This Bold Dining Room Makeover Only Cost $150
This dining room had a lot going for it — natural light, wood trim, a soothing palette, the fact that it exists — but its owner couldn’t get past how “boring and beige” it felt. Paint to the rescue, and no, it’s not all white.
Here’s a bit more about the before.
This house was as beige and boring as you could get, from brown carpet, brown trim, beige walls, and builder-grade light fixtures. The room was pretty much a blank slate that just needed some personality injected into it!
The light was definitely builder-grade, and a room this graceful with such nice high ceilings just calls out for a fabulous pendant. Let’s see if it got one …
It did indeed. That pendant is an excellent central focal point for the room, but even its fabulousness can’t distract from those dreamy green walls. That color is absolutely to-die-for, and I appreciate that the usual color configuration we see (dark floors/lower walls, pale upper walls) has been flipped, giving the green the prominent place it deserves. Painting the chair rail white was another smart move, as now it just adds elegant texture, like delicate piping on a wedding cake. The newly white window frames have the same effect, and the gossamer white curtains add a sophisticatedly floaty element.
It seems like Katherine Tlapa of My Eclectic Grace totally nailed the goals for this makeover.
I wanted a space to eat and entertain in that evoked good emotions! I wanted a space that was calming but had a good energy to it too, which is why I chose the colors I did. I was so sick of looking at this space which stood empty for months, and finally decided it needed some TLC.
Here’s the room with most of the furnishings removed, the point at which Katherine started work.
From the first paint stroke to the finishing touch it took two weeks. Overall the whole dining room cost $150! I had a lot of pieces already — but I bought an old dining table and weathered it. I designed the whole gallery wall — including the prints, and my boyfriend switched out the lighting! We didn’t bring in outside help; I really enjoy DIY projects and it was really just a cosmetic facelift. There weren’t any setbacks — other than when I accidentally spilled half a gallon of black paint on the carpet halfway through painting the door!
This table perfectly fits the room, leaving enough space for the cute bar cart. The white chairs add a modern counterpoint to the rustic table and bench, while also disappearing a bit into the white wall. The gallery wall is cute as is, but I could also see it expanding over the years.
After completing this update, Katherine has some super-helpful advice.
My advice it to give yourself a whole weekend and just work until you can’t anymore. Spacing things out make it easier to procrastinate — I like to just power through and set a deadline for myself. You’ll be happy you pushed through! Another word of advice — make sure you buy enough paint, I ran out halfway through the project in the middle of the day and it was annoying to have to run out to get more!
Surprise — black door! The green-white-black combo is fantastic, and more products should be available in this colorway. The white sheepskin on the bench is both cozy and well coordinated with the white walls and chairs, and its texture also links in the carpet.
It’s great to hear that Katherine is gratified with the results of all this hard work.
I love how bold this space is. I love the wall color—I have never been in anyone’s home that had a color this bold in a living space. Painting the trim white and doors black made the space look very high-end and the light fixture is truly one of a kind. It’s from IKEA but it’s unique and I love the shadows it casts in the evening.
If I could do anything different, I think I would’ve ripped up the carpet! But that will be coming down the line when the budget expands.
Thank you, Katherine Tlapa of My Eclectic Grace!
This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before and After: This Bold Dining Room Only Cost $150 to Completely Redo