As I’ve mentioned before, I’m working on a little dining room refresh right now, so I thought I’d talk a bit more about my plans as well as share some fun “before” photos.
Pictured Above: Chandelier | Gravy Boat | Serving Platter | Matching Plates for Plate Wall | Equestrian Print | Similar Wave Bowl | Buffet Lamp | Similar Black Dresser | Water Hyacinth Baskets | Washable Rug | White Urns (Large) and (Small)|
I thought it would be fun today to share some of my plans for the updates in the dining room that I’m currently working on. I absolutely love the process of fine-tuning that happens in a room over time and I firmly believe that slow decorating is the best kind of decorating. Scrapping a room completely and starting from scratch with all new everything rarely results in something that will truly stand the test of time, and you often end up with a room full of things that feel tired and outdated after just a few years. Achieving a truly classic, timeless home is always my ultimate goal when it comes to adding things to my spaces, and I find that I get closer and closer to this when I go back over a space every couple of years, keep what’s working, add what’s needed, and maybe replace a “cheap ‘n cheerful” item or two with something with more lasting appeal. So here are the plans for the dining room this time around. 🙂
The Dining Room Before
This is fun. I really dug deep and found some photos from waaaay back when we first moved in so you can see what the dining room used to look like. You can also see that even though the room was in pretty horrendous condition before, there are a few things that have stayed and will continue to stay like the dining room set that’s been in my family for the last 150 years or so and the little thrift store dresser I bought 20 years ago for $20 that I just keep repainting because I love it so much.
I believe this terrible photo may have actually been from the listing from when we bought the house. This room was wild. It definitely wasn’t a dining room, but I’m not sure what it was really used for. It seemed to be some kind of holding place for boxes, a treadmill, and dog crates. The lovely arches were there, but there was a crazy basement-style drop ceiling and no central light fixture. It’s hard to tell in this photo, but the walls were a bright aqua color.
This was just after we moved in. The floors throughout the house were a patchwork of different types of peel ‘n stick tile. The house had good bones though! We haven’t done anything other than paint the staircase, but I still really love it to this day.
The same view a few months later with different light and fewer boxes.
The other side of the room. That dark wood flat panel door! Oh my gosh. Wild, I tell you.
This is a look at how the room looked just before I started with the refresh a few weeks ago. I should note that I love this room and always have. It’s the best room in our house, really. It’s cozy and filled with pieces that are important to us and it’s where we gravitate for family game nights and holiday dinners as a family. In fact, this little refresh isn’t because I hate this room, but more so because I love this room so much and want to pay it a little attention. So there are many better photos of this room that exist, but “before” photos are just better when they’re really ugly, aren’t they? 🙂
My beloved little $20 thrift store dresser, which you’ll know I painted black recently if you follow along with my regular Friday updates.
The Plans for the Dining Room Refresh
Pictured Above: Chandelier | Gravy Boat | Serving Platter | Matching Plates for Plate Wall | Equestrian Print | Similar Wave Bowl | Buffet Lamp | Similar Black Dresser | Water Hyacinth Baskets | Washable Rug | White Urns (Large) and (Small)|
First of all, all of the major furnishings in the room are staying. I used this black dresser in the mood board above to stand in for my little dresser, just so you could get a feel for things. I recently had my dream buffet lamp (it’s a thing) arrive and that now sits on top of the dresser, along with a beautiful wave bowl by an amazing local potter/friend of ours that I’ve filled with a bit of moss, and a few antique-style prints and paintings.
I was feeling ready for a new rug and I’ve absolutely picked out the one I want for the space. Of course it’s a ruggable. 🙂 This one is the Adeline Ivory Opal in the 8×10 size. I had a crazy idea though last week and I thought, “What if I just had no rug in here for the summer?” So I rolled up the rug and I loved the easy-breezy effect. So I’m going to leave it rugless for a few months, but I know I’ll be ready for some coziness in the fall, so I’ll put the new rug down then.
The new chandelier I picked out is laughably similar to the one that we already have in there, which we installed a few years ago when we first adding a ceiling fixture to this room. I’ve just always loved this simple, classic style of chandelier. You can’t beat it for an old house like this. It was a cheap ‘n cheerful buy though and there are a few things about the design of it that I don’t like, so I’m ordering a new one this week that I’ve seen in person in one of the homes we’ve captured for our interior photography business. The new one is also a bit larger so it will have a nice presence in the room.
So those are the plans! Can’t wait to share with you when it all comes together!
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