One Room Challenge: Week 2 Blue and White Dining Room

Welcome back for week two of the One Room Challenge! Thanks for joining me. For this time around, I am making over our dining room with a blue and white design in mind. Here is a little background:

Week One

If you are new here, I'm Katie and I am a wife, mother of two, living on the coast of North Carolina. We bought our current home in October, did some initial upgrades, moved into the house December. I am really just catching my breath from the move. We might never move again :) Our house is a two story white colonial, black shutters, timeless design and layout. We are settled in pretty well but none of the house is "done" if you know what I mean. Everything is kind of 50% there...we still have a stack of pictures in our living room waiting to be hung, hardly any drapes hanging on the walls, and little projects in each room to be completed. I chose the dining room because it has taken on it's own little path of actually getting somewhere and I want to go ahead and cross this one off the list. If you know me, you are familiar with my love for mixing traditional and modern design, touches of vintage/antiques, fresh flowers, and a healthy dose of blue and white.

To get us all on the same page, here is the punch list:

-Caulk and paint trim (a doozie...dentil moulding)
-New window shades (these are terrible mini blinds)
-Hang new drapes!
-Paint walls (I'm thinking an icy blue OR a stencil. Is stenciling still in??)
-Paint nightstand-ish piece of furniture
-Decide on chandelier
-Fix the table/lamp/art situation
-Flank china cabinet with mirrors?
-Remove door to room

So, what happened this week? The drapes got hung! I mentioned that this room has started its own little path, and the drapes were something I decided to tackle about a month ago. To say I am relieved that they are up and hanging straight is such a relief! I am pretty proud of myself too. These are fully lined with pinch pleats. I followed this tutorial from Design Sponge and it was SO good. Not all tutorials are created equal I learned. I highly recommend it! 

They "kiss" the floor perfectly. Obsessed. 

We also removed the old vinyl mini blinds and replaced them with wooden blinds. I really didn't want anything that would stand out here, just basic. They are doing their job well and the room is SO much brighter with out the mini blinds! I can't believe the difference.

I went back and forth on the stenciling and wallpaper idea, and once I saw the drapes go up, they confirmed my decision to keep the walls a solid color. This is more in line with my original inspiration photos and I think the leopard is too fun to take away from! Decision made. I bought three paint samples for the walls, pictured below. The color I am looking for is what I would describe as a french blue. I do not want Carolina blue. A soft, pretty blue with a hint of grey. The bottom sample ended up being so dark, it won't be a contender. Can you guess which one I am leaning towards? I would love your input as well- or even better- if you know this perfect blue I am looking for!

Another idea that came to mind is adding some crystals to our existing brass chandelier, and possibly shades. You can see in some of the photos a random string of crystals hanging. 

The plan for this week is to decide on the wall color and paint- and start caulking the trim. Lots and lots of cracks that need to be filled along the ceiling line. Painting the trim will be a doozie but I know it is going to absolutely shine once it is done and I can't wait to see that!

Thanks so much again for following along. To see all the other amazing projects going on, you can check the featured designers here and the guest participants here!