A Dramatic Dining Room Makeover

With Thanksgiving around the corner, our thoughts are naturally turning to gathering places, family, big meals and where to serve them.  This time of year, the dining room…an often overlooked, pass-though of a room, gets it’s 15 minutes.  While traditional dining rooms have kind of taken a back seat in today’s more modern, open concept floor plans, I am still a big believer in having a spot to set a pretty table and have friends and family gather.  When we were shopping for the #1987FixerUpper, a traditional floor plan with a living and dining room was a must on my list.  The Norman Rockwell image in my head of dad standing at the head of the table about to carve the giant turkey while eager family members watch in anticipation from their seats was just something I needed to have. 😉  When it was time for a dining room makeover at the Avendale House I was so excited!

Here’s a look at where we started:

You can see my paint swatches on the wall and the tape on the floor marking out a potential table.  This room, like the rest of the house (remember this kitchen before and after?) was a very dark, mustard-gold with a real Tuscan vibe.  We wanted to lighten and brighten and give it a coastal feel.  It is only a few minutes from the beach after all!

We started with paint, and boy!  What a difference it made! (paint color is Valspar St. Francis Clay Angel from Lowes)

Quite a difference with that brighter paint, right?  After the paint I had my wonderful finish carpenter build some built in storage for linens and other dining room essentials.  We also added a new light fixture.  I love the way the light bounces off of the shells and dances on the ceiling.

It’s always amazing to me how each little piece of a room plays such a big part.  When you see them added one by one like this you can really see it.   Next up, furniture and accessories.  I fell head over heels for that gorgeous carved wood medallion one night at HomeGoods.  I was ecstatic to find it because I had been struggling with what to do with that huge empty space.  As soon as I saw it I knew it was perfect.  I may have been dancing in the aisles.  You could say I was definitely HomeGoods Happy that night! 🙂

We lightened and brightened with a raw pine 60″ round table, some beachy white washed chairs and linen chair cushions.

I kept the drapes consistent with those in the living room and family room since all of the rooms are connected and you can see them all when you are standing in the dining room.

All of the accessories in the room are from HomeGoods.  We stuck with the blue hues and beachy feel in the artwork.  I used this easy trick to make the smaller piece of art for this space.  It’s one of my favorite tips.  I love that beautiful pitcher.  It is a great place to stick branches and other foraged greenery throughout the year.

HomeGoods always has the best vessels!  I love this hammered gold urn I found.  The scale, texture and finish were perfect for this shelf.

I hope you are feeling inspired by this dining room makeover!  You can see that even just something as simple as paint and new accessories can really make an older dining room feel new again.  Experiment with changing a few things up in your dining room and see how different it feels.

Check out other room reveals from this home makeover:

Colorful Tween Bedroom Makeover (as seen in J-14 Magazine)

Family Room Re-Design

Master Bathroom Remodel Before and After

 Preppy Tween Bedroom Makeover (as seen in J-14 Magazine)

Light and Bright Kitchen Makeover

Happy designing!
Tammy