Dining Room Nook Styling

I am really dedicated to tackling the entire dining room project list, especially after playing around with some tabletop accessories yesterday.  One thing on the agenda was to personalize the space, particularly the prime real estate above the armoire in the arched nook.  We want our dining room to tell guests about us and to start conversations.

The nook in our dining room is amazing.  It was one of the moments when first walking through the home my jaw dropped.  I immediately envisioned a beautiful buffet tucked right into the nook.  Well, I ended up with a rather non-traditional buffet.  Since the family room has built-ins for the TV, we had no place to put our TV armoire.  It is a beautiful bamboo piece we got for nearly 50% off at the Room and Board outlet.  I could not stand to let it sit in the unfinished basement.  I decided to tuck my beloved armoire in the dining room nook sans the TV.  I killed two birds with one stone on that one; I found a home for the armoire and avoided purchasing a buffet.  For now the armoire is used for random storage, but I plan to add more shelves inside to organize my party and entertaining supplies.

Sadly, the top of the armoire over the last several months started to accumulate tools and random odds and ends.  It became a quick, high-out-of-the-children’s-reach place to set tools in between projects.  That arched area had so much more potential.  It is one of the first areas you see when entering the house.  It was an opportunity to make a statement, to tell a story, to show guests who we are.  And, what better way to start than with the jute wrapped monogram.

Now comes the part where I really stretch my self.  You see, I like things to be symmetrical. It comes naturally to me, but I know symmetry everywhere can become dull and boring.  I wanted to try something asymmetrical to bring more interest to the space.  Although it nearly gave me a panic attack at first, I stood the monogram off to the side leaning against the wall.  Then I hung a recent family photo printed on canvas to fill the rest of the visual space on the wall above the armoire.  I cringed while hanging that photo off-center, but when I stood back and looked at the room it just felt right.  The asymmetry was beautiful and interesting.

The family photo was not even supposed to go in this room, but it hung out too long on the table waiting to be hung in the playroom.  I went to move it one day thinking it was a shame I still had not hung it and I realized the black and white image looked striking against the teal walls.  Even at 15 x 30″ it was too small for the larger expanse of wall on the other side of the room, but it fit perfectly above the armoire.  The family photo is of my husband’s side of the family, so it ties in well with the H monogram.

I also layered in the two gorgeous ceramic vases my in-laws gave us as a house warming gift, a sparkly platter my sister in-law gave us, and three small ceramic vases.  I think I prefer the armoire to a buffet now.  I feel a buffet might be harder to style, because you would be compelled to keep it clear for serving dishes.  The top of my armoire will never make a practical serving area, so it can just look pretty all the time.