Dining Room Makeover Plans

If you’ve been following along on our From the Front Porch posts each week, you’ve already seen a few sneak peeks into our dining room makeover plans. Things are falling into place thanks to my brothers in law and dad who basically set the schedule for this project.

I honestly, didn’t think we’d be able to start working on the dining room until late Spring.  In fact, if you looked at the TCG editorial calendar, you would see a lot of organization and small project post ideas scheduled.

But things have a funny way of working themselves out sometimes, you know?

One of my brothers in law said he could come and help move furniture the weekend of my birthday party so I could paint. Then the other brother in law said he could help move the furniture back in place the following weekend. My Dad said he could rebuild the little buffet if I could have it to him by Super Bowl weekend to which he then turned around and delivered it back to me yesterday!

It’s been a crazy few weeks trying to fit all the pieces together since one person’s job depended on another’s, but we’ve all rallied, and things are moving right along.  There’s still a lot to do though…

Just to catch you up if you’re new here, last September, we gave the entry a makeover by installing board and batten, repainting the walls in Valspar’s Bistro White, hanging a new chandelier and giving the existing entry bench a refresh.

In October, we started the 6-week adventure of working on the kitchen makeover for the Fall One Room Challenge.  Once those projects were finished, we had planned to give the dining room a makeover as well.

The dining room basically sits in the middle of the kitchen and the entry which are both painted in Bistro White. Needless to say, it looked super weird to pass through the dining room which was still painted in the original “builder’s beige.” Unfortunately, S fell two weeks before the One Room Challenge final reveal post was set to go live and all our projects got put on hold for the remainder of the year.

Our main goal for the makeover was to reuse and refresh as many pieces from the existing dining room we as could. Part of this is due to our budget for home makeovers this year because we’ll be working on other rooms that need a lot more work than the dining room does.  The other reason is because most of the pieces in the dining room are already functional or in good shape, so it doesn’t really make sense to replace them yet.

We’ve painted the walls of the dining room in Bistro White and the trim in Ultra White to keep a consistent color palette throughout the house.  We still love the dining room table and the dining room chandelier from Ballard Designs so those will both stay.

We’ll more than likely give the chandelier a simple refresh by adding chandelier shades, but I’ll probably wait until I see all the other details come together before I make the final decision on those.

I originally thought we would keep the buffet we made from the old fence posts at Loblolly Manor but S finally fessed up and said this piece “looked too weird to be in the dining room.”

My Mom and I have been hunting for a replacement buffet for almost a month now and we just haven’t found anything we love though.  So, I asked my Dad to help me fix up the buffet we were using as a nightstand in one of the bedrooms until I can find just the right piece.

Eventually, I would love to have a different hutch but for now, this one is still functional and it’s sentimental too. It was one of the first pieces I ever brought home to rehab which was long before I ever thought someone would pay me to paint a piece of furniture let alone makeover their entire house.

The dining room hutch will be painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Paris Grey and I’ve planked the back of the top of the hutch. The planks will be painted in Valspar’s Du Jour. I’ll also be adding a decorative piece to the top of the hutch and painting it in Paris Grey.

Initially, I was on the fence about replacing the white chairs in the dining room because I couldn’t decide which chair selection would be the best bang for the buck…upholstered vs slipcovered vs bare wood. The youngest little will be 4 this year and having family friendly fabrics is a must for all our homes.

Well, naturally, I’ve fallen in love with a slipcovered chair that costs about $375. Given I need 6 or 8 chairs that would be around $2250-$3000 which is totally bananas. So, while I’m trying to find an alternative, I’ve decided to keep the white chairs in place and not rush things.   You can see here how a slipcovered or French Country style chair might look though.

As far as rugs go, we’re hoping to give the living room a refresh this year as well, so I’ve decided to use the rug we currently have in the living room in the dining room. Honestly, it’s a really neutral rug, it will help add a bit of texture, and it’s in great shape, so it basically seems like a no-brainer.

I’ve also decided to make and hang a set of antelope print curtains in the dining room.  One of my brothers in law rehung the curtain rod for me so I’m hoping to work on the curtains this week since I already have the fabric.

As far as artwork goes, you guys know it.gets.me.every.time.  I could seriously be finished with a room for a month or longer before I ever decide on wall art! I’ve gone around and round with my Mom over this issue since we started the dining room makeover and I’m still no closer to a decision or clear direction.

The only thing I know for sure it that we’ll place the existing tobacco basket over the buffet my Dad is redoing as farming has had a significant impact on my Mom’s upbringing so it’s a non-negotiable piece.

While the plans for this dining room makeover seems like a lot, as I shared above, we are making pretty good progress considering it’s only been a few weeks since we started this project.  Here’s a list of what’s been done and what we have left to finish…

  • Paint the walls Valspar’s Bistro White
  • Paint the trim in Valspar’s Ultra White
  • Install trim around the dining room window
  • Keep the existing dining room table
  • Move rug from the living room to the dining room
  • Paint the dining room hutch with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey
  • Plank the back of the dining room hutch
  • Paint the dining room hutch planks in Valspar’s Du Jour
  • Paint decorative piece with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey
  • Spray paint dining room hutch hardware
  • Have Dad fix up the small buffet
  • Keep the existing dining room chandelier from Ballard Designs
  • Rehang curtain rod
  • Make antelope print curtains
  • Paint window trim in Ultra White
  • Keep/Refresh the existing dining room chairs
  • Add decorative piece to the top of the dining room hutch
  • Repaint small buffet (I haven’t decided on a color just yet)
  • Add shades or crystals to the dining room chandelier
  • Hang tobacco basket
  • Locate and install wall art
  • Create dining room table centerpiece
  • Sort through/donate ironstone and transferware pieces

Even though we don’t have the pieces all in place yet, I’m excited about what we’ve been able to accomplish so far, and I know everything else will come together in the coming weeks.

What are you guys working on this month? Any fun projects you’re excited about too?

I’ll see you guys back here tomorrow to share more about the buffet and hutch makeover.  It looks so different we can hardly believe the transformation! Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Many blessings,

CoCo

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5 Comments

  1. Wow CoCo – your ideas, plans and style are beautiful! We just KNOW that this room will be as fabulous as you are. We are ready to follow along, each step of the way!Much love!

    1. I appreciate it ladies, thank you! As you know these design boards start out one and end up another 🙂 It’s going to be fun! Hugs and love, CoCo

  2. This room is going to look completely different Coco. I’m excited to follow along and watch your progress.

    1. Thank you, Sarah! There are parts of this project that feel like they are flying by and other parts that feel like they are crawling at a snails pace ha ha. I’ll be glad when everything comes together though. It’s been fun. Hugs, CoCo

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