taking our time will be oh so worth it in the end!
I’m curious – are Corey and I the only crazy ones who like to leave our dining room table set all of the time? It makes us smile to walk past it every day and see that we’re ready for a dinner party at any moment! Plus, it prevents us from letting the table become a landing area for papers and other random things. Do you like to keep your table set, or do you keep it empty?
Eve says
Love the place mats!!! A heads up, though…I have the same place mats (different color but same material), and they shrink after you wash them and the color tends to fade a bit:-/. Not sure if you can dry clean them, but I totally regret washing mine!
Amanda says
Thanks for the warning!! I will definitely try to avoid washing them!
Brandi says
I love your pattern for the curtains… and the placemats… not a lame post at all 🙂
Natalie says
Yay! I’m so glad you found ones you like. I don’t keep my table set, but I have a friend who has tons of different colors of vintage/new Fiestaware, and her table is always set and it looks AWESOME. I like yours set, too.
sylvie says
those charcoal placemats are perfection…AND you’ve inspired me to keep our table set at all times. and just maybe it’ll motivate us to throw more impromptu dinner parties, just because!
xo,
sylvie aka ostrich 🙂
Steph says
They look great!! I totally love your dishes by the way.. why WOULDN’T you want to keep them set up all the time?? I always love it when I see that at friend’s houses!
Steph @ glitter & goat cheese says
That curtain fabric is amazing! (Sorry if this double-posts — my computer is being craaaazy today.)
Steph @ glitter & goat cheese says
That fabric is amazing!
Amy says
We totally keep our “table” set too. We actually use our table as a desk (open concept, we don’t use the table for eating so….), but the countertop bar area is always set for eating…not for dinner parties but to keep my husband from using it as a landing space! 🙂
Morgan says
Love the new color of placemats! And I can’t wait to see how the curtains turn out!
Allie says
Love the new placemats!
penga says
Looks great, love the curtain fabric! Our dining table isn’t set all the time, probably since our dishware is kinda bland. 😛
Meghann @ A Lovely Avenue says
Good choice on the placemats! I can’t wait to see the curtains up. I love the fabric and it is going to look so good in that room!
Katie says
love love love! Can’t wait to see it all together!
We don’t leave our dining room table set…I leave the placemats up, but the plates are always in the china cabinet thing we have!
Brittany says
Where is that fabric from? LOVE IT!
Amanda says
It’s from http://www.tonicliving.com! 🙂
Megan says
Two thumbs up for the placemats and the curtain fabric! Can’t wait to see it all come together. It honestly never occurred to me to leave the table set, but since we don’t have a separate dining room and our kitchen table is for multi-purpose use, I don’t think it’s feasible for us to do it anyway. I’m intrigued by the idea if we have a true dining table down the line, but I think I’d always worry our cats would walk all over them!
kelsey says
Love the new charcoal grey placemats and I cannot wait to see the curtains. Are you sewing them yourself?
Amanda says
Thanks! Yes, the plan is to sew them myself… We’ll see how that goes! 🙂
Geek in Heels says
I love the new placemats so much better — I’m glad you guys were able to find a great replacement! And I have to confess that when I first saw the fabric swatch for the curtains, I was a bit iffy…then I saw it with the place setting and WOW! I love how everything comes together and I can’t wait to see the final result!
As for your question, we do not have a separate dining room, AND we do not have much counter space (problems typical of city dwellers) so our dining table is in use all the time. I wish we could leave it set and pretty at all times, but most of the time it’s overrun with other kitchen stuff! 🙁
Scraps says
I was wondering about that–I can see leaving special china out, I suppose, but the thought of having to wash it again before using it (dust settles, you know) seems like extra work to me. In the cabinet at least it’s a little more protected.
I do like the look of a set table, though. If I had a dining room that wasn’t in everyday use I’d probably compromise with pretty chargers rather than the actual china.
Lauren says
The new placemats look much better! We used to keep the dining room table set, then the wedding came around and it filled up with those projects. Now it’s more of my at home office when I work from home. I hope to change that when we move.
Victoria says
I love the new placements and DEF the fabric swatch! cant wait to see what it all looks like together.
Jessica says
What a great pattern for the curtain!!
Lyndsey says
Nice, I like those placemats much better. And no, we do not keep our dining room table set. Mostly because we only have one set of dishes so if I had 8 plates hanging out around our dining room table— that would leave us only 4 to live with every day! Also, then they would get dusty and I’d have to wash them all before a dinner party which just seems like too much extra work. Lucky for us, our dining room is set off from the rest of the living space so its rarely a dumping ground for anything.
Also, I’m jealous that you know what your’e doing for a centerpiece! I am TERRIBLE at figuring them out. I have this awkwardly placed bowl thing in the middle of our table? I don’t know why. Decorating is not my strong suit haha.
Sandi says
I would empty to dishwasher straight to the kitchen table complete with glasses, napkins and silverware. I love my stuff and didn’t want to just hide it in the cupboard, it added a wonderful homey feel to the kitchen, and it kept everyone from dumping their stuff on my table when they came in the door. I think it is great that I am not the only one!