dining room reveal day is here!!! i wasn't sure if i was going to give the dining room its own blog post. what was i thinking? of course it should have its own post! for those of you who voted "hell yes" on my instagram poll, this one is for you.

it took me a little longer then i intended until the space was perfect enough to photograph, but now that i love every single piece in it, it is officially ready! the vibe i was going for here was modest x farmhouse x school house. i didn't want to create an overly formal space because the dining room is open to the kitchen. this space is both where we eat dinner every night, as well as where we host friends & family. so many memories will happen in this space for years to come.

the very first thing i picked out for the dining room was the school house electric chandelier. truth be told, i don't even know if i had the keys to the house before this was ordered. i just knew i wanted something funky, bold & brass in the dining room! while i put a lot of effort into all the light fixtures throughout the house, it is the dining room that must have a stand out chandelier. we have had it for over a year now & literally every single person who walks into our house points out how unique it is. it is the "tangled chandelier" from school house electric & i couldn't recommend this light fixture enough. you can pick the colour fixture, cords, light bulbs & length!

after adding the funky bold light fixture, i wanted to bring in a couple elements that complimented it. i am kind of obsessed with all things brass and black so the floor lamp & clock seemed like the perfect additions to the dining room. they also are what bring in that subtle "school house" vibe i was going for. the lamp is the "miles floor lamp" and the clock is the "kennedy clock", both from school house electric. while i was hesitant to put a floor lamp in a dining room, the lamp creates the perfect soft lighting at night. i also love how it looks in the corner that once seemed impossible to decorate.

now let's get to that dining room set! i had my heart set on something minimal with clean lines. the big sur table, bench & sideboard from crate & barrel was everything i wanted & more. there is even a matching wine rack! it is made from solid european white oak with a light smoke stain. it also comes in a dark & natural finish, but i felt the smoke stain went best with our space. for the chairs i wanted something with contrast so i went with the marlow ll dining chair in black. it is a modern take on a classic windsor back chair made with solid maple. i think the dining chairs are what really adds the modern farmhouse flair to the space. they remind me of our front porch spindle rocking chairs too! when designing each room in our house, i opted for timeless pieces. something that we will enjoy for many, many years.

last but not least, we did a small feature wall of wallpaper to act as the backdrop to the dining room. we had leftover from the living room & i did not want something so beautiful to go to waste! adding the touch of wallpaper gave the dining room the separation it needed from the kitchen. it is also the perfect backdrop to the sideboard, isn't it! the print is amime from farrow & ball & is still my favourite print to date. the wall colour is purbeck stone and the wood trim is wevet, both by farrow & ball!

for a full list of modest house dining room sources, check out the links below! xo

PUMPKINS!!!! this is my favourite time of the year because it means i get to buy ALL the pumpkins. i am beyond happy that i have an actual front porch to decorate. a cute, old, art craft style porch filled with so much original character. we gave it a little face lift this summer: new light, new mailbox, new paint, new rug & most importantly rocking chairs! since we purchased the house last summer rocking chairs for the porch was on our must have list. anyways, i am going to do a quick breakdown of all the changes & details below.

the light

i find the exterior porch light is such an important feature of any front entry. i wanted something very simple & minmal, yet still bold. the carson l-arm wall mount from rejuvenation was perfect! it has that industrial barn vibe with a modern twist. plus, you get to pick whatever colour you want too! i was going for a pitch black theme (no brass or gold.. for once) so i stuck with the matte black finish. i love how it looks & how it lights up our porch so nicely at night.

the door

oh, the door. do we paint it white, yellow or black?! justin & i just couldn't agree on the colour. this is the original door to the house, so it is solid wood & almost 100 years old. we really wanted to do it justice! yellow was the first one off the list cough, justin & then we finally decided on black. but not just any shade of black, we wanted it as black as black gets. who knew similar to white paint, there were SO many shades of black. we ended up going with pitch black by farrow & ball because i can't get enough of farrow & ball's paint! it is the exact look i had hoped for. no weird undertones, just black.

the rocking chairs

as i mentioned above, the rocking chairs were on our must have list as soon as we put an offer in on the house! with a porch like this, how can you not sit out front on a crisp fall morning, rocking back & fourth while sipping coffee or tea. these rocking chairs are the o&g rocking chair in black from rejuvenation. i can't even begin to describe how gorgeous they are. they are handmade in new york of solid ash wood & then stained (not painted) black so you see all the gorgeous wood grains come through. they are made by a company called o&g specifically for rejuvenation. o&g makes the most gorgeous wood furniture pieces! we are hoping to add a bench down the line too because of how in love we are with the craftsmenship of the rocking chairs. i kept things very simple as i wanted the chairs to be the focal point. just a little side table for a plant or to rest coffee and a book on in the morning.

the decor

last but not least to tie everything together we added a few accessories to the mix! a braided natural coir doormat, a vintage style mailbox (that i got for a STEAL because it is on clearence), a planter, a rustic twig wreath & pumpkins galore! i love the cinderella pumpkins most.. the blue, the pink & the funky shaped orange ones. they just look so whimsical & enchanted. who doesn't love a little fairy tale inspired decor for fall?

p.s. buddy welcomes you to modest house too:)