Casual yet Elegant White Dining Room

Today is a special treat and honor… Yvonne from StoneGable is here to share her gorgeous, casual yet elegant white dining room with you! Yvonne is one of those amazing women who loves her family and home so so so well; I wish I could live nextdoor to her and soak up all her expertise. But I’ll have to settle for her gorgeous blog and I’m thrilled to share her with you today!

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Hey, Everyone! I’m Yvonne and I blog at StoneGable. I’m thrilled to be here at Maison De Pax. What a beautiful and inspiring blog! I met Rachel a few years ago at Haven (blogging conference in Atlanta). She was a mama toting around her brand new baby girl, Juliet! I was impressed with her can-do, calm and oh, so friendly spirit then and I’m even more impressed as I get to know her better. Thanks so much Rachel for inviting me today!

Okay, let’s get right into the questions Rachel…

R: Tell me a bit about yourself?

Gorgeous, traditional American farmhouse

Y: I’m a wife, mother, new Gigi (grandmother, YIKES!!!!!), blogger, writer and I have a passion for all things home and garden. I have been blogging for 7 years and besides mothering, it’s the best job I have ever had! It is totally in my wheelhouse! I live in the beautiful bucolic farmlands of Lancaster Co Pa. in a farmhouse inspired home named StoneGable. Yes, our home has a name and that is how my blog got its name.

Gorgeous, traditional American farmhouse

I am also a podcaster and a co-host of DECORATING TIPS AND TRICKS. I’m having a blast with my co-hosts Anita from Cedar Hill Farmhouse and Kelly from My Soulful Home dishing on all kinds of decorating topics! It’s fun and so funny and very informative and a great way to get tons of home and garden tips in about 30 minutes.

R: What is your favorite space and what is its function?

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

Y: Right now my favorite space is my dining room. I say right now because the answer to that question is always changing. I think I’m enjoying my dining room because we, my husband Bobby and I, have put so much elbow grease into it the last several years I can finally say that it’s beginning to look like me. We literally made it over from the floor up and all of the work we did ourselves.

The room has really beautiful bones and architecture so we had a lot to work with.

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

This is our “formal dining” space and we use it! Not just on holidays! I love love love to create tablescapes and cook and StoneGable seems to be a people magnet so entertaining is second nature to me! Over the years I’ve developed the attitude that entertaining should not be so hard or work intensive that when your friends and family come you just want to throw dinner at them and go to bed. It should be easy and enjoyable for everyone including me as well as welcoming and warm!

That being said I really love to use the things I’ve collected over the years! I say use them all and often!

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

R: How do you describe the style of your space?

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

Y: Well… it’s classic meets vintage meets formal meets comfortable meets lots of DIY! It’s really hard to describe. It distinguishes itself from the rest of my home by being the most “formal” space in my house. It sounds funny, but it’s a room that looks like me! Bobby and I have put so much sweat equity into this room that we feel it really reflects our true style. But don’t let its formality fool you! It is a work horse!

 

I’ve added and edited and curated it over and over again until I almost have it right for me. I can’t say we are done because I believe those of us who love our homes are never done!

R: Are there any DIY projects or elements in this space?

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

Y: Yes, this whole room is one great big DIY project. We gutted the dining room, installed hardwood floors and repainted it (a few times).

I painted an old buffet to make it new to us, made the drapes, fitted together and painted mismatched hardware to hang the drapes, refitted big old shutters to flank our large gilded mirror, painted and upholstered 18th-century mahogany chairs, and painted, reupholstered and slipcovered a bench.

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

I also am the queen of finding great buys and items that look high end for less! For me, that is one of the biggest joys of decorating! It’s that high/low look I adore!

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

You can see in the images below how I used just a couple “splurge” items in my dining room and built the rest of the room around it with reasonable and even downright cheap finds! The thrill of the hunt and the art of curation are skills I’ve honed over the years and use them almost daily on my blog, on the podcast and in my home.

Love a high end look? Here's how to get the designer look on a budget!

Love the high end look but on a budget? Here's how to get a designer look for less!

R: Do you have any fun memories or favorite stories that have happened in this space.

Y: If my walls could talk!!!! I’m a big believer in making time at a table. Lots of great food, talking, sharing laughs and lingering together. A fun and memorable event!

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

I’ve had the most interesting folks sit around my table. They lead mostly ordinary lives, but some of their stories along life’s journey are amazing!

Like the time a group of friends was literally brought to tears by hearing about how one of our friends was a little boy in Germany during the Second World War and how if not for the kindness of the American servicemen he and his family would have starved to death. As a teenager, he came to live in the US and enlisted in the army to pay back to the country, albeit the benevolent enemy,  that saved his life!

This was so special to me because I have not heard many WW2 stories and certainly not from anyone that lived through it!

It’s important to include multiple generations at my table.

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

I learned an almost magical way to get people talking around a table. One of my dear friends asks everyone to tell their life story in 5 minutes. Well, it’s never five minutes but it is always riveting! And even if I have heard someone’s life story before I learn something new. People at the table can really get to know one another, find commonalities and usually find the evening to be one of the most enjoyable and memorable they have had!

Give this a try. It’s really amazing to see how everyone shares!

R: Do you have any future plans for this space?

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

Y:  I’d like to repaint the ceiling and keep on tweaking little things. I’m thinking about the next season’s decor. But for the most part and for today I’m happy with the dining room just the way it is!

Crisp, white traditional farmhouse dining room: so many beautiful decorating ideas!

A big thanks again to Rachel for letting me come and visit and share my favorite room! Rachel, see you at Haven!!! xo

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6 Comments

  1. Hi Rachel and Yvonne, I LOVE both of your blogs and have followed each of you for several years now. Yvonne–I adore your dining room, and I appreciate how much you put so much work into all of the details, yet you make it look accessible for all of us! Thanks for sharing here, on Rachel’s blog. You both are incredibly talented!

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