When Sunshine was about 2 years old my Dad bought her a play table / computer type toy. We had a small section of our dining room cornered off with a low bookcase and it was her “play zone”.

She loved that computer and would giggle each time it talked to her when she pushed buttons.

A few minutes after she would walk away, the toy would call out and ask, “Do you want to play?”.

Cute right?

Except it was less cute when the toy began asking in the middle of the night, from the dark dining room, “Do you want to play?”.

Luckily she was young enough that she didn’t notice when that toy ended up in the trash.

And, shortly after that she outgrew her “play zone” and the dining room went back to be a dining room again. With it no longer acting as a playroom, we worked to decorate the dining room as I had always dreamed.

Just like this…

Red walls, blue pottery in the black cabinet, a patterned rug, crown molding (our very first DIY project by the way) and a simple black chandelier. And the room made me happy.

But as we all know, our tastes change and new things make us happy.

Like this….

There is still red, in the art and my toleware trays – and in my new amazing rug from Dash & Albert (named “Steps”).

But now the walls are a soft bluish gray.

And my collection of “Hen-in-a-nest” glassware now sits in the hutch. It started years ago with one large and two little – for me and my girls. But I didn’t seem to be able to stop at three. And how sweet is this tiny one I just recently found?

And my blue plates have been moved to the kitchen and now the hutch is filled with white ironstone. And more chicken themed glassware.

We may not use this as a playroom any longer, but it is well used as a dining room.

It is used for holidays and birthdays.

But it has also been filled with cold friends eating chili after cutting down Christmas trees.

Or delivery pizza on a causal Friday night.

There have been school projects agonized over and craft projects created.

The furniture is the same as when the walls were red. The table and chairs were bought out of the newspaper long before there was Craigslist and the ability to email photos. And the hutches were found at my favorite vintage shop.

The chandelier is the same too. Although, I am thinking it may be time for some fun new shades!

This is the room where the sun shines first in the morning and greets me as I stumble down for coffee.

These are the windows I watched as my children crossed the street for the first time.

And I hope for many more years of memories, right here at our old table.

Thanks for reading!

Sharing over at Thistlewood Farms