Project number 2 of our home was our dining room! The number one room we pass through multiple times a day + spend the second most time in. In our dining room, I had a very clear vision in my mind for what I pictured this room to feel and look like. I am very happy to report the vision came to life!
When thinking of or dining room I was envisioning something that was a little more on the bold side when it came to paint and accent colors incorporated. Here is a little look at my mood board and some pins that I was drawn to for our dining room!
Here is was what our dining room looked like the first time we walked through the house. The only change to this photo is adding in our own table, chairs, and china hutch (which does help out a lot).
I really love the character the chair railing adds to this room and wanted to use it as a guide for paint. I planned on doing a fresh coat of white paint on the chair railing and below and the color Satin Black by Behr Paint was going to be on the top half. If you remember in our first home, I did a black shiplap wall in our guest room and LOVED it! For me, black is elegant, fun, and calming when used in rooms correctly. I knew a darker grey/black color would add a lot of personality to this room but also be super elegant with the light fixture and chair railing. As you can see below, a fresh coat of white and black paint gave this room a much different feel/mood than the photo above.
After painting it was time to hang curtains and pull some other decor items to brainstorm where they would go on the walls and throughout the room. One of my biggest inspiration pieces for our dining room were these fun fruit and vegetable poster that I found at Porch Light back in May. I love the old-school design of these posters + thought the colors in the poster would be a fun pop of color against the black paint.
I went with these fun mustard velvet Ikea curtains for the room to add some color and the velvet fabric adds to the elegant feel I wanted in this room. I shopped our home for all other items to help decorate our space! I love that our dining room not only looks exactly how I wanted it but this room is filled with sentimental/personal items. Many people will just see items but here is what I see when looking at the items in our space (scroll to read)
Dining Table: A Facebook Marketplace find that Nick got for his first place. When we moved into our first home Nick spent that fall striping the 3 layers of paint, repainting the legs, and staining the top.
Rug: From At Home Stores, which has traveled with us and been used in a living room, office and now serves perfect in our dining room.
Dining Room Chairs: Another Facebook Marketplace find that led Nick and I on an afternoon adventure to a fun antique store + a fun date day for the two of us.
China Hutch: Hand made from my father to hold the china that I inherited from my great uncle when he was overseas.
Additional decor around the room are pieces that have been made by or gifted from our friends/family members over the years along with some additional thirfted finds. After putting this room together I quickly realized how much better our room was because of the meaning that all these items have to us. Not only does this room feel like us, but it also holds a great amount of love when we look at these items that hold value.
It is easy to get lost in consumerism and purchase items from the newest collection that was dropped at Target but in our home, I am trying to be very intentional about using items that have meaning to us/items that speak to us vs a trendy vase that will not be "cute" in a few years. I am all about adding/mixing new and old elements, as you can see in this room the curtains and posters were new purchases. When purchasing new trying to shop/support local shops (poster from a small shop in Des Moines, Porch Light) or making 100% sure I have a place for an item when buying from a big box store like Ikea.
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