Hello! Today, we're continuing our house tour, taking a look at all that's happened - or not - since we last did this last summer.

Here's another angle. The dining "room," which is really just an area, is immediately to your right when you walk in our front door. You can see our entry, family room and kitchen from this corner. Though we spend lots of time at this table, the area is sort of the forgotten area of the house, which takes me the longest to get to. I'm not sure why; it's front and center in the home, obviously, but I haven't been super thrilled with any of its configurations over our time here. (See slideshow at the end for a recap of "looks" our dining room has sported). Now, though, I feel pretty good about it.

This area is pretty self-explanatory; we have a dining table, six chairs, some lower bookshelves that make the whole space feel much less heavy, and some built-ins, which, having purged a bunch of dishware and miscellanea, were available for use to hold our shoes. Which they do, with aplomb.

We talked a lot about bookshelf styling; here's my attempt for now. Lots of plants, natch, plus lots of books. Plus a couple decorative objects with meaning (including a chess set I gave to Bret for Christmas one year and a bronze rendering of the clay soldiers at Xi' An in China), some woven baskets on the wall (both Target clearance), plus a framed poster I picked up at a thrift store. I mean, it looks nice, right? Not too busy? Not trying too hard to something it's not, which is, clearly, book storage. At various points, I've tried bar areas and/or showcasing serving items here, along with books, but I like it now as it is. It all feels a little less busy and crowded. I am certain I will futz with things down the road. Absolutely positive. If and when I do, I'll let ya know! In the meantime, about about a slideshow documenting the "progress" of this hardworking space?

Looking back, it seems I have turned my attention here frequently enough; I just haven't really come up with a great finished product. Until now that is! Whaddya think? Better? Best? As always, there are things on my wish/to-do-list, including cleaning up the hardware on the built-ins, possibly painting those same built-ins, and considering some art or other items for the wall on the left. As always, I'll keep ya posted if any of those things happen. Thanks for reading!