Dining Room Makeover Reveal!

Hello friends.  Lately I have been going through a 'Out With The Dark..In With The Light' mood when it comes to home decor. I have been restyling my home these last few months and am excited to show you some results so far. I have more work to do and will be showing you photos as I progress. But this is what I have completed so far....... 

Ten years ago I painted and papered my dining room in a green and gold pallette. I loved it then and for many years after.

Lots of crocheted doilies and runners and assorted picture frames..some wood..some not.

Dark floral valance...dust collecting berries on the chandelier. I needed a major change and I was tired of all the dark.

 First to go was the border

After admiring the many design blogs (is there a seat on the bandwagon Nester?) and all the other post about board and batten wall trim, we decided that was what we wanted for this room. Note: these are not the boards we ended up using..you'll see why.

I went with Behr Ultra paint & primer in one. My colors were Silvered Sage and Bleached Linen. This stuff was wonderful! Went on smoothly, no lingering odor, dried fast and it covered beautifully!

I used a satin finish for the top and semi-gloss for below the rail. Already I was loving the change

We went to our local Home Depot, followed Nester's advice and bought a sheet of MDF and had them cut all our boards for us. How is that for easy! Hint: insist on a new blade for a clean cut. We asked nice and they we happy to oblige. Hey all they could say was 'NO'...it is worth asking.

 My hubby cut the slats to the correct height and I sanded them. I applied one coat of paint before I adhered them to the wall. I used Liquid Nails Paneling Adhesive to glue the boards to the wall. Let me tell you...this stuff grabs and holds like an iron grip and was so easy to work with..lots of play time if needed. Leaving it set overnight, I then caulked around the boards and painted the whole bottom wall with more Bleached Linen.

I bought this gold frame years ago from a ritzy shop going out of business. I never knew what to do with it. The giant M was picked up at Hobby Lobby on sale. It was a creepy gold and I spray painted it black and mounted it inside the gold frame..perfect!

 I also spray painted all my outdated and old wood frames black. Much cleaner and I think the photos are presented better.

All the plates on the walls were found at my local Salvation Macy's (Army). They ranged from $1 to $6 and are all vintage or antiques. Such an inexpensive and beautiful way to decorate. 

The window treatments are my favorite feature of this makeover. I wanted a clean and simple white panel look. I searched for drapes and was not happy with anything in the stores. On one of my thrifting trips, I spotted a large white Ikea heavy cotton bed sheet for $1.99. It was Wednesday and you all know everything is 25% off at the Salvation Macy's on Wednesdays. So for $1.50 I was the happy owner. I cut the sheet in half and used the hem for the header pocket...No sewing!!!!!!!!! Does it get any easier than that?

PS...I am sooooooo tempted to paint my dining room set! Not sure if I have the nerve ;-(

This is exactly the look I was going for..I am so happy with the end result.

This sweet thrift store tier table got the spray paint treatment also...can you tell I becoming addicted to spray paint? 

Gone are the many doilies and table runners (I'll use them for my aprons!) Gone is the heavy, dark area rug. Now when I come into this room I get a feeling of serenity and simplicity. I'm sure the whole makeover was done for less than $100.00...paint (2 gal), wood, plates and bed sheet. I can handle that.

I still have a few more things to change. I will be spray painting the chandelier and recovering the chair seats. I'll keep you posted on those jobs.

Next I will be revealing the living and sitting room and kitchen. I liked the color 'Bleached Linen' so much, I decided to paint my kitchen cabinets. I'm such a glutton for punishment.

Until next time...be kind and stay creative.