The living-dining combination in the mid-century ranch was a wonderful, wide-open expanse of wood flooring. The walls had a pinkish tone but that’s just paint and we were going to paint, anyway. I’ve heard some folks liken painting a room to an artist preparing a canvas with gesso. I don’t think that’s an apt analogy. The paint color sets the mood, the ambiance for the room. It’s visible all the time. It frames your furnishings.  And it communicates with the rest of the house.

By way of style contrast, here is what the spaces looked like when we first walked in:And here is approximately the same view when we finished:

Quite a different feel, don’t you think?

We loved the openness of the space and didn’t really try to separate the living and dining rooms with anything other than the function of the furnishings. Some pieces, like the white sideboard-looking thing on the right side of the picture above, straddled both spaces and helped tie them together.

The wall color is another Benjamin Moore neutral shade – London Fog – which we thought accented the floors beautifully and communicated well with the tones in the kitchen, library, and family room.

The pic above was taken from the dining room area. We kept the theme neutral and splashed color with accessories. Most of the woods complimented rather than contrasted with the floors.

There was enough room to accommodate a large dining table. The one in the picture above has three more leaves and can seat twelve when fully extended. We had it stretched to its limit for a few family holiday meals and never felt cramped in the space.

The feeling was more casual than formal, which suited us just fine – it was a nice spot to relax, talk, and enjoy the view. And since it was part of the same space as the dining area, it wasn’t too far to go after a big meal! Comfort and convenience.

Before I close this post, I want to talk for a minute about the metal cabinet-thingy sitting in front of the picture window in the photo above. It’s unusual, to say the least, and is one of Debra’s favorite finds. She called me one day and said that she had bought a piece at the Old Home Supply in Fort Worth and asked if I would take the truck and pick it up. (If you are in the area and have never been there, go. It’s simply wonderful.) Not imagining what I was in store for, I said “Sure.”

Here is a closer view of the end of this piece:

It’s made entirely of metal and the frame is cold-rolled steel. I nearly broke my back loading, unloading, and moving it into the house.  But what a wonderful, unique piece it is! The wear on the finish and slight oxidation gives it a funky, boho character and the shelf about six inches down from the top makes it quite versatile. I have no clue what its original intended purpose was – perhaps a plant stand of some sort, which is what we used it for in the mid-century ranch. In its next incarnation, we’re going to have a stone top made for it and use it as a serving station in the dining room. But that’s another house, another transformation, and another series of posts.