Last Christmas I shared a mini-reveal of our Dining Room Makeover; but we were waiting on our ceiling light to ship. It arrived, we finally got it installed {it wasn't an easy one} and now you get to see the whole space!
As a reminder, here is where we started. It already had beautiful wood ceiling beams, a gas fireplace and three big windows for tons of sunlight. I also liked the crown molding, trim detail and the creamy color on the top half of the walls.
The dining room is located to the left as soon as you enter our home. The previous owners used it as their living room; but that didn't make sense for us. Our long farmhouse table wouldn't have fit in any other room in this house.
Plus, we love having a fireplace in our dining room.
I know that painting brick is a bit controversial -- and I do like brick inside homes when it's in the right space. In this room, though, I wanted the space to feel light and bright. The red and brown brick just made the room feel so much darker -- and after one only coat of white primer, I knew that painting the brick was the right choice.
White also lets your accessories be the focal point -- and this is a mantle, after all. What fun is decorating a mantle when the accessories blend into the background? The same goes with wall art, if you love to collect art, white walls might be a great choice for you.
The color palette is simple. This is the main room we entertain in, so I
wanted it to be the type of room that I could decorate for any party
theme and not worry about "working with" the decor. Grey, white and
black are pretty flexible. There are some small doses of blue and green; but they could easily be switched out with other accent colors.
Our hutch is on the wall nearest the kitchen. This makes prepping serving dishes, or setting the table, quick and simple.
I always like a pretty room; but function has to come first. After hosting a party or two, it was clear that we needed more serving space besides just the center of the dining room table. We "shopped the house" and brought in a buffet that was being used as a TV stand in our family room. The buffet is flanked with two chairs in case we need additional seating.
We've got art throughout the dining room; but the final wall has a special display with some of our favorite photos. It's a collection of vacation photos that we've taken and then had printed on canvas in black and white. Why are they in our dining room? Well, they've become great conversation pieces. Our guests ask about these photos more than anything else in our home {& it was the same way in our last home}.
Of course, no dining room would be complete without a place to share a meal together. This table was one of our first big purchases as a married couple and we specifically wanted something that could seat 8-10 people. It does the job; it's where we eat, chat and play games with visitors. We chose a statement light to highlight the table as the center -- and most important piece --
of this room.
That may have been a bit of a picture overload; but we are just so pleased with this space and I'm excited to share! You can find all the sources, tutorials and previous blog posts in this post.
Linked to: Remodelaholic,
Thrifty Decor Chick,
Your Designs This Time, The Makers, Inspiration Link Party, Talented Tuesday, Create and Share DIY and Recipe, Moonlight and Mason Jars, Your Turn to Shine,
Labels: Before and After, Dining Room, Lora's Home
