White Linen curtains with a gas stove and art on the wall

Dining Room Makeover

A Whole New View

We didn’t expect to be doing a dining room makeover for at least another year, if not two. The plan was to makeover the living room and dining room at the same time since they’re open to each other and, frankly, made more sense. But…it just so happens I sleep ordered a rug for the dining room (thanks sleep-aid we shall not name).

The rug came in and it was far too large for the space and wasn’t really what I would have wanted for under the table. We shipped it back and thought, might as well try again. Apparently my subconscious wants me to redo the dining room. I get it. I am one of “those” people who sit in each at the dining room table every night. Since I do, might as well enjoy the view.

BEFORE

Bare window looking into a neighboring field
BEFORE: the view from my dining room table.

One of the favorite things about our house is this east facing window. There are many mornings and evenings I stand and gaze out at deer in the yard from here. The space needed fabric to soften all the hard edges. I was hesitant to put anything up because I was worried the curtains would be closed all the time. After instructing discussing how the curtains need to stay open, I ordered these from Ikea via Amazon from Eileen and Co’s suggestion on IG.

The change was immediate and drastic. It worked so great at softening the whole room.

AFTER

White Linen curtains with a gas stove and art on the wall

The lighting in this room was a big issue. There were two outdated chandeliers in the space that forced the table sit in the middle of the room. It didn’t look right and it didn’t feel right. I knew what I wanted to do, but honestly, I didn’t feel quite confident enough to do it, UNTIL. I happened to stumble on the IG post from Lauren Liess below and knew I could make it work. The focus needed to be on the table my husband built for me. The other area is basically a walk-through and I wanted it to feel as such.

Lauren Liess

Here is the solution I came up with. I LOVE it. I also love that flush-mount enough I plan on using it in other parts of the downstairs open area (see that boob light in the background? Yep, it’s gotta go!)

Two gold lights in a dining room

We added the rug and then set the table with one of my favorite thrifted napkin finds ever. I got a brand new set of 12 napkins for $3.00. The rug fits wonderfully in the room. It’s not only the right size, but give just enough detail to keep it interesting.

Blank dining room before makeover
Handmade table with white chairs and a gold chandelier
Beautiful Bouquet of Summer flowers on a handmade table
Childrens dining table
The kids table.
Dining Room Chandlier

The before the reveal day I was scrolling through Facebook Marketplace (as one does) and found this china cabinet for (I think) $150.00. It ended up being shorter and more narrow than I wanted, but my husband loved it and we really needed it for function in the dining room. He says I have too much, I say we just need more storage. 🙂

I filled the top with tall plants to add height and placed art work along the side to make it feel wider than it is.

China cabinet with plants on top
Two art prints of Spanish dancers

Sources:

Paint: BM Dove Wing

Rug

Flush-mount Light

Chandelier

Curtains

Curtain Rings

Curtain Rod

There are some affiliate links. And you can find more of my favorites here!

Let me know what you think about the unexpected dining room makeover.

Dining room at four different view-points

1 thought on “Dining Room Makeover”

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