We have a new addition in the dining room…an elephant…a wicker elephant…we literally have an elephant in the room that we’re gonna talk about today.
I picked him up at a local antiques store for $20 and immediately dubbed him “Mr. Harry Elephante” (pronounced ella-font-tay). Do you guys remember Mr. Harry Elephante from Friends? You know, the stuffed elephant toy of Marcel the Monkey? Friends shall never depart my random knowledge bank.
Mr. Harry Elephante wasn’t what I was looking for at the store. I believe I was on a quest for a wool blanket. But you know…when in Rome when you see weird things at the antique store, weird things must come home…especially when they’re made of wicker. Knowing perfectly well that I would get grilled by Colby while toting a wicker elephant through the front door, I had to either A) smuggle him nonchalantly into our home under my coat, B) claim he was a “gift” from a long lost cousin twice removed who recently became a fan of our blog and just knew I would love a wicker elephant and naturally shipped it to us from her overseas operation as a photojournalist in Tibet photographing the elusive takin horned animals worshiped by Tibetan Buddhists or C) have a purpose for Mr. Harry Elephante. Since I’m pretty sure he would notice the sudden weight gain or see through my stories, I came up with a game plan; Mr. Elephante would become a new plant stand for the corner of the dining room.
Although he did look pretty dapper just tucked into the corner of the room next to the plant stand.
But I didn’t like the blue. It felt clash-ie. I initially wanted him in a shade of gray or maybe white, but just wasn’t feeling the blue in what has become the Miami Beach of dining rooms.
I also picked up a glass jug at the flea market this summer. It was essentially free. The guy threw it in with my art purchase from his booth. I LOVE, loved the peeling peach label on the jug, and was thinking the orange color from the label might be a nice option for Mr. Elephante.
I even had the orange paint on hand. It was a freebie sample from a few years ago. Our local Aubuchon Hardware had free Benjamin Moore paint samples. How could I resist? Even if the paint is bright orange. The paint color is called Carrot Stick and is a super bright and saturated orange. It’s looking a bit on the muted side in this pic.
So I gave Mr. Elephante a coat of primer:
Followed by a few coats of lightened Carrot Stick. I mixed the paint myself and went with a 1 part Carrot Stick to 4 parts white paint combo in our paint sprayer.
I like him orange, I really do. But something to me is feeling off in the dining room. I’m starting to rethink the neon chairs, pink mirror, and Miami Beach vibe. It’s not really what I meant to have going on in here. I like it and all, it’s just not me, although Colby likes the summery vibe. That’s when I got to thinking…maybe I need a pattern? Maybe the curtains need to be switched out?
Naturally, I started playing curtains in PhotoShop. Option #1…
That’s Linea Paramount Caspian Nate Berkus fabric for Jo-Ann’s found here. And option #2…
That’s Baroda Square Lynwood Calypso Nate Berkus fabric for Jo-Ann’s found here. And finally option #3…
That’s Cole Stripe Paramount Ebony Nate Berkus fabric for Jo-Ann’s. I have a thing for Nate’s new line of home decor fabric for Jo-Ann’s. Can you tell? I think option #1 is my front-runner although option #3 is growing on me. I ruled out option #2 for too many crazy pattern reasons but I think the pattern would be fun in smaller doses like maybe in a dog bed for Goose.
Even with freshly sewn curtain panels in the dining room, I’m still not sure I love where our dining room is heading. It’s just been a mish-mash of evolving over time with random finds/colors. I think I need a plan. Maybe a start-from-scratch plan? I’m not sure. I’m suffering from analysis paralysis! It’s the Great Spatula Debate of 2003 all over again! (For those of you not familiar with the Great Spatula Debate of 2003 it boils down to about 2 hours worth of “do I get the spatula with slats or do I get the spatula without slats” internal debate with myself in the Martha Stewart for Kmart aisle. It was epic and resulted in me needing to buy both just so I could get out of the store and back to a more productive afternoon.) Dining room saga is to be continued….
What fun, to give you some idea of the age I purchased one while living on Guam in the 70’s. So sorry you don’t have the original wicker color, mine has aged beautifully. Mine also has an oval tray which rests on the back of the elephant’s body so it makes a nice serving piece. Enjoy.
Oh, I looked at your post again, you do have the tray, you had the elephant standing on it but it actually goes on it’s back to make a table.
Option 1 plus where did you get carrot paint ?
You and the dining room curtains! Lol!! I think you should take The Nesters advice again and quiet your space. You’ll be able to breathe and asses easier from there! Good luck!