Dining Room Rehab: Before and After

So I know you are dying to see the after pictures of the dining room, and I am so excited to show you them. I've tried to match as many of the angles of the before pictures to the after pictures as I could, so you could really see the transformation.

Before # 1, in which you can see how little we had to work with. :-)



After # 1. Ah, so much better.



Before # 2. To the left just a tad. Who can forget the tiled floor, and the cork walls in the living room? Oh, and that palm tree plant? I murdered it. It was hideous. :-)



After # 2.  Sooo much better.



Before # 3. Mini blinds are rocking the house!



After # 3. Light! Glorious light!



Before # 4. More blank walls. And a partial view of those shelves.



After # 4. Pictures. And paint. And no shelves. Hallelujah!



Before # 5. Many a noggin was cracked on that cabinet, let me tell you.



After # 5.  Ah. Serenity. My noggin is at peace.



And then just a few more afters, because they are just so stinking gorgeous. :-)









So what do you think? Was it worth all the blood, sweat and tears?  What is your favorite part? Is there something you just can't stand? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions, even if you don't like it. I'm a big girl! :-)

If you like to read about the projects for this room, here are all the links:

• Walls 1 and 2


• Wall 3


• Lamp Makeover


• Wall Art


• Buffet and Shelves


• Decorated Corners


• Curtain Rehab

Linked to Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Make Your Monday @ Twice Remembered

Make It For Monday @ Cottage Instincts

Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog

DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land

Dining Room Rehab: Finding an Inspiration Point

Back in September I wrote a post  with an idea board for the dining room. The room needed an injection of personality, and I thought the direction I wanted to take was warm, jewel tones and amber glass. I posted the mood board, and not too long after an inspiration photo of a dining room that had the same look I was going for.



Then I started brainstorming how I could create this look in our room. Something just wasn't jiving, and bringing in more saturated colors was just making the room look gaudy. Around Christmas I brought in lots of red, greens and golds in the decorations as a trial room for the colors I would be adding to the room, and I hated it. Like made me uncomfortable in the room kind of hate. Weird, right?

I talked to Lover about it, and decided that the paint and curtains in the room were all wrong and I would have to start over. That's me, always throwing out the baby with the bath water. Apparently there is a reason why I am not yet a mother. :-) He encouraged me to think about it a little more, before I started tearing apart what I had already accomplished. Then I remembered that I already had my inspiration piece for this room, my Spanish China!



So I took a super simple elementary approach to the room. I literally walked around the room, holding the plate up to the different elements in the room, and decided if they worked or not. Here the plate is on the table, and it worked. I held it up to the wall color, and it worked. The paint color is the color of mill on the plate, and the pretty scrollwork. Then I held it up to the curtains. Instantly, I realized that the curtains were fine, but the curtain rod completely clashed. So, I painted it. :-)  Now the rod is the color of the leaves around the little blue flowers.

I decided I needed a strict color palette of caramel, dusty blue, warm cream (think almost butter), and deep browns. Then I went through the room and removed everysingle thing from every shelf and piled it on the table. Next I worked on one area at a time, finding ways to incorporate the color scheme into each area. For this shelf, I needed a shot of blue to tie it in.



You can see it again in these sconces. Dark browns? Check. Warm cream? Check. A touch of blue? Check.

The bookshelf in the corner was the hardest to work into the color scheme. It is a mountain of dark wood, so things had to be added in very carefully to make it seem cohesive. It took me forever to figure out what to do, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I hauled out the rest of my Spanish china, and arranged it throughout the shelves.



The basket at the top holds the dinner plates. The two blue boxes hold the soup bowls and the rest of the coffee cups. The other little bits are displayed, and I love that they are out where I can enjoy them every day!

I love this chunky cream frame, and the print in it is one that I bought on my trip to Paris. Again, it has all the colors in my palette.



And in the last corner we have the dresser I refinished, with a cream napkin on top, a dark pedestal bowl holding pinecones and my blue mirrors. Just what the doctor ordered for this dark corner.



So there you have it. One room's progression from disjointed and inharmonious, to warm, welcoming and relaxing. Tomorrow I'll show you the whole room all put together. It's gorgeous. :-) See ya tomorrow!

Dining Room Rehab: Decorating the Corners

I've got family coming in from out of town, so today's post will be short and sweet. And that's the best kind anyways, right? Today, continuing with our Dining Room Rehab theme, I'm showing you two little corners that got a splash of decoration.

Here are the before pictures, with  those hideous shelves backed with the burlap sack stuff. Yeesh.





And then the during pictures, after I used all my girlpower to renovate this wall.





And here's what they look like now



Better, no?



This corner has a builtin desk that we'll eventually remove. The coat rack and a shoe bin will eventually live in this corner, so I knew that I just needed a little something. I originally bought these sconces for the living room, but they just didn't look right. They hung out in the basement waiting for inspiration to strike. The candles are from the dollar store, and I wrapped them with pale blue grosgrain ribbon and then  a thin brown bow. The ribbon is held on with hot glue. :-) Eventually, I'd like to find flameless candles for these sconces, as any candles that are burned in this room end up affecting the thermostat and the whole house gets freezing. :-)



We bought a set of ladderback chairs from a garage sale when we got married for $40. One by one, the rushing on each chair  is disintegrating, and they become unusable. Lover fixed two of them by creating a rope seat, which is actually quite comfortable, but finding the time to do each chair is another thing entirely. This chair is unusable right now, so I parked it in the corner. The basket it is holding was Lover's family's picnic basket that they used all over Europe, so it's very sentimental. I am under strict instructions to return it rather than throw it away, if that day ever comes. :-) The "blanket" over the chair is a table runner I found on clearance a while ago, and it brings the colors over to this side of the room. And the little aloe vera plant is really trying to kick the bucket, and I am encouraging it because it is ugly :-) But until then it brings a splash of green to this corner.

So there you have it. Two simple corner fixes, that bring a lot of life and color to this side of the room. Tomorrow I'll be showing you the opposite two corners, and talking about how I figured out what I didn't like about this room. Should be fun. I'll catch ya later!

Can't wait till tomorrow? Read about the previous fixes so far - lamp, art, dresser, curtains and where this room started.

Dining Room Rehab: Decorating Shelves

As I looked through old pictures of the dining room for this post, I realized that I've never really talked about this corner of the room before. When we toured our castle during the open house, there was an enormous mirror on the wall I am about to show you, that took up most of the empty space. Very Italian. :0) A friend suggested to me the other day that I should start a de-Italianizing business. This house has certainly given me a lot of experience, that's for sure!

Anyways, so here's what this part of the dining room looked like when we bought the house. You can see the huge bolts in the wall where the mirror had been, the dingy white paint and the total lack of character. :-)



My grandfather loves to take all kinds of stuff from friends and sell it for them, and this antique dresser was one of those finds. I don't have much information on it, but it seems that it is at least 100 years old. It doesn't look too bad in the pictures, but the top needs to be replaced, and some serious repair work needs to be done on the whole piece. But I love those curvy drawers in the front, and those massive drawers are great for storage.

This picture is from last fall, and shows the dresser and the two shelves I found for above it. I actually bought the shelves when we still lived in the apartment, because I found them on super clearance at Office Max and I knew I would use them somewhere.  I put a bunch of my cream dish collection on the shelves, as well as some art from Lover's mom and my Willow Tree figurines.



Here are the shelves again, with some Christmas decorations. I never really liked how they looked, but couldn't come up with a better solution.



One of the things I will do when I am totally stuck in my decorating process is to start from scratch. I will clear off all the surfaces, and start over, giving myself permission to use all different things. This is what I ended up with.



The shelves are less cluttered, and now incorporate all of the colors that I've used in the room. It helps them feel much more purposeful. The ultimate test: Lover came home and immediately noticed how much better they looked. :-)



The lower shelf has our Willow Tree from our wedding, the sugar bowl from our dishes, a bit of gold with the mirror and some blue with the hydrangeas.



The upper shelf is very simple, with a print that I love and wooden candlesticks from Africa.



The top of the dresser again incorporates all of the color scheme, with the cream pitcher, hydrangeas, gold frame and the blue lamp (just to the right of where the picture ends.) That old tyme picture of us brings a  lot of laughter, as we have made up an entire story for our friends about how these are our great-great relatives who met, fell madly in love, but were never allowed to be together. :-)





So in the end we've gone from cold, stark and boring, to warm and cozy. This little area makes me smile, I love all of the romantic elements. What makes a home warm and cozy for you?

Tomorrow I'll show you  the two corners that face you when you walk in the room. They each needed only a few small touches, as they share the wall with the freehand art I did a while back.

Can't wait till tomorrow? Read about the lamp makeover and curtain rehab here.

Linked to Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog

Dining Room Curtain Rehab

I told you that this was going to be the week of the dining room. Aren't you so excited? I know I am. :-) Today's topic will be the curtains.



I am trying to remember when I bought these curtain rods. I'm thinking it was about a year or so ago. I bought two, one for the dining room, and one for the living room. These rooms open up to each other, so I've tried to keep the color scheme and design cohesive so that the rooms didn't feel disjointed.

I made the curtains by purchasing the wheaty golden colored panels from Lowe's and then sewing this awesome sari fabric onto them. I love the rich deep blues in the fabric, and the gold panels bring out the gold designs in the fabric. Plus, the panels coordinate with the wall color perfectly.

The color of the curtain rod, however, was terrible. It too was gold, but it had green undertones that clashed with the wall, the trim and the curtains and drove me batty every time I looked at it. I wanted to change it from the get go, but I felt like it needed to match the one in the living room. (And that one doesn't look too bad)

Besides all that, I didn't like how the curtains hung from those little strings. They were really dramatic, except for that top part where they looked a little pathetic. I hemmed and hawed about what to do to fix them, and finally decided to simply pin those stringy parts to the back with safety pins. I folded the skinny tabs toward the back of the curtain, and secured it with a safety pin. Then I ran the rod between the back of the curtain and the pinned down loop. Now the top of the curtain was right up next to the rod. The bonus was that this shortened the curtains by a few inches, so now they just graze the floor and they look a lot better.



Next up was the curtain rod. I decided that it would be okay to paint it, so I took that sucker down. I hauled it down to the basement where I gave it a coat of matte black paint, and then a light spray of glossy brown. Once I got it up on the wall again, I knew I had made the right choice. The dark color just popped right off the wall, but it blended with the color scheme, instead of clashing.



Now the curtains looks full and luxurious, and the rod makes a statement of its own. I love the difference!

Come back tomorrow for another little project that I accomplished in the dining room on my quest to take it from good to great! And if you just can't wait till tomorrow, read about how I created cheap wall art for one of the blank walls in this room and made over a lamp for the buffet.

Linked to Make it For Monday @ Cottage Instincts

Metamorphosis  Monday @ Between Naps on The Porch

Make Your Monday @ Twice Remembered

I Made it Without my Hubby @ Shanty 2 Chic

DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land

Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog

Cheap and Easy Wall Art

I gave this wall in our dining room a makeover back in September. I showed you all about it and talked about how proud I was that I did the whole thing myself. I knew I wanted to do something simple to dress this wall up, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money or time on it, because, frankly, I don't have a lot of either to spare. :-) Actually, the real reason is that the majority of this wall will be removed when we remodel the kitchen in a few years, so I didn't want to invest in something that I wouldn't need in a couple of years.

A few days ago I came up with the idea of putting a quote onto this wall. It's cheap, fast and easy, and easily removable when the time comes to tear out this wall. There is an enormous variety of cute quotes out there, and I was faced with the insurmountable task of choosing one to place on our wall. Decisions like this are really hard for me. Which quote do I want? Will I like this quote a minute after it's been up? What sentiment do I want to express with this quote? I hemmed and hawed over it for about a week, and then decided I was overthinking it. I'd simply wait till I came across a quote that jumped out at me, and then I would use that one. The very next day, I went to and antique and crafts store, and saw the perfect quote. Here's what my wall looks like now.

I love the sentiment that this quote expresses. This castle is filled with love, and even though I like things to look nice and pretty, my most important goal for this house is that it be a home to those who live here. (and those who come to visit!)

In the end I decided not to use a vinyl quote, simply because I had the materials on hand to paint it on the wall myself, and that would be much more frugal! I used a yardstick and a level to draw straight guidelines on the wall, and played around with different fonts on my computer until I found some combinations that I liked. Then, using a piece of chalk, I traced out the basic design of each letter onto the wall, taking my time and erasing parts I didn't like. Once the outline was complete I went over the design with my Painter's pen (left over from this project). I found that if I drew right next to the chalk line the painter's pen didn't get too mucked up with chalk, and I just kept a wet paper towel on hand to wipe off the tip as I went. I let the paint dry for about twenty minutes, then went back and wiped off the rest of the chalk with the wet paper towel. The water evaporated in about a minute, and then I set about filling in each letter until it looked the way I wanted it too.

I worked on this project off and on for two hours total, I would say. I love how it came out, and the fact that I spent almost nothing (just the chalk!) for this little part of my dining room.

Linked to Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Made it for Monday @ Cottage Instincts

DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land

Cheap and Easy Wall Art

I gave this wall in our dining room a makeover back in September. I showed you all about it and talked about how proud I was that I did the whole thing myself. I knew I wanted to do something simple to dress this wall up, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money or time on it, because, frankly, I don't have a lot of either to spare. :-) Actually, the real reason is that the majority of this wall will be removed when we remodel the kitchen in a few years, so I didn't want to invest in something that I wouldn't need in a couple of years.

A few days ago I came up with the idea of putting a quote onto this wall. It's cheap, fast and easy, and easily removable when the time comes to tear out this wall. There is an enormous variety of cute quotes out there, and I was faced with the insurmountable task of choosing one to place on our wall. Decisions like this are really hard for me. Which quote do I want? Will I like this quote a minute after it's been up? What sentiment do I want to express with this quote? I hemmed and hawed over it for about a week, and then decided I was overthinking it. I'd simply wait till I came across a quote that jumped out at me, and then I would use that one. The very next day, I went to and antique and crafts store, and saw the perfect quote. Here's what my wall looks like now.

I love the sentiment that this quote expresses. This castle is filled with love, and even though I like things to look nice and pretty, my most important goal for this house is that it be a home to those who live here. (and those who come to visit!)

In the end I decided not to use a vinyl quote, simply because I had the materials on hand to paint it on the wall myself, and that would be much more frugal! I used a yardstick and a level to draw straight guidelines on the wall, and played around with different fonts on my computer until I found some combinations that I liked. Then, using a piece of chalk, I traced out the basic design of each letter onto the wall, taking my time and erasing parts I didn't like. Once the outline was complete I went over the design with my Painter's pen (left over from this project). I found that if I drew right next to the chalk line the painter's pen didn't get too mucked up with chalk, and I just kept a wet paper towel on hand to wipe off the tip as I went. I let the paint dry for about twenty minutes, then went back and wiped off the rest of the chalk with the wet paper towel. The water evaporated in about a minute, and then I set about filling in each letter until it looked the way I wanted it too.

I worked on this project off and on for two hours total, I would say. I love how it came out, and the fact that I spent almost nothing (just the chalk!) for this little part of my dining room.

Linked to Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Made it for Monday @ Cottage Instincts

DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land

Inspiration for the Dining Room

I've told you how the dining room has been bothering me. It is painted, and there are curtains, but other than putting up a picture collage on the wall, I haven't done much with the room. That's all going to change, and here's my plan:

Let's start with the existing furniture. The table in the middle represents the Queen Anne style table that is currently in our dining room. I plan to keep it, it just needs a little TLC. Our table has a bit more presence, and some pretty detailing on the legs.

The dresser in the top left represents a dresser that we are turning into a buffet for the dining room. Ours looks pretty much just like this, except that the handles are a pretty scrolled metal instead of wood. This piece also needs some loving and repairing.

The corner cabinet on the right represents the cabinet that I want for my Spanish china. I found this one on Craigslist and it is just about exactly what I want, just a little out of my price range. If necessary, this piece could be refinished to go with the rest of the furniture.

The coat tree on the bottom of the board is one that we bought in Wisconsin. It is currently unfinished parawood, we are just waiting to decide on a stain for the rest of the furniture in this room.

The chairs beneath the table are examples of a style that I think would work with the table, and the other elements already in the room. I like the curving X of the back, and the fact that they have upholstered seats. Our current chairs are quite uncomfortable, and falling apart. I don't like them enough to try to fix them up. Hopefully I'll be able to find a deal on these, and I am considering using a different fabric to bring another layer of texture and pattern into the room.

The curtains are the ones I made a few months ago. I like them, but they need some tweaking. I want to paint the rod an oil rubbed bronze, change the way the curtains hang from the rod, and replace the tassel tiebacks with something that looks better.

The curtains are a really brilliant blue, so I thought that a few peacock feathers in a copper urn in the center of the table would look really cool. The iridescent colors of the feathers will pick up all of the existing colors in the room.

To the left of the feathers are a couple of amber colored tealight holders. I have a little DIY plan for these, stay tuned for details, if I can find them in a store nearby!

In the far left corner is a wooden footed bowl filled with decorative orbs. I found a similar footed bowl a few months ago, and I'll be looking for some balls covered in feathers, twigs and moss to fill the bowl.

Below the bowl are a couple of pretty little amber candleholders. I think they would look great above the buffet on little wooden shelves.

Below the candleholders are a couple of woven baskets. These, placed next to the coat tree, will be great for corralling all of the shoes that collect near the front door. :-)

I think this cream, blue, and tan runner will look great in front of the buffet, between the buffet and the table. Hopefully it will add some softness and color to the room.

Last but not least, in the lower right corner, are some functional accessories that will add a little more glamor. A natural woven table runner will look great on the buffet, especially when topped by this metal tray. The mosaic tray will look great on the refinished dresser in the corner, paired with a little wooden clock.

So there you have it! I am sure I won't follow this inspiration board exactly (I never do) but this gives me a vision for the room that will help me focus. What do you think?

Linked to It's Great to Be Home's Inspiration Party.

Inspiration for the Dining Room

I've told you how the dining room has been bothering me. It is painted, and there are curtains, but other than putting up a picture collage on the wall, I haven't done much with the room. That's all going to change, and here's my plan:

Let's start with the existing furniture. The table in the middle represents the Queen Anne style table that is currently in our dining room. I plan to keep it, it just needs a little TLC. Our table has a bit more presence, and some pretty detailing on the legs.

The dresser in the top left represents a dresser that we are turning into a buffet for the dining room. Ours looks pretty much just like this, except that the handles are a pretty scrolled metal instead of wood. This piece also needs some loving and repairing.

The corner cabinet on the right represents the cabinet that I want for my Spanish china. I found this one on Craigslist and it is just about exactly what I want, just a little out of my price range. If necessary, this piece could be refinished to go with the rest of the furniture.

The coat tree on the bottom of the board is one that we bought in Wisconsin. It is currently unfinished parawood, we are just waiting to decide on a stain for the rest of the furniture in this room.

The chairs beneath the table are examples of a style that I think would work with the table, and the other elements already in the room. I like the curving X of the back, and the fact that they have upholstered seats. Our current chairs are quite uncomfortable, and falling apart. I don't like them enough to try to fix them up. Hopefully I'll be able to find a deal on these, and I am considering using a different fabric to bring another layer of texture and pattern into the room.

The curtains are the ones I made a few months ago. I like them, but they need some tweaking. I want to paint the rod an oil rubbed bronze, change the way the curtains hang from the rod, and replace the tassel tiebacks with something that looks better.

The curtains are a really brilliant blue, so I thought that a few peacock feathers in a copper urn in the center of the table would look really cool. The iridescent colors of the feathers will pick up all of the existing colors in the room.

To the left of the feathers are a couple of amber colored tealight holders. I have a little DIY plan for these, stay tuned for details, if I can find them in a store nearby!

In the far left corner is a wooden footed bowl filled with decorative orbs. I found a similar footed bowl a few months ago, and I'll be looking for some balls covered in feathers, twigs and moss to fill the bowl.

Below the bowl are a couple of pretty little amber candleholders. I think they would look great above the buffet on little wooden shelves.

Below the candleholders are a couple of woven baskets. These, placed next to the coat tree, will be great for corralling all of the shoes that collect near the front door. :-)

I think this cream, blue, and tan runner will look great in front of the buffet, between the buffet and the table. Hopefully it will add some softness and color to the room.

Last but not least, in the lower right corner, are some functional accessories that will add a little more glamor. A natural woven table runner will look great on the buffet, especially when topped by this metal tray. The mosaic tray will look great on the refinished dresser in the corner, paired with a little wooden clock.

So there you have it! I am sure I won't follow this inspiration board exactly (I never do) but this gives me a vision for the room that will help me focus. What do you think?

Linked to It's Great to Be Home's Inspiration Party.