Dining Room Blues

Finally! The dining room is in a complete-ish stage! After months of agonizing over the color I settled on a dark gray blue from SW. It took a little bit of convincing to get the hubby on board because the room doesn't get a ton of light, but after seeing it in the space he quickly conceded that I was right. 

Sidenote: I searched and searched on pinterest to justify dark paint with dark furniture, but mostly navy/black rooms came back with really light and airy dining furniture so I was slightly worried that it wasn't going to turn out like I pictured in my head.


Below is the before and after picture:


One of the biggest issues we had with the dark paint was the rounded corners leading into the entrance of the dining room - where do you stop the paint?! Solution: we ended up casing the opening so that there is a clear distinction between the two areas. Painting and caulking took a little longer than we thought, but it was definitely worth the extra work.
I also really struggled to find something to fill up the left wall. At first I was thinking about hanging a large oil painting but i found that the tall ceilings made the painting feel small and insignificant in the room. Additional furniture pieces weren't really an option due to the footprint of the room. Plus who really wants to avoid backing up and hitting a china cabinet after dinner?
I ended up landing on a set of 9 botanical prints out a book I found on Amazon. Combined with Ikea matted frames, they take up enough space so that the dark color isn't so overwhelming.


The builder's-grade light fixture was replaced with a champagne colored chandelier. The candelabra gives me the flexibility to add shades later if I want to change it up. But I really wanted to stay pretty traditional with the shape.



The console table below the mirror serves as storage for table linens and wine. 


Below is the view from the hallway. I kept the drapes fairly simple and light because this room is already lacking in light. The ceilings are pretty tall but I was lucky enough to find these pin tucked sheers on-sale at Target. 


Right now this room has really only been used for small dinner parties, but I hope it will be able to transition into a craft room or feel comfortable enough for nightly dinners. Time will tell whether adjustments need to be made.

Thanks for reading
Katie Elizabeth


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