This post is all about tackling a dining room makeover! We moved into a different home about a year ago and one of the very first rooms we focused on was the dining room. I’m going to give you a tour and show you some of the things we did!

My husband and I tackled this makeover together and I am thrilled with how it turned out! Below is the before photo- it is amazing how much larger and brighter the same space feels now!

So the very first thing I picked for the dining room was this chandelier.  We had it in our store hanging over a bed, and the first time I saw it, I knew I had to have it.  It totally completed this room to me!

When I was choosing the furniture for this room, I knew my best bet would be a large round table.  It did not leave room for a buffet, so I still needed some extra lighting.  My husband installed these sconces on the wall and I think they turned out beautiful!

So, the ceiling in this room is vaulted and the color that was up before was brown.  I did not like it at all, so I painted it white and then my husband added wood to the ceiling.  We stained it a medium-dark so that it contrasted with the light fixture.  What a difference!

Another project my husband tackled were the walls.  This room had a chair rail and to me, when you already have a chair rail in a small room, it shrinks the room and makes it look a little bit dated.  Scott removed the wallpaper, painted it white, and put up these boards.

 

 

 

 

 

Now the dining room makeover really begins!

These boards are 1×3 and he spaced them evenly apart, all the way around the entire room.  I painted both the baseboards and these boards the same color white.  The transformation from just changing the walls was stunning!  It brightened the room tremendously and cozied up the entire space!

The fabric that I chose for the drapes in the dining room is probably one of my all-time favorites.  They are wooded scene that is a stunning blue-grey.  They are just beautiful paired with the grey chairs! 

These custom drapes are available in our online store.  They come in several different lengths.

Let me tell you some of the other tricks I did. So this is an older home and I was kind of surprised that it didn’t have two dining room windows.  It is just one small window, but the way you can make people believe it is a big window is by expanding the drapery rods.

These are called French drapery rods and what I like about them is there is no need for finials.  They actually curve around so that no light is showing on the side. I love the simplicity of the bronze metal rod.  They do a fabulous job of making the window look a lot bigger.

Let me show you the two pieces of artwork that I have hanging on the wall.  These are actually brand new in our store and online.  They are oil paintings with a very thick, antiqued silver patina frame.   These paintings added just enough softness and pattern to the room.  I love how they pull out the little bit of blue-grey from the drapes, that also goes with the florals that I chose. 

Whenever I am designing a room, I like to have balance between hard and soft.  What I mean by this is, the furniture is our hard substance. How we bring softness in is with pattern, with fabric, and then, of course, I’m going to have a floral.  Want to learn how to create your own floral?

This floral has a little bit of a grey-purple color in it.  It looks beautiful all the way around because I’ve set it on a round table.  I found these antique candle holders at the flea market that just paired beautifully.  I put a table runner under the floral that, again, adds some more softness to the room and it gives a contrast between the table and the floral.

So, I really love to have company and there are a few things I make sure to do just about every time. 

I’m always going to have some pretty music playing in the background to create an ambiance. 

I’ve removed my big floral, mainly because you can’t see each other over that and I wanted to add some romance.  So what I did was, I put this very large hurricane in the middle and then to give a little more color to the table, I got one of my wreaths and laid it around the bottom.  So easy and elegant!

My favorite all-time STONEWARE DISHES. 

I am so excited to share with you these dishes I found!  I like to choose white dishes because white is so easy to pair with colors throughout the seasons and holidays.  These dishes are Stoneware.  They are made in Portugal, are microwave safe, I can put them in the freezer, the oven, they are chip-resistant and scratch-resistant.  I have never seen such beautiful dishes that are also so durable and great for everyday use. 

I remember years ago when I got married, picking out China that we rarely ever used. These dishes would be perfect for a new bride because not only are they perfect for regular use, but they’re timeless and elegant!  They come with a lot of different pieces, from pitchers to pasta bowls, everything you would need.  We sell them in our online store and I just cannot speak enough about them.  I just love them!

Well, one room down and quite a few more to go!  If you are looking for more ideas and would like to see a full video on how we transformed this dining room makeover, simply click on the photo below!  Thank you and have a wonderful day!