This post is sponsored by Balsam Hill. See disclosure at the end of the post.
The past few weekends I've been traveling to Northern Michigan to work on The Blog Cabin Makeover Project. Today, I'm excited to share some of the progress I've made in the Dining Room! Thanks to my friends at Balsam Hill and inspiration from my Mom, the room is ready for a family meal.
There are still a lot of projects that need to be completed in this room. New floors, lighting, and additional accessorizing to name a few. But for now, a fresh coat of paint, gorgeous florals and a beautiful vignette created by my mom have transformed the space.
Are you ready to see the new Dining Room?
While I tell you about the inspiration behind the new design, let me show you around...
You may remember that I mentioned this cabin had been closed down and mainly used for storage for the past few years. It's one of three cabins on the property at my parents home in Northern Michigan. My mission is to give this little cabin a fresh new look, and bring it back to it's former life as a fully functioning house, one room at a time. My hope is that family will gather here for weekends filled with relaxation, fun in the great outdoors, family meals and creative projects.
The look I'm going for is warm, welcoming and "all about family". Basically, I want the design throughout the cabin to say "home". When I started planning this project and tried to pinpoint exactly what "home" looks and feels like, I reflected back to the house I grew up in. My mom has a super power for making every space she touches look and feel like home. Here spaces have a way of not only looking amazing, but feeling like a giant hug. She's a talented Decorator with a magic touch. I often hear her speaking to me subconsciously as I work on client projects in my design studio. Whenever I have a design dilemma, she's the one I call. If I'm stuck on a DIY project and need advice, she always has the perfect solution.
My inspiration for this new design came from her, both figuratively and literally. Figuratively because I channeled her several times while working here. Literally, because in addition to using a lot of her things in this makeover, she actually styled the inside of this china cabinet with this pretty blue transferware collection years ago. The styled cabinet was one of the only elements that was left in the cabin after it was vacated and closed down to use for storage. As you can see, she is a master of styling and arranging. When I started the cabin makeover, I didn't want anyone to touch this cabinet in fear that if the dishes were disturbed, I wouldn't be able to get the styling to look as perfect as she did.
This styled cabinet set the tone for the color palette and traditional approach I'm taking for the new design. When I began to work on the cabin tearing up the carpeting, installing new floors, performing furniture makeovers, painting the walls, fixing the plumbing, etc. etc. this styled cabinet sat, untouched, in a corner as a constant source of inspiration.
Now, it's back to being the focal point of the new Dining Room.
While the space still has a little ways to go for a big before/after reveal, it's starting to feel like "home". Everything we need for an elegant family meal is ready to go. Thanks to these amazing florals from the Balsam Hill Spring Florals Line, the cabin will be boasting realistic looking blooms every day. These flowers brighten up the space and create a cheerful, welcoming atmosphere. Another element that depicts the look of home.
I chose the Orange Tulip Stems and the Hydrangea Bundle to use in various areas of the cabin that need a little color and natural texture. For the table centerpiece, I selected the Orange Dutch Tulip Arrangement. The vibrant orange hue of the tulips brightens up the entire space and creates a stunning focal point. Each flower and it's foliage are incredibly realistic looking. I also ordered two gorgeous Ivy Topiaries that will be making an appearance soon in another room reveal at The Blog Cabin.
Before I go, here's a look back at the space from a few weeks ago. My son, Max and I were there working on the cabin. You can see how the cabinet was pushed back in the corner. The carpeting was cut out around it so it wouldn't be disturbed as I worked on installing new floors, and painting the ceilings and walls. I even gave the cabinet itself a fresh coat of paint without moving a single dish, tea cup or tea pot!
(The Dining Room "Before")
(The Dining Room "Before")
Thank you to Balsam Hill for including me in the Lifetime of Love series, for providing me with the florals featured in this post and for letting me share just some of the ways my mom inspires me.
Happy Mothers Day!
Thank you for stopping by! To see more posts in The Blog Cabin Makeover Series, please click here:
*This post is sponsored by Balsam Hill. I received floral arrangements in order to facilitate this post. All opinions are completely honest and 100% my own.
