(I carried this photo around forever, b/c it has a feeling. A relaxed feeling, a homey feeling, and sit down to dinner and stay feeling.  Exacly the "feeling" I want my dining room to convey)  The interior design that I end up with may be different but I HOPE to convey this feeling in my dining room.

 have decided on the dining room as the room to begin this reno retrospective, because it really was one of the reasons we bought the house. (when you see the before pics, you will wonder WHY I say that, but when you see the after....you will TOTALLY understand!)  The POTENTIAL was there,  I could just see it in my minds eye, and my husband trusted my instincts....I am so glad he did!  Turns out I have an instinct or two:)