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Monday, July 6, 2015

A fresh new look in the dining room



I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July!  We had a blast celebrating at multiple cookouts with friends, family and lots of fireworks.  (or bang, bangs according to my four year old)

In the middle of all the festive activities I did manage to squeeze in a spur of the moment painting session, which ended up turning into more painting.  It's definietly true what they say, "one thing leads to the next."  It all started with me getting the bright idea to paint our atrium doors the same Sherwin Williams Iron Ore that's on our front door and mudroom doors.  Although, unlike the other spaces, I wasn't getting excited about the end result.  I knew I loved the door color, but something just seemed off.  Something had to change and I knew it wasn't going to be the dark doors.  It was the walls, they looked horrible against the doors and had to go.



Before I get to all the pretty after pictures, let me back up and remind you what this space looked like when we first bought our house.   The dining room had one lonely window, the original builder paint an absolutely no personality.


Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.
{sellers things}

As with all our house projects, we saved until we could afford to make some major updates.   We replaced the window with an atrium door, added crown molding, replaced all the baseboard and trim molding, painted, replaced the light fixture and added board and batten.   The doors alone made a huge difference and brought so much more light into the room, but I have to confess... I never painted them.  They have remained the original unfinished, dingy white for the past few years.  Add to that two young kids, many dirty hands and suddenly our doors no longer looked so new.

As a reminder, here's what the room looked just a few days ago.

Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.

Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.

Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.
After I painted the doors, I got right to painting over the green walls.  
Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.
(we are not adding shoe molding until we refinish our hardwood floors)
Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.
This is what my brother calls "mind tape."  I've mentioned before that I have no patience for prep work.  I like to dive right in and get to the end result.  Ain't nobody got time to tape!  Thankfully, I enjoy painting and think I do a pretty darn good job at it.  Usually, I paint crown first, then walls, then trim, but this time I just went straight to painting the walls.
Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.
Besides the usual disorganized chaos, things were moving along pretty smoothly until this happened...
Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.
That would be the only plant that I have managed to keep alive, which happens to be the plant that is from my grandmothers viewing.  It reminds me of her everyday and it broke my heart to see it in pieces.  Thankfully, the plant survived and the painting went on.
Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.

I absolutely LOVE how this space turned out and cannot believe how much paint completely changed the look and feel of this room.  It instantly brightened the space and now the living room and dining room flow so much better.  I thought I liked the green, but I really, REALLY like the new color. 
Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.
As I was hanging this window (purchased from a co-worker who bought 3 off Craiglist for $15.00!) my husband came upstairs and said "I leave you alone for 5 minutes and you start hanging more fake windows on the wall!"  Men, they just don't understand.
Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.
Since I added the window, my rustic pallet frames got moved to the other side of the wall.
Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.

Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.
I'd love to change the light fixture (again!) , but I'm resisting until we renovate the kitchen.

Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.

Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.

Updated dining room with Sherwin Williams Iron or and Accessible Beige.

I can't rave enough about this paint color.  If you are looking for a great neutral I highly suggest you check out SW Accessible Beige, it's the perfect creamy gray.



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  1. Your room looks fantastic! What a difference the paint makes. Looking back at your original room, replacing the window with the doors was a great idea. I wish I could paint. I think I don't have enough patience to do it and paint ends up everywhere.
    I hope your grandmother's plant continues to thrive. I have several plants that were my mother's and they are over 30 years old. (I only have a pale green thumb so I watch them very carefully. hehehe)

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  2. I love how paint can make such a huge difference but I'm loving those doors! Such a good idea to put them in compared to the lonely window.

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  3. Wow, it looks so much brighter! Love it! And I had a good laugh about your husbands window comment. We had a couple of our old wood windows replaced recently and as the installer was carrying the old windows out to her truck to throw them away, I caught up with her and asked to keep them. Because you can never have enough old windows on the walls, of course! I think my husband thought I had lost my mind! Hahaha!

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  4. SUCH an incredible transformation Katie!!! The colours are perfect and the doors look amazing! You're making me think twice about painting our exterior doors dark now too! Plus, it just so happens that we are hoping to replace a window in our breakfast nook with some french doors too! Definitely feeling inspired! LOVE it!

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  5. This is incredible! Someone needs to hand you a mic, so you can drop it! ;) Love every detail.

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  6. This is GORGEOUS! I loooove how striking it is!

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  7. Wow, I really love this! Such a beautiful room! Glad to hear that the plant survived the fall. :)

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  8. The room looks awesome! I love the black doors and the curtain. I especially like the details of the "4" and the window frame.
    BTW, I love painting, too.
    :-)
    Traci

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  9. The room looks awesome - I love the curtain. It gives me an idea of what to do with my kitchen doors. Thanks!

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  10. I love it. The molding, those curtains and that sideboard!! Swoon. #BIF

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  11. Wow! What a transformation from the way it looked when you moved in! You have such a fun sense of style...Can't wait to see what you'll come up with next!

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  12. Oh my goodness I just LOVE it! Your eye for design is just phenomenal :) The black door looks so much better and your staging just make it feel like such a fun place to share a meal. Can I come over for dinner? ;)

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  13. Wow this room really sings! A truly inspirational space. Awesome window bargain! I love Craigslist. Great job. :) p.s. I hope chevron never goes out of style.

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  14. Great makeover! Your dining room is totally my style. It would fit in perfectly with my home's decor. Nice to find you via the Think & Make Thursday link-up!

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  15. I love this makeover. It is a really awesome update. Love the curtains and the paint color too. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. Wow Katie! This looks fantastic. I love the changes you made.

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  17. I LOVE this transformation! It looks great!

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  18. Love the blue buffet in dining room. Did you paint it. The color???

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  19. Wow, what an amazing transformation! I love the number four and the blue buffet!

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  20. I love THis. Can you tell me where you got the corner piece? That would fit
    perfectly in my dining room.

    Thanks!

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  21. Love the "new" room!...everything about it is beautiful! What color paint is on your trim?? We're using Accessible Beige in a new build and trying to find the right "white"... :-) Thanks!

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    1. Thanks Julie! Accessible Beige is my favorite color and I know it will look amazing in your new home. The trim is just Sherwin-Williams Super Paint white semi-gloss.

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  22. That is it. You're tired and tired of seeing that same entryway handle taking a gander at you every time you go into one room of your home. It may be the case that it's an old, free handle on a lavatory entryway or even the handle from your lounge area to the kitchen that simply has been around far too long and should be supplanted. Out-of-doors, as dining

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  23. No directions on how you did the lower half of the dinning room walls?

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