My Dining Room Redo: Alice Through the Looking Glass

I’ve always been a huge Alice in Wonderland fan. When I was a little girl, I dressed as her for Halloween, insisting to my parents that I had a black headband.  A BLACK headband? thought my parents, But her dress is white and blue! But little did they know the budding costume designer they were raising noticed these strange little details.  Go ahead; look it up! I’ll wait…  See?! A black headband.  And so it was.  The love of the character continued through high school, where I played Alice in the school play.  I even had some custom charcoal artwork made of Tenniel’s illustrations (scroll down to see them!).  It was no strange thing for me to stop in my tracks at #DisneySMMC 2016 when I spotted Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass costumes on display to promote the film.  

I snapped about a hundred photos, including some with the exhibit curators and loving stared at each of the tiny details (Alice’s embroidery, the Queen’s individual thorns, the Hatter’s many fabrics).  My fellow conference goers and I were treated to a special preview showing of the film, and it was amazing.  I had seen Tim Burton’s initial installment and was excited to see this film for so many reasons.  My Mom and Red came along with me, and were astounded by the character development, the detailed costumes as well as the storyline that never interrupted the Alice tales.  

When I got home from the conference, I knew I HAD to finish something I had thought of long ago.  In our first home, I had dreamed of an Alice room, with small touches honoring the Alice stories, but aside from the Alice illustrations, never quite got anything pulled together.  With the help of my Mom, we raided my house for existing odds and ends, Alice collectibles and even had a clock and statue shipped from my Mom’s house.  Each item added up to a fabulous Alice Through the Looking Glass dining room makeover. 

Mom had gifted me an Alice in Wonderland adult coloring book, and I peeled a few pages out to be framed under my large art pieces.  I set the rest of the coloring book on top of my annotated Alice for the my guests to peruse.  

And see that chair fabric? I ordered it from England and recovered my chairs lickety split. It replaced a very worn out plaid and I simply love the nod to the Queen of Hearts. 

In the small china cabinet, you can see all my teacups that I’ve collected (I’m a tea lover, and the collection fit perfectly with the Alice theme!) as well as a miniature wooden Alice figurine on the second shelf.

The dormouse and White Rabbit join the team on the top of the cabinet, along with an oversized pocket watch clock (which I insisted should not function.  After all, the rabbit must be LATE!)
The dining room doesn’t always get the best light, since it’s on the darker side of the house, so Mom and I chose a mirror from a discount shop and added a hedge with cording for color and well, “Wonderland” flair.  Not pictured is an awesome blue butterfly that is pinned to the wall.  One can’t forget Absolem! 

The whole room makes me entirely too happy.  It’s a design that I’ve wanted for a very long time, and Mom gave me the kick in the pants I needed to finish it up to coincide with the Alice Through the Looking Glass film release.  I think Suzanne Todd, the producer of the movies would feel right at home having dinner here.  When I heard her speak at the #DisneySMMC conference, she echoed the passion I’ve always felt for Alice and it thrilled me to hear about her journey with the character through two films.  

So what do you think?  Join me for a cup of tea?