Mixing Old and New in the Dining Room


[Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Article. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog.]

I’ve slowly been adding new furniture to our home and each week it feels a little cozier, a little homier, and more “us.” Today, I wanted to dive into a few dining pieces I’ve incorporated into our living room and kitchen. The first spot features all new furniture with a modern style, while the second spot showcases an antique hutch we’ve had in our family for decades. It’s this mix of old and new that is really making our home feel special.

White Oak Dining Table

White oak dining table from Article

Paint Color: Benjamin Moore “Ballet White” // Trim Color: Benjamin Moore “Simply White” // Hardwood Floors // Ventu Dining Table // Rus Black Dining Chairs

This Ventu white oak dining table was actually the first piece of furniture to arrive in the house! It sat here by itself for about a week and I was instantly in love. I knew I wanted to add additional seating to the living room because Finn and I sometimes like to eat dinner by the TV (I know, I know…but it’s better than eating on the couch!). Plus, I envision this as a great spot for entertaining and playing board games when friends come over. And if you’re anything like me, you’re already thinking about the upcoming holiday entertaining season. Article just put out a gorgeous new entertaining campaign to get you prepped for all of those additional guests. You can check out the lookbook here. Oak dining table tucked away

It fits this corner of the living room beautifully – not too bulky or too small.

The table itself is beautiful. It has solid oak legs with an oak veneer tabletop. I was a little worried about the table blending into the floor (since they’re both such a light oak color), but I think they complement one another. Plus, the black dining chairs add a nice contrast to the mix and are a beautiful tie-in to the other black accents we have in our home (like our gorgeous new staircase).

Sleek Black Dining ChairsCurved black chairs

The lines on the Rus dining chairs are stunning. I’ve never seen such an interesting looking dining room chair with that curved back. The curve of the backrest hugs your body, so it’s actually very comfortable when sitting here. These chairs are also oak (just painted black) and you can see the gorgeous wood detailing on them.

When I originally planned out this room, I had no clue what I would put in this area of the living room. A console? More seating? I’m so happy that we decided to go with this dining room table and chairs. It’s like it was meant for the space! Article dining room Article offers a 30-day satisfaction guarantee (if you’re not happy they’ll pick up the furniture and provide a refund.), but luckily these pieces worked out great in this room.

Antique HutchWood antique hutch

Paint Color: Benjamin Moore “Ballet White” // Trim Color: Benjamin Moore “Simply White // Hardwood Floors // Staircase Transformation

While we added new dining pieces in the living room, I also wanted to bring in some old furniture. I think the best homes have a mix of old and new and most of the stuff around here has been new so far! My dad is planning to sell his house (my childhood home) this spring and he keeps telling all of the kids to take anything we want from the house. I remembered this antique hutch we had in our living room and thought it might actually fit in our new house.

I had my dad take some measurements and then I compared that to the empty area near our stairwell. To my surprise (and delight!) the antique hutch was going to fit perfectly! I could hardly believe it. I made plans to have it picked up and delivered here and when it arrived I knew that it was meant to be in this spot. Wood detailing on antique hutch

My mom told me she bought this piece at least 25 years ago from a designer. She doesn’t have details on the exact source (sorry!), but this piece is high-quality and heavy! I was terrified when the poor movers were getting it into place in here. Using a key to open the antique hutch

My dad couldn’t find the skeleton key that goes with this to lock it, so I ended up buying one on Amazon (fun fact: most skeleton keys work on any lock. Such a lifesaver).

Inside, we’ve created our “party hutch” that stills needs some organizing…Alcohol in our antique party hutch

We have bottles of alcohol and wine in here, along with party supplies (napkins, straws, trays, ice buckets). Empty shelf

We still have so much room in this piece and I want to build some sort of wine rack for the top shelf so we can store our wine horizontally in here. We could store so many bottles! There is tons of room in here. Home decor on a shelf

On the bottom shelf, I am storing extra home decor and accessories, for now. I’m still decorating our new house and it’s nice to have everything in one spot for easy access!

On top of the antique hutch, I planted a golden pothos in a terracotta pot (I picked both up from the hardware store). I love these plants because they’re low-maintenance and get nice and drapey. I hope that the leaves grow nicely and hang down over the piece. Antique hutch

I’m so grateful to have this family heirloom in our new home. It reminds me of my childhood and also adds some gorgeous storage to our kitchen.

Just for fun, let’s do a little before and after of this spot…Outdated staircase plansOur stairwell after

It’s hard to believe it’s the same room! So much brighter and more open now. Wowza!

Mixing Old & New

I think the most beautiful homes are ones that are layered with furniture and decor. Mixing old antiques with new modern finds is a great way to do just that. I’m so pleased with these additions to our home and it’s inspiring me to be intentional with the furniture I bring in throughout the rest of our house.

While I’m not sure what the kitchen plan and layout will be down the line, I’m happy we have the huge antique hutch for extra storage and the dining table for extra seating right now.

Casey


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.