Here are a couple of DIY projects we have in our dining room. A side note, the dining room is the first room you walk in when you enter our rowhouse. This works quite well for us - not because our dining room has a front door, but because the living room / kitchen creates a great space for both entertaining and living.
First, the fireplace surround now doubles as a mirror-ball. I like the way the aged and worn, glossy-white-painted mantel looks with the bright, square tiles. By the way - they do not actually create a mirror-ball effect. They do, however, bounce natural light around in a place that is normally pretty dark. Take a look:
I got these at Kit Kraft and installed them with a tile-mastic for fireplace surrounds. This is not a working fireplace and I'm not vouching for their ability to withstand heat - but I will vouch for their ability to prompt a random, "Girl, that fireplace is fabulous!"
Now onto one of my favorite projects - this glass candelier that hangs over the table. The tealight holders came from Crate & Barrel. The different heights and shapes are interesting from just about every angle. The glass base came from a trusty glass shop called Caplan that we've used for a few projects. They cut the piece to specification with three holes evenly distributed around the edge.
From there I added the hardware that you can see in detail in the pictures. The biggest tip of advice (courtesy the glass cutter man) is to have non-metallic washers. There should be no metal touching the glass at any time. The glass is fairly heavy and sometimes covered in a small fire. I heeded the man's advice and have been eating worry-free ever since. While you can't see it in the picture, I used vinyl washers to keep everything properly protected.
A special thanks goes to our wonderful friend, Kim, who made the table runner with her own little hands.
I know, I know - you want to see what that thing looks like when it's lit. I'll get around to that...
