A Friend's Dining Room Project

I am currently helping one of my life-long friends, Ashley, decorate her dining room. Like many people, Ashley has furniture that she either inherited, married into, or that was given to her by her in-laws. Here is a picture:

As you can see, she has some absolutely gorgeous pieces. However, she really wanted to lighten the room up and make it a little more her. I asked her to email me some inspirational pictures and describe the overall look she was going for. She informed me that she had purchased a large, 3-piece bookcase and wanted the space to be a dining room/study. She also said she loved the idea of layering rugs, playing with different textures like animal furs, burlap, etc., and bringing in the colors aqua, robins egg blue, turquoise, and the like. Finally, Ashley had a tiny amount of some black and white striped fabric that she wanted to somehow incorporate into the mix.

Based on our conversations, I knew that her style was shabby chic with a modern edge and that I needed to incorporate those styles into a traditional dining room setting. So, these are what I came up with:

#1 -

#2-

#3-

                      

Stay tuned to find out which one she picked!