Dining Room Rescue

Lifeless Space

Cookbook author Katherine Cobbs and her family recently upsized to a 1928 cottage in Birmingham, Alabama, which left them with a sparsely decorated space. After Cottage Living Assistant Decorating Editor Anne Turner Carroll updated her living room, Katherine set her sights on bringing her dining room up to par.

"We started with a hodgepodge of traditional furnishings passed down to us from grandmothers. Each piece was nice -- some fine antiques, in fact -- but I gravitate toward clean lines and mid-century modern pieces," Katherine says. "Though I was thankful to be the beneficiary of such great furniture, I felt that it was keeping me from expressing my true style."