Mid-Century Inspired Open Concept Living Room

The lakehouse is far from "done," but with the completion of the kitchen makeover and dining room credenza, the open concept living/dining/kitchen combo is probably already unrecognizable for the former owners.  Today I wanted to share a quick tour of all three spaces together, because so far you've only seen them discombobulated.  While I'm at it, I might as well chat about my ideas for what's next - and what's getting in the way of my plans.
 
First, though, there's a sweet and simple change that I'm way too excited about.  Where there was once a redundant light switch, there is now art (the watercolour painting of chairs from Paris).  The dining room light was controlled by a switch beside the patio door as well as a switch on this wall and we really didn't need two, so Hubby worked his electrical magic and removed this switch which we covered with a blank wall plate.  He's not an electrician, so there's no tutorial, but we did do everything to code and it's been safely hidden.  The painting was strategically hung to cover the blank wall plate.  Moving from a townhouse with more rooms and three floors to this single level open concept space has meant a serious wall shortage - bad news for our burgeoning art collection - so I'm happy to have reclaimed a wall.

Here's a quick reminder of before:

Sometimes I forget how much it has changed.  I wish I could accurately capture the brightness and liveliness of the lakehouse but my pictures just don't do the house justice.  I'm still learning how to properly photograph a space flooded with light (what a fabulous problem to have). 

Here's a flashback to a year ago:

There are still so many things I'd like to do in this space but I have to keep an eye on our budget.  We have to buy a new furnace this summer and get a land survey - both of which will cost thousands.  And both are un-fun ways to spend cash (although not freezing my butt off next winter will be fun).  Still, I'm on the hunt for new dining room chairs or the perfect fabric for the ones we have because I'm really tired of the brown leather.  Similarly, I'd like to make a smaller, more mod ottoman.  Do you know I have a secret sofa?  This mid-century sectional is languishing in the garage but I'm still waffling about spending the cash to have it recovered because our cream leather sofa is in perfect condition.  But a sectional would mean more seating so I'm saving up for the fabric and upholstery job, despite my reservations.  Hey, I'm sure I could always spend the money on something fun like shingles or pumping our septic tank...

Ultimately, budget can't stop us and we're steam rolling ahead with some smaller paint and upholstery projects in here, as well as tackling projects all over the house. 

Three Saucers in the Dining Room - Triple Bubble Light Fixture from Modernica

Let's take a break from kitchen progress and peer in the other direction, toward the previously neglected dining room.  You already saw that we hung the floating Ikea credenza.  Eventually we'll make a waterfall top to finish the look (I fell in love with this plank of purpleheart wood but, alas, it was too narrow).

Moving at a glacial pace, we unwrapped our vintage teak dining table and brown leather chairs brought from the townhouse.  Truthfully, I've been over the look of the chairs for a long time but I can't find anything as comfortable so I'm thinking of having them recovered in something bright, but I'm secretly hoping I'll find more Eames chairs for a steal!  I have a good feeling about the upcoming yard sale season . . .

The townhouse dining room, to refresh your memory

At least now we can also enthusiastically check off dining room light from our to-do list: 

I've long known what light fixture I wanted for the dining room, but then I waffled.  The dining room electrical box was, in my opinion, positioned weirdly and so at I first wanted to move it.  After polling electricians, the unanimous answer for how hard it would be to shift over the box (given its location, the structure beneath, and then repair of our popcorn ceiling) was a unanimous, "oooooo, uggggghhhhh, pretty difficult".  I started looking at lighting options that could keep the box where it was but move the light fixture over, but none had the mid-century look I craved.  Undeterred, I started moving the dining table around nightly, to find the ideal position for the new box I was determined to have, and ended up right where the builders had put it.  Elsewhere it blocks the stools at the kitchen counter, impedes convenient access to the patio doors, prevents flow from the living room to kitchen, or results in a crummy view.  We actually have plans to widen the kitchen when it gets its phase two remodel, so I realized that even if we are going to move the light permanently, it makes sense to wait until our plans are firmed up.

After all of this waffling, I ended up back at square one: three George Nelson saucer pendants, please.  But I still dragged my feet.  The price . . . I learned that ordering direct from Modernica was a bit cheaper than purchasing through a Canadian distributor, but when Modernica recently held their 15% off sale I finally decided to go for it.  Modernica actually doesn't deal direct with Canadian consumers.  Lucky for me, besides the gorgeous scenery, there is another perk of living in Northwestern Ontario, in a city that borders Minnesota: an American shipping address!  I'm not normally one to cross the border just to save a buck (I like keeping jobs in Canada!), but I saved $348.  It was still a huge purchase (plus we bought two kitchen stools), but this house might be my only chance to bask in 14 foot tall ceilings, which call out for a statement-making fixture.  To make this splurge possible, I spent only $25 per piece on the other nine light fixtures we replaced, so the total lighting cost for the lakehouse feels balanced in my mind. 

As a reminder, here's the old dining room light, swagged to perfection by the former owners. 

And the dining room now:

I'm pretty impressed with the quality of the pendants.  I was worried about the ceiling fan clanging them together but, even on the highest setting, they barely budge because they're quite substantial.  The fibreglass is beautiful - just really, really stunning in a way I didn't expect, even though I'd seen a whack of these in store and online.  It has the softly sparkling texture of freshly fallen snow on a sunny day.  That sounds unnecessarily poetic, but it's the best description.

For installation tips, I'll refer you to the instructions:

The tricky thing for us was hanging on to all three saucers while wiring.  Also, once you trim it to length, you have to end each cord with a knot beneath the plate and my only complaint is that they don't totally fit.  We got it 98% flush but they really should offer a larger cover for the triple bubble fixture option.  It took a few hours, and two sets of hands, but it wasn't any trickier than most light fixtures - just triple the work.

Here one last look at the house when we bought it (with the previous owners' belongings):

Still more to do, but it's so nice to actually be able to relax and enjoy a meal in here now.  It took us far too long to set up the table, and even after that we were using the dining room for painting, sewing, and piling stuff.  Now we can really start living in here!  With temperatures soaring (ha!), now we need a BBQ . . .

Szuka is ambivalent about the new lights, but a BBQ sounds good to her.

Read more »