Dining Room Makeover Reveal
After working on this space on and off since late January, I am beyond excited to finally share the dining room makeover reveal with you today.
Truth be told, I had no idea if I should even make a Home Goals List for this year, much less dream about creating spaces we love for this house. As many of you know when my DIY buddy and bestie S, fell in October it significantly altered not only our schedules but the projects we were available to take on as well.
When the new year rolled around and she was still in the wheelchair, I had all but put any house dreams on hold and vowed to simplify, purge and organize instead. But then my super sweet brother in laws offered to help move furniture the weekend of my birthday in late January and it was the first time since S’s accident, I actually felt creative again.
After my brother in laws moved all the furniture out of the way, I started repainting the dining room in Valspar’s Bistro White and the trim work in Valspar’s Ultra White. I can’t even tell what a huge difference it made to finally have all the rooms in the common areas painted the same color. It’s like night and day!
Part of the furniture that had to be moved was the dining room buffet and hutch affectionally known as, “The Beast.” She was one of the first pieces of furniture I ever painted and honestly the black served us well for so many years.
Once we started simplifying our home’s color palette to grays, camels, whites and woodgrains though, the black stuck out like a sore thumb. I knew it would be an easy fix, so, I grabbed my paint brushes and got to work painting the buffet and hutch with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey. I also decided to shiplap the back of the hutch. It’s painted in Valspar’s Du Jour which is a really pretty white.
And I loved it, until I hung up the curtains made from the antelope print fabric I had been hoarding for months. Paris Grey is one of those beautiful chameleon colors that reads as pale gray sometimes and as pale blue-gray other times depending on how much or how little light is in the room.
I should point out here we were making great progress on the dining room up to this point. In fact, according to our project timeline we were set to finish the dining room makeover in February.
But I just couldn’t get over the color and tone combination of the antelope print curtains with the Paris Grey buffet and hutch. I even repainted the buffet and hutch in French Linen to see if that would help.
Thankfully, I decided to move onto another project. I left the antelope print curtains up for a few weeks to see if I would grow to love them and I did love them. Over and over again, though, I just felt like they weren’t the best fit for the dining room.
That’s the thing about having an open concept home – you have to consider all the surrounding spaces – not just the one room you’re working on.
While I was waiting for the curtains to grow on me, my Dad rebuilt a small sideboard we had been using as a nightstand in the one of the bedrooms. At one time we had been housing my ever-growing collection of brown and white transferware on this piece we created from the old fencing from my childhood home, Loblolly Manor.
Without a doubt, the change, forced me to go through all my collections and pare down. I’m not even going to lie, it was tough at times, but the house already feels a bit lighter.
Once the small buffet was in place, I decided to concentrate on the dining room table. The top of the table has a European Oak style finish and we love it. So, the only thing we really had to do was condition the tabletop.
By this point, we were well passed the dining room makeover deadline we had set for ourselves. Mostly because I was still struggling with the color combination of the antelope print curtains and the buffet and hutch.
Honestly, it was S that finally said, “This is worse than watching someone trying to pull a band aid a little at a time. You don’t like the curtains in the dining room. It’s been WEEKS now and we both know you’re not going not like the curtains in the dining room. Just pull the band aid off and find some curtains you actually like!”
After that conversation, I gave myself permission to not only find new curtains, a Waverly fabric called Country House Toile in Platinum,
I also gave myself permission to find a new color for the buffet and hutch. In the end, I chose Deco Art’s Chalk Acrylic Paint in Primitive.
The color is so neutral it not only works well with the Country House Toile, it also works well with our white IKEA curtains in the living room, the floral curtains in the breakfast nook, the gray buffalo check curtains from Ballard that were used in my office, and the antelope print curtains too.
The last piece of the dining room makeover puzzle was to figure out wall art. We needed something that could be used throughout the year no matter what the season, as well as, something that would complement the hutch and buffet, not compete with it.
It sounds like a tall order, but we finally settled on creating grain sack inspired wall art using our grandmother’s monograms. Once we hung them up, it felt like everything else fell into place.
Several weeks ago, we were finally able to take down S’s wheelchair ramps. It was definitely a misty-eyed day of celebration. I saved some of the wood and asked my Dad to create a box we could use on the dining room table as a small reminder of how far S has come since that fateful day in October that changed everything.
Earlier this week, I took that box and made a simple Spring centerpiece . I also refreshed the chandelier with burlap shades I found on sale at Lowe’s for less than $3 each.
While we didn’t knock down any walls or bring in brand new furniture, the dining room makeover was still a labor of love.
Had it not been for my brothers in laws helping to move furniture and hang curtain rods, my sisters bringing over dinner, my Dad refurbishing the small buffet, cutting the boards for the shiplap and trimming out the window, my Mom answering countless texts (most before 5 am, mind you) and S helping to create the grain sack inspired wall art – this project would not have been possible.
But as we’ve come to understand and appreciate over the years love shows up and gives you exactly what you need, at exactly the right time, when you need it most – even in the form of a dining room makeover.
Many blessings,
CoCo
It’s beautiful!
I really appreciate it, M, thank you so much! I have to say after all the starts and stops it feels good to finally have it finished. Sending you big hugs, CoCo
It is a lovely space, CoCo…a labor of love with special personal touches! Beautiful!
Thank you, Linda! I know you know all about trying to make all sorts of makeover work so I really appreciate your kind words. Even with all the starts and stops and indecision, I would do it again 100%. Sending you hugs, CoCo
Coco, I love it. Everything looks gorgeous and much lighter! It is hard to let go of something we really love. Where did you find the rug under your table? I love it! Glad S is better! Hugs!
Thank you bunches, Beita! I’m so with you the paint color change on the walls and the hutch made a big difference. It’s nice that all of the common areas are the same color now. Everything just flows so much better. The rug is an indoor/outdoor rug from Lowes and we’ve had it for years. I couldn’t find the exact one we have but the Safavieh Courtyard Arabesque is very similar. As you know we have senior dogs and messy littles that visit so while this rug is not plush, it is easy to clean 🙂 Hugs, CoCo
Way to go CoCo! The dining room is beautiful and definitely worth the wait. It’s hard to believe you used so many of the pieces you already owned. They look brand new now that they have a fresh coat of paint. Great job!
Thank you, Sarah! We are big fans of shopping the house before buying anything new so it was really important to be able to reuse and upcycle as many things as we could. I’m totally with you, I’m always amazed at what a little paint can do to help transform everything from walls to accessories to furniture. Hugs, CoCo
Really beautiful, CoCo! 🙂
I appreciate it so much, Patty, thank you! Sending you lots of love and hugs, CoCo
Hi CoCo! Dining room looks great! I have to say I like the hutch the present color more than the Paris gray. That hardware just really pops! And I love the new curtains as well. Great choice! I’m a big fan of the monograms, they look beautiful in there. That was so sweet of your Dad to make that box for you! I’m so glad S is on the mend, hang in there! So glad you have such a wonderful family to help you out. You’re very fortunate. Everything looks great, job well done CoCo! Have a great day! ?
P.S. happy first day of spring!
Such sweet compliments, Shelia, thank you! I don’t know why I had such a hard time with the hutch color but gosh it totally threw me for a loop! I think the Primitive will be really easy to decorate with throughout the year, so it’s a keeper. I’m really glad you like the curtains too. They’re a similar Waverly print to the ones I have in the breakfast nook. Can you believe that box was once part of a wheelchair ramp? I know you know all too well what a long recovery this type of injury can be and we can’t thank you enough for all of your support along the way. I hope your day is a fun one and you’re able to welcome Spring with excitement. Big hugs, CoCo
High-five, hand-clap, booty-shake and Beyonce’ wave!! This makeover is absolutely gorgeous. Even more so for all of the heartache, pain, trials and tribulations you had to endure. You have the best attitude when it comes to repainting pieces of furniture as many times as you do! Kudos – because we wouldn’t be as genteel or graceful LOL. Another fabulous job by Team Goat – you should be proud. Much love!
Coco, I feel your pain when something is just not working out! I love the way your dining room turned out and understand all the frustrations behind it. I’ve been there many times.
I like your make over so much that I chose it as one of my features at our Celebrate Your Story link party!
Please be sure to check it out at on Monday about 8 pm
Thanks for linking up
Kari @v Me and My Captain
Aww, Kari, thank you so much for your kind words! I really appreciate it and the feature too. It’s such a sweet and unexpected way to start the day. Hugs, CoCo
Coco, I wanted to let you know that I’m featuring your dining room makeover at Celebrate Your Story this evening. It goes live at 7:00 p.m. CST. I hope you will share with us again! Hugs!
Oh my gosh, Benita, thank you so much! You totally made my day. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’ll definitely head over -thank you! Hugs, CoCo
What a lovely reveal, Coco… love the furniture pieces you have, and how you have styled them. Here by way of Celebrate Your Story. Would love to have you join us today at Homestyle Gathering!
Thank you so much, Julie! It was definitely a fun space to put together. Heading over to Homestyle Gathering! Hugs, CoCo
Thanks for linking up, Coco! Loved seeing your other two posts, as well. Is your story about S posted somewhere? Would love to hear a bit of the backstory on the box. 🙂
I appreciate it, Julie! My bestie S who also helps run the website fell back in October and had to had one leg rebuilt with rods, screws and pins while the other leg recovered from completely torn ligaments and tendons. She was non-weight bearing for almost 18 weeks and in a wheelchair so my sweet Dad built the ramps to make it easier to get around. S is still on crutches and walking with braces but making great progress each day. Needless to say it’s been quite an adventure 🙂 Hugs, CoCo
Wow, that is quite a story! I’m glad she is progressing! It is, indeed, and adventure!