My dining room is finally a room that makes me happy. It started out as a tiny little bright nook with an ugly light, and now with a hand-me-down table and chairs, an eBay find, a marked-down pendant lamp, lots of wedding and Christmas gifts, a little paint and a new $50 antique store score (yippee!) it has turned into a lovely little room in our house.
Here is the move-in condition – yuck:
And here is what it looks like today! We picked up that sideboard at the antique store the other day for $50! We inherited the table and chairs from my husband’s parents after the table couldn’t withstand being outdoors in the winter here. They originally purchased it for their deck but the grout started to crack when it froze (yay for us!). The chairs go with a wood and green vinyl card table that they weren’t using, but we thought they went nicely with the table.
If you’ve been reading recently you know that the pendant light was a Pottery Barn markdown, and I am so happy to get the old light out of there! The bamboo sliding panels in the background cover our sliding glass door – I found those on eBay! I despise vertical blinds and didn’t want curtains there so I looked to eBay. We painted the stripes on the wall back in December and love the look. The best part is the paints are different finishes so it gives it a wallpaper feel (the green is a semi-gloss and the ivory is a satin – a great trick for painting stripes!).
I also picked some lilacs from my backyard for some fragrance…I love fresh flowers! Especially free ones from my own yard!
Almost everything else (except the sideboard itself) was a wedding or Christmas gift so this room was made-over for about $200! And that includes the cheap wine in the wine rack. It sure was yummy, though! We filled it with our wedding china, table linens, serving platters and specialty glassware. I don’t have a lot of white in my house, but I have an abundance of white dishes. It’s a great base for entertaining, plus it doesn’t compete with the colors of the food! And it never goes out of style!
And last night my sister-in-law told me she saw a big truck being unloaded into our local antique store…I guess I have to make another trip this week to see what else I can score!
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About Me
I'm an interior designer and a draftsperson, but I live in the country. I like it that way. I'm also a firefighter's wife, mom to 2 cute kids, and a homeowner and I like that even better. But right after that is a pretty and affordable space...and I mean a REALLY affordable space. Because I believe good design can be for EVERYONE!
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Great dining room makeover
And yes, a HUGE improvement over what you started with!! The striped walls look really good — I like that the ivory stripes are narrower than the green ones. The sideboard is a wonderful find, and the table & chairs do work well together. The drum pendant is the perfect finishing touch 
Kelly @ DesignTies
Love the new light fixture! I always love reading posts about spaces that are transformed so effectively.
I absolutely love the room, the mix of things gel so well together, great job!
I think its great! Big transformation on a little budget. . . that’s my kind of design!! Good job!
I am a HUGE fan of drum shade pendant lights! And those stripes are awesome (thx for the tip on using different finishes!).
Great job!
Great transformation!!! I love that new light fixture — what a difference it makes! And great tip on using different paint finishes to add texture!
What lovely taste you have . Your table and chairs are just divine and your light fixture is va va va voom.
Your DR looks so great! It’s amazing what paint alone can do. Everything looks fantastic!
*Tricia
Wow, you have worked wonders on a very small budget — I am impressed. Your dining room looks lovely! Congratulations. (I love the table and chairs — very bistro looking!) Cass
Super. Love the stripes (I have painted stripes at my house). I like how simple and straightforward it is. I feel like I could breath in there. Very good luck on the table I think. No worry about spills.
I am so glad you all love it as much as I do!! I can’t believe the difference that the sideboard makes…plus it freed up a ton of storage in our teeny cabinets. It makes me so happy every time I walk in there! Thank you all for the wonderful comments!! Come back anytime!
Beautiful makeover! I love the green stripes they have a very calming affect.
This is a wonderful job! Where did you get that table?
Looks fantastic! I love the stripes and the new light is perfect for the space.
It was given to us by my in-laws but I believe it’s from Pier 1. Thanks!!!