Monday, April 9, 2012

Dining Room Settee

Now that the dining room molding is done and the table is in I'm working on the seating.  My husband and I agreed that a settee would be a fun addition.  I figured it would be a bit of a treasure hunt but a great look in the dining room so I was game!  I began pinning pictures for inspiration (this one is my favorite).


Imagine my delight when just a couple days later I came across this couch at Down East Home in Layton (sorry I have no idea where the couch is originally from).  I had seen it there before many times and liked it but I wasn't in the market for a couch, however when I walked in the store and had "settee" on my brain I suddenly saw it's true potential!  Thankfully I didn't see it's potential earlier because all that time that it sat in the store and didn't sell caused them to place it on clearance for $450!  SOLD!


The only problem was it's height was too low to work as a settee, I needed the legs to be a few inches taller to allow someone to sit comfortably at the dining table.
Home Depot to the Rescue!!!


They actually have a few different leg options in different heights.  These babies were just $4 each!  You can see the original leg in the middle is quite a bit shorter than the new legs.  After painting them white I had to solve the other problem of the screw that comes already in the top of the Home Depot Legs.  It was too small and way too short.  Thankfully it can easily be removed by twisting it out with pliers, I then found the screw size and length I needed, re-drilled the same hole in the top of the Home Depot Leg and screwed in the new screw.  It's hard to see in the picture, but the type of screw you need is called a hanger bolt.  The size you need depends on the couch - but most likely they'll have it!

The new legs screwed up into the existing holes on the couch perfectly!  A pretty easy and cheap solution! (under $20 including the new hanger bolts)
 The only other problem was that I felt the settee was lacking in presence.
But that was an easy fix with some pillows from Zgallerie and a throw from West Elm.

I wanted big pillows for each side so I bought a bedding "Euro Square" pillow instead of a traditional sized couch pillow (the price from Zgallerie includes a nice feather insert and the cover).  For the center pillow I stuffed one of the original pillows that came with the settee into a king sham.  The grey and white striped throw is a cute pattern and a great price but it does shed like crazy!  Just sayin!




 LOVE IT!
Not only does it look great and give some wow factor to the dining room, it really is a comfy place to dine!  If after a few years of use the upholstery gets gross from food then I may just have a slip cover made like my inspiration picture at the top of this post.  So far though we have only needed to use the settee when company is over which isn't very often.  The rest of the dining chairs are being painted right now, then I have to find some upholstery fabric that will coordinate with the rest of the room and get them upholstered.  So a few weeks until I'll have a "complete" dining room picture but keep checking back!

10 comments:

  1. Holy cow! This room is going to look awesome! I can't wait to see what you do with the other side of the table. Where is the table from - RH?
    xo Becca

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  2. This room is so gorgeous! I am considering getting a similar settee for my dining room. I was wondering if you have used your dining room yet and do you find it comfortable? Can you get in and out without moving the settee and/or table? I LOVE this look, but my husband thinks it's "pretty but impractical." I'm hoping you will prove him wrong. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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    1. I think it would be impractical if you were to try to move a settee (or table) in and out for every meal- that is why I looked for a settee with no (or low) arms so that you can slide in and out the sides of the couch easily and it never needs to be moved. Basically it is like sitting at a booth in a restaurant. I have more seating than I need at my table so we actually don't use the settee when just my family is eating dinner but it has been used when we have had guests to dinner and it has been great. It seems like whoever "gets" to sit on the settee at dinnertime kinda feels like they have the best seat in the house, people (my kids included) almost fight over who gets to sit there. I really enjoy it for the times when dinner is done and I can sit back and can enjoy a comfy seat and conversation around the table with guests. Honestly I was a little worried too that I was making a decision based on what would look great but not really be practical but I have been pleasantly surprised at how great the settee has worked and how much I love it!

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  3. Can you tell me the length of your table and of the setee? I am tyring to do the same thing in my DR. Also how many can sit on the setee...comfortably and for max seating?

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  4. The settee is 87" and the table is 108". The settee fits 4 people comfortably (I think 5 would be too much). Hope that helps! I am still loving the whole arrangement!

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  5. Hi Amy... Who makes your lighting fixtures/chandeliers??

    SO gorgeous!

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  6. Hi, I absolutely love your dining room!! Could you tell me where you got your curtains from and what color they are??

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    1. Thanks so much! The curtains are from Target. They are a silvery grey color.

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