Small changes bring BIG results...

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with an idea and think... 

"Why didn't I think of that before?!?!"

That's what happened to me last night.  About 3:00 a.m. I awoke out of the blue with an idea... and boy, am I glad I did.  Of course, I was so excited I couldn't go back to sleep.... so since I'm sleep deprived today, it might not be as good an idea as I thought... Let's see what you think...

Remember, all comments are welcome.  I'm not a decorator, so if something looks terrible, it's your duty as my bloggy friend to tell me!  Thanks!

Ready or not...here we go!

Welcome to my dining room:

Here is the view from the front door.  It is the first room you really see as you enter the house.  Because of that, I want it to be really friendly and welcoming.  Let me tell you all I've done.

In the far left corner, I have a corner etagere.  It has some really fun stuff on it, I think.  

I picked up the etagere at the Peddler's Mall for $10.00.

Here's a close up

Here are some close ups of the goodies displayed there...

a little lamp -- I bought the shade at Bombay before they closed... for $5.00!  Yay for bargains!

Here's my little bird and antique books...

A basket of ivy

And my rooster olive jar... love roosters!

Next to the etagere are my two sweet prints I bought at Cato of all places...

they were clearance for $3.00 each...

To the right of the entry way is my plate rack.

It has two rooster / hen plates and one Friends and Family plaque. 

I like it.

Here's the chandie I bought a couple summers ago.  I bought it at the Peddler's Mall for $20.  

I brought it home and spray painted it with black wrought iron paint for outdoor furniture.

I bought the shades at Peddler's Mall for $2.00 each.

For less than $40 I have a whole new chandie.

Here is our dining room set.  It was the first real set of furniture we bought.  When we first got married everything -- and I do mean everything -- we owned was given to us.  At 22 we bought our first house, and this was the first furniture we bought.  I may never get rid of it!  Ever.  Ever.  Ever!

Here is the edge detail.  I also mixed it up a little with yellow and red cushions...

 I like the two colors together.

Here are the three prints along the back wall.

And in the far right corner I have a sweet eucalyptus wreath with a red gingham bow

and my iron candle stand.  Picked it up at Peddler's Mall for $5.00

Now, for the Big Big change.  I hope you like it.  I LOVE it!

I'll be joining the girls and the gang at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphasis Monday.
I'm link # 258.  There's lots of good stuff to see... check it out!

About a year ago, someone in my family lovingly (and more importantly honestly) told me that my curtains needed to be hung on a different curtain rod.  Yes, they were right... But I never did anything about it.  I wanted something different than a new curtain rod.

Here's the before of the window:

I bought the curtains about 2 years ago at Target on clearance for $6.48 for the pair!  They're heavy duty cotton and they are embroidered!  Oh what a find!  Again, Yay for bargains!

I also bought some valances for the kitchen...but they didn't work out so well... blocked too much light.  

So I folded them up and put them in the closet.

Then at 3:00 a.m. I woke up and thought, "What if I combined the two?"

I'm so glad I did!

I added the valance at ceiling height and lo and behold, the window looks about 8 inches taller!  

And my hope is it brings attention to the tray ceiling.  We've lived here 5 years and my husband JUST realized we had a tray ceiling at Christmas...

Wanna see?

Before:

After:

What do you think?

Leave me your comments!  I can't wait to hear your reviews!

And don't forget to check out Metamorphasis Monday at 

Between Naps on the Porch

Only By His Grace,

Billie