I recently came across a book entitled ‘Orange is the New Black‘. Although the reference is to prison attire, my mind was sent spinning off into my world of design…...orange is the new red, this is the new that, the living room is the new dining room….really??? To be honest, I had already been toying with the idea of switching these two rooms in my house.
Times have changed…we are older, the children are busy and stretched, their children are young…all of which adds up to early evenings when we are together. We now find ourselves lingering at the dinner table, then calling it a night. So the dining room has taken on a new life….comfortable chairs borrowed from the living room, youth chairs and high chairs corralling small bodies, table top covered with butcher paper, containers of crayons and markers replacing center pieces. An added bonus – a fireplace in the dining room!
The piano still sits comfortably in its alcove, now in the dining room;
the welsh dresser remains in its accustomed spot, anchoring the new living room space.
The chandelier,
once over the dining table, now right at home over the coffee table.
Adding a smallish white fluffy rug here will bring the room together.
Rearranging and repurposing accessories adds freshness.
We have yet to see how the new spaces ‘live’. Reaction to the changes by some family members has fallen short of full-blown enthusiasm; perhaps this will change after the next family dinner……
Susan Wennerstrom | W designs 