my new dining room

When we bought our home last October I decided to make the dining room a top priority.
The previous owner had painted the lower walls dark maroon and painted all of the walls and trim
a tan color. Needless to say, those are NOT my colors!



Before shots of the dining room

The first order of business was to beg Caleb to put his handy man skills to work and
to put up molding on the lower half of the walls.
He did this for me in less than 2 days!
I think he did an awesome job ... especially considering that he'd never done anything like it before.

The dining room had a newish looking chandelier that looked like it came from Lowe's.
Caleb and I bought this GORGEOUS circa 1950's "made in Spain" chandelier at
a flea market last fall for only $40.
My dad installed it for us the day we moved into the house.
The cute white quail figurines I bought last week for only $1.50 (total!) at a consignment store
that is going out of business.

The large mirror I purchased at a thrift store for $20.
I like that it helps reflect light around the room.
The sconces are a pair that my dad bought me recently.
I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for candles that aren't white or maroon.

The pair of Hollywood Regency pictures I bought at Goodwill last fall.
I think I paid $20 for the pair.
I LOVE them and oddly enough ...so does Caleb!
I love it when we agree on decorating.

The rug is from Target.
My sister helped me pick it out. She also took all these photos for me.
We bought 6 of the chairs at a consignment store in Greensboro.
I think we paid $100 ish for all 6. Then we found a matching one at a junk store for $10.
I would love to find one more and make it a set of 8.
Because I'm like Monk and I don't like weird numbers. I like evenness.
The fabric was on sale at Joann's PLUS I had a 50% off coupon.
The chairs were stained a dark color and I spray painted them a gloss white.
The table is from the same consignment store in Greensboro and
I believe I paid $100 for it a couple of years ago.
It was a cream color and I recently painted it white.
The china cabinet is from a junk shop.
It's very 1950's - 1960's French / Regency style and I think it was $125.
I was going to paint it and then ended up liking the way it looked with the other furniture.


I got the curtains on sale at TJMaxx for $10.

A view from the living room.
I love the arched doorways in our home!
This is the first thing people see when they walk through our front door.

I knew I wanted to do something dramatic on the upper walls.
I decided to paint them with some of that metallic paint from Lowe's (Valspar).
The color is called "Simple Shimmer".
It's insanely expensive and it ended up needing way more paint than the paint can said...
However...I'm in love with the outcome!
It is a process and a half to put that stuff up and to make it look good.
I freely admit to being brought to tears by it midway through the painting process.

I found a set of matching vintage light switch covers with matching plug covers on Ebay for $15.
My dad helped us to install a dimmer switch for the chandelier.
I love being able to control the brightness level in there!

You can read about the peacock picture makeover here.

 I couldn't be happier with the outcome!
Having your dining room exactly how you want it and making it so inviting is a blessing.
It also has inspired me to be more creative with my table settings and to actually put to use all those
pretty vintage dishes I've collected for years now.

I love a good challenge and making over the dining room on a budget was fun!








  








homework










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Comments

  1. This is a beautiful transformation! I love the colors you chose and all the vintage items give it a distinct personality. Well done!

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  2. Your dining room looks absolutely beautiful! Wonderful job on all your thrifty finds. I really like your paint color in the entryway, too. (It's what I've been thinking of for my bedroom. It's good to know that I'll need more paint than it says.)

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  3. thanks ya'll!
    and Miss Charming...I only had to use a gallon of the base coat, which is just a regular paint color. One gallon of the base gave me 2 coats with a tad left over. But it did require 2 full gallons of the shimmery top coat stuff. So all told it was about $120 just to paint the upper half of the walls. The lower walls, trim, & doors I used Walmart brand paint to help cut down on cost. I figure all that still comes out waaaay cheaper than buying wallpaper and then hiring someone to put it up.

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  4. This is absolutely STUNNING! You did such a fabulous job making over this room and I loved all of the details. You did so much on such a small budget and made it look like a million bucks! :-) The chandy is perfect and I studied your picture molding because I am going to be doing that in my dining room soon...hope my handy hubby will help me too!
    I'm your newest follower and would love to have you stop by sometime for a visit. We have a linky party going on right now too if you wanted to join in the fun!
    Vanessa

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  5. What a gorgeous makeover! You did such a wonderful job with a budget! I'd love for you to share this beautiful dining room at my link party.
    Simply Creations Link Party

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  6. LOVE your dining room! What a beautiful space! I am loving the color of those drapes and with the white furniture it is just wonderful!! Thanks for sharing this at Feathered Nest Friday! :)

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  7. Wow! Your dining room is beautiful. I have only one sconce exactly like yours. I don't know how I will find another one like it that is affordable (I mean cheap:).

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  8. It's so annoying when you want pairs of something and then you can't ever find it. Or you find pairs, but they're hideous pairs of something. I've been looking for the last year for a pair of decent size chairs for my living room. I can find all the ugly chair pairs (that sounds weird lol) that I want...but can I find cute matching ones in my price range? nope!

    I love symmetry and matching things.
    I wanted a sconces and now I have an abundance lol It's strange how things work out like that. But I've found that patience for a good price does always work out. It's just hard in the mean time :)

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  9. Your dining room looks great! Perfect colors. The goodwill pictures were made for that room! The room is welcoming and serene.
    -Trish

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  10. your dining room looks fabulous...

    Would luv for our readers to discover this.
    please add it to our linking party here
    http://www.passionatelyartistic.com/2011/06/beautiful-furniture-redo-pop-up-cards.html
    Have a great week,
    Maggie
    http://passionatelyartistic.com

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  11. Love the transformation! NIce to meet a fellow designer who loves to decorate on a shoestring budget! I have been working on my own dining room (also done on a dime budget) and I am almost finished. I love how its turning out. Your room is divine and no one would ever guess it was done with on a small budget!

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  12. Your dining room is beautiful! What a great job you've done putting it all together and making it look so good. I sure hope you find lucky chair #8.

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  13. Beautiful transformation! I too love the curtins with the white room it sparkles! Tell me more about the Valspar paint that glimmers? I have not seen it before. Which color did you choose? Do you think I would work on a chest of drawers? I'm now a follower.
    ~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

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  14. Oh Yeah, be sure to stop by and see what I did with my mirror. It's a twin to yours and I painted it white too but added some Bling with flowers. It hangs above my diningroom buffet. You may have to go back a few posts to see it.
    ~ ~Ahrisha~~

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  15. great transformation. I'm on the lookout for a new (thrifted!) dining set myself. Love what you've done!
    Mary

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  16. Thanks for all the kind words ya'll!

    @Ahrisha - The paint is called Brilliant Metals (http://www.lowes.com/pd_214271-4-007.0214271.007_4294806282+4294962470+4294868283+5003698+4294868279_19_?productId=3107109&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_quantity_sold%7C1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_No_4294806282%2B4294962470%2B4294868283%2B5003698%2B4294868279_19_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_quantity_sold%7C1&facetInfo=Valspar%20Signature%20Colors%7CNo%7C$25%20-%20$50%7CYes&stop_mobi=yes)

    and the color I went with is "Simple Shimmer".
    My mom recently used some in her master bathroom. I *think* she went with the "Pewter" one, which is very similar and VERY chic! I almost picked that one myself and ended up going one shade of silver lighter.

    I would think that it would work on a chest of drawers. In fact, I'm pretty sure a long time ago I saw someone on a blog do that. You have to buy a special roller that valspar sells for applying the paint. The people at Lowe's can direct you on what all you need.

    I saw your mirror hanging over your buffet. It looks lovely! I love large mirrors in dining rooms :)
    Thanks for stopping by!
    Adri

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  17. Hi there! I just found your blog and I LOVE your dining room! Great job! I think I'll go check out the rest of your blog now. :)

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  18. Hi Adrianne, your dining room is beautiful. I actually heard myself sigh when I saw your photos. I'd love for you to come by on Fridays and link up with Vintage Inspiration Friday. Have a great weekend! xo Debra

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  19. What a lovely home. I'm a new follower and I love your style! Pop over for a visit sometime!
    xoxo,
    Kim

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  20. What a classy room....no one would ever guess how you did it so "thriftily"!

    Jan

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  21. Wow...I love it all... Truly an outstanding makeover! I'm in love with the molding (aren't handy hubbies the best). You really know how to score some great bargains. I'd love to have dinner in your new dining room. ~Yvonne - your newest follower!

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  22. Thanks ya'll! I'm so glad ya'll approve :D
    I try to not decorate sporaticaly, but sometimes I do and then I stand back and look around and think "now WHY did I do that?!" and then I have to shift everything around lol

    and Yvonne thanks! It really is SUCH a blessing to have such a talented handyman for a husband! I grew up with a dad who's equally handy so this made for a reallllly nice transistion...I can continue to be spoiled :D

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  23. I just love seeing before and afters of rooms. You did an outstanding job with you design and color choices. Absolutely love your lighting and especially your sconces!

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  24. What an improvement!!!! That's gorgeous!!!!

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  25. I'm so grateful that you linked up in this week's Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop :) This awesome post totally rocked the party!

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  26. The color of your walls are absolutely gorgeous!! I was just at lowes trying to duplicate it with no luck. I know you said simple shimmer, but was that for the walls or the ceiling? If you could tell me what color you used please?

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