Dining Room Makeover {Before and After}

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The dining room in our new home was sooo NOT my style. The previous owners had not changed a thing from the previous owners before them! So we were looking at a dining room that was trapped in the ’90’s. See what I mean…

dining room before

Do you see those ties on the curtains? I ask…what is up with that? I hated those curtains from the moment I laid eyes on them. My friend came over the very first week we were in the home. She noticed those and asked, “Are those hair ties on your curtains?” ::ugh:: I immediately ripped those puppies off the wall. It was a moment of pure joy. 🙂

Once those ugly curtains were down I could see my vision for this room. It was just a process of gathering all the pieces at the right prices. I waited for sales and finally was rewarded with this new room…

Dining room after at inspirationformoms.com

Big change right? I know! I love it. It has become my favorite room in the house. Maybe that’s because all of the other rooms still need to be remodeled! 😉

The first thing I did to this space was paint the walls. I don’t know why the previous owners were so obsessed with that dirty red color. I chose a soft grey called Reflection by Sherwin Williams. It was amazing to see how much bigger the room looked immediately after I finished painting. I think by having those corner pillars painted red, it made the room feel and look much smaller.

As soon as the paint was dry, I hung my Pottery Barn inspired Eagan multi-panel mirror on the far wall. (You can make one too with my easy tutorial found here!) I love how it reflects light from the glass patio door on the opposite side of the room.

Next it was time to add the furniture…a new dining room table, a pair of chairs and a matching sideboard.

This table had me at Hello! Just look at those beautiful chunky wood legs. Gorgeous! Oh and did I mention it weighs like 250 pounds. Ya. Believe me….this table is solid. 😉

close up of dining room table

Since this table is longer than my old dining set, I bought two new upholstered chairs. I love the nail head trim along the back and they are soooooo comfy.

close up of chair in dining room

I placed the new dining set on my new rug. It’s also a soft grey color and oh is it soft on the tootsies!

No new dining room is complete without a beautiful chandelier. To me, there was nothing beautiful about this light.

dining room before 1

The old one was really low and it was so bright! I would squint during every nightly meal. It had to go but I did keep the baby. 😉 I replaced it with this beauty…

dining room after reveal 2

This light “made” this room complete. At first I thought it might be too bold or big for the table. But once I hung it up…it looked perfect. I even installed a dimmer to give the room a soft candlelight glow for when we eat our super fancy meals like grilled cheese and tomato soup. Come on…everything looks better in soft light. 😉 I love the linen drum shades too.

Even though I had lots of dark items (table, chairs, chandelier) I tried to counter with light (walls, carpet, curtains). I think it turned out to be a nice balance. The price tag wasn’t to bad too…

Like I mentioned before, I waited for sales on almost everything this room needed. Even my paint was bought 40% off. Every penny counts right? So just for fun I totaled up the items for this room as if I had paid full price.

Dining room before and after reveal at a bargain price!

I saved almost 63% off this room makeover. Nice, right?! I still want to grab a few more accessories. Maybe some art for the walls? I’ll keep you posted on any updates to the room.

Thanks for coming by and checking out the new dining room. 🙂

Source List:

Linking Up At: Thrifty Decor Chick

39 Comments

  1. Beautiful room! I agree that the lighter walls and carpet help to soften the other dark wood elements. Love it. Thank you for sharing your makeover with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday! Pinned and tweeted to share 🙂
    ~Laurie

  2. What a beautiful dining room makeover! That table is one solid and beautiful piece. And the mirror is also a standout in the room.

  3. I love the chandelier. I need a new one for my family room to replace the ceiling fan. I think lighting can transform a room. The legs on that table rock too.
    Vising from Best of the Blogland.

  4. I am glad I found you on the Totally Terrific Tuesday! Your room looks so beautiful and I love how you did it on a budget. I can relate to the muddy red color, because our previous house owner was also obsessed with it (walls, carpet, doors…) I am slowly ridding our house of it! Great transformation!

    1. The muddy red…it must have been a fad?! I still have a master bathroom with that color. {sigh} Together Mary, we will rid our homes of this color…one room at a time! 🙂 Thanks so much for your sweet comment and happy painting!

  5. This is a very successful makeover! Despite some of the dark lines and metals…you have managed to give the room life in the mirrors and the earthy wood of the table. Add more—I don’t think I really would, other than switiching out some acessories with the seasons. I can see some green and stark white bulbs, on the table in a month or so. Great job! Sandi

  6. Lovely transformation! I especially love the chairs and the light fixture. You did an amazing job on finding the items you loved at great prices!

  7. Your dining room is gorgeous! It looks a beautiful place to sit, eat and have great conversation! Amazing job!

  8. I love everything about the room – you have done a fab job.

    I am a bit envious as we have a really small open plan house where the table is right next to the kitchen area.

  9. I am sure they were trying to accent the architectural feature of the room by painting them that dark red – but UGH! design fail.

    Your room looks so calm and inviting. Thanks for sharing on the #HomeMattersParty – I hope you will join us, next week.

  10. Laura, you did an amazing job not only saving so much money but it creating a beautiful dinning room, I love it all, but the one thing that stands out was the mirror, (I saw your tutorial when you posted it) I have been toying with the idea of creating one myself. Anyway, I love your new look, what a fun room for family and entertaining guests, you should be proud!!!
    Thanks too for sharing on Friday Features this past week, now I will be featuring your post on this weeks Friday Features, wahoo!!

    Wishing you a great weekend!!
    Karren
    Oh My Heartsie Girl

  11. Wow, Laura you totally nailed it in this room!!! I love bargain shopping for decor and I love that you provided a detailed source list. I’m going to have to check out your mirror tutorial. It all gets a big “wow” from me!!! Enjoy your new space!! Xo

    1. Thanks so much, Jeanette! I’ve had that mirror for years now…it’s one of my favorite DIY projects. It will probably go with me to the grave. 😉 lol XO

  12. Love how you have refreshed this room and made it your own. Beautiful! I have the same old light fixture in the house we bought. We hope to be replacing it soon and doing more painting to update to the 21st century!!

  13. Great transformation! I love the dining table, and I also love a good sale. So, awesome job on making it more cost effective! Thanks for sharing!

  14. Wonderful makeover. You dining room is so warm and welcoming now.

    I especially love the new table. It certainly was worth the wait.

    Thanks for sharing your post and the Links. I saved a couple of them, I even found out Overstock ships to Canada.. Yeah!

  15. Love how your Dining Room turned out! The curtains, chandy and table are just perfect!

    Thanks for sharing this at the DI & DI Link Party.

  16. I love the commentary about the previous owners. OMG what were they thinking – those curtains. LOL Your makeover totally transformed the room into an awesome looking space.

    Love that big wood table – it does look like it weighs a ton! I really need to give my dining area a makeover too. Thanks for sharing your inspiring ideas at the #HomeMattersParty this week.

  17. Hi Laura! I absolutely adore the job you did and how your dining room turned out. What a fabulous makeover. Thank you so much for sharing with us at Dishing It & Digging It & congratulations on being featured this week 🙂

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