Cantilever Chairs || Plus a Dining Room Reveal!

Today is the day.  I finally have a room in our new place to share: our dining room!

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Ok so it didn’t look like much when we moved in.  Basically three things had to happen to get us to this reveal day: 

1) The dining room HAD to be painted something a little less light-sucking
2) We needed to find some chairs - because what is a dining room without chairs amiright? 
3) I needed to decide what art to feature in here!

We (I mean er my familial paint crew - thanks again guys!) knocked out the painting on week one but finding some chairs that could really make a statement was proving more difficult.  But eventually, I found them:

Brass... Breuer... CANE... Cantilever chairs.

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Up until I found these, I didn't even know Marcel Breuer chairs came in anything but chrome.  But when I saw these glittering gold chairs, I scooped them up - carrying two at a time through the maze of dusty furniture at the thrift store, slightly panicked that the other two wouldn't still be there while the check-out clerk waited for me to navigate them safely out. 

My original plan was to flip and sell them. But I wasn't sure what direction to take them in.  My gut wanted me to recover the seats in leather but I was having some doubts.  Between the warm cane and bright brass, I feared that richly-toned leather would stick out like a sore thumb.  It needed something to tie it all together.

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I sought council from my favorite sounding board Chelsea.  She actually suggested a soft, light velvet instead - wouldn't that be lovely?!  But after more research at the fabric store, I realized velvet was out of my price range.  Plus, I already had some yardage of leather in black and didn't want that to go to waste - but what could I do to marry the look?  

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Eventually, I landed on adding an unexpected touch of black on the back of the cane.  Suddenly, this discreet black lip is what I needed to realize I was in love!  Alrighty - let's see it all together shall we?

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Ah the paint color already makes a WORLD of difference in this space.

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And these chairs are the stuff my dreams are made of!

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Can you see the touch of black on the inside lip?

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At certain angles it even peaks through the cane.

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It’s funny to me that rooms with molding used to always read really "traditional" to me.  But when we toured this rental, it was the idea of making this space a fresh take on traditional is what sold me on this house in the first place - despite the dingy tan walls.

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As for the art, I tried hanging all sorts of arrangements in this dining nook and was despondent to all of them.  I had wanted something long and low to lean a cluster of art on but the dining room didn't have space for a buffet or credenza.  But when I hung the art low and along the chair rail I realized it created the same effect that I love without the added furniture footprint!

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Even though they were originally supposed to be for sale, once I brought them in around our table - I was done.  These babies were mine.  And the perfect crowning jewel to our freshly finished space.  Hoping to have more of our new place to share over the coming months so stay tuned friends!

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