It's been a couple of years in the making, but my dining room is finally finished. (Well, for now anyway...and I still need to hem the drapes and maybe find a rug. Ok, maybe it's not done, done, but it's done enough to do a photo shoot and share it with you.) So, here it is!
This dining room has come a long way from nasty carpeting, a 1980's ceiling fan, pine trim, and dingy paint. First, let me walk you through the room. This view is from the archway to the living room.
Again, this picture is from the archway, looking towards the front of the house. Click here for a tutorial and fabric source on the curtains. The rods were purchased at 40% off at Hobby Lobby.
This view is from the front corner of the dining room. The corner cabinets, antique high chair, over sized ginger jars and buffet table were all free from family members (or their attics.)
...and this familiar view is from the archway that leads to the soon-to-be home office.
...and this is from the back corner of the dining room. Are you oriented, now?
So, now let's go to the details of this room. First of all, the colors. The primary wall color is Aria Ivory (retired, but you can ask for it) by Sherwin Williams and the accent wall is Blue Stone by Eddie Bauer (available at Lowe's.) The antlers ($3.50), books ($.25-$12.00), and plates ($.25-$12.00) all came from antique stores or yard sales. The silver chest belonged to my mom and the blue and white bowl was a wedding gift. Click on the words to learn how I made the topiary and chalkboard. (You can also check out my gold leaf tutorial here.)
My shop owner gave me the bird's nest for free. It may seem like an odd choice for a dining room accessory, but I love the subtle nod to nature.
I know it's ridiculous, but I bought the chandelier at a yard sale for $4.00. Thievery. I know. You can learn how I made the Fresh Cupcake sign out of a $5.00 antique window here.
I made the flirty skirted "grain sack" slipcovers for the chairs out of drop cloths and acrylic paint. You can find how to make the grain sacks here. The dining set was purchased from Craig's List, the table from Carlisle, PA and the chairs from Richmond, VA. The chairs and table base are painted in Sherwin Williams Creamy in ProClassic water based semi-gloss. I distressed them and used dark walnut stain by Minwax on the table base and a burnt umber universal tint on the chairs. You can find a tutorial on the chairs here and the table here.
I put the first and middle initials of each family member on "their" chair to make them personal.
I set the table in a mix-and-match of formal and informal to make it beautiful, but not fussy. Yard sale glasses (bought for a dime a piece) mingle with inherited monogrammed plates and linens.
Sterling Silver flatware sits right next to casual Bakelite, 1950's picnic ware.
Antique Staffordshire tea cups sit on Ikea saucers.
And just to show you how far this room has come...a before picture.
...and the after.
If you're up for a good DIY story, you can check how I refinished my hardwood floors and lived to tell the tale.
Now, on to finish the master bedroom and living room!
