Dining Room Makeover
Our Dining Room Makeover is finished, and we are floored by how well it turned out. We can’t wait to start entertaining in this beautiful room!
Welp, we finally did it! We finally have the dining room we’ve always wanted.
Handan and I struggled for years in our old house to cobble together a workable and decent-looking dining room. The space was just weird.
Cavernous.
Asymmetrical.
A chandelier centered on precisely nothing (until we moved it).
And the space was the nexus of almost every room in the house. The master bedroom, the old office/sitting room, the kitchen, the living room, the foyer, the sliding door to the deck and the front door – they all spilled into the dining room! If the house weren’t so secluded, dinner would be a very public affair.
One of our requirements when we were house hunting was that our new house had to be more….ummmm….normal.
We were tired of weird angles and odd spaces and hey, look! Where’d that wall come from?
The funkiness of The Navage Patch V1.0 was all well and good when there wasn’t a Navage Patch yet, but once we started blogging, we started noticing how hard it was to photograph certain rooms or scenes and have them look as good as what we were seeing on all the other blogs.
We were trying to keep up with the Joneses of blogging, but it felt like they were all driving Ferraris, and we were puttering along in a smoke-belching Yugo.
Ever wonder why we never did those cutesy front door/entrance seasonal displays with pumpkins and leaves?
Well, it’s hard to get your Happy Fall Y’all on when your glass front door is buried deep within a gray cave of vinyl siding and concrete!
I know, I know, all the odd angles and elbows of our old house made some of our projects unique…and they taught us how to think way outside the box when it came to decorating and interior design.
But we want back in the box. At least a little.
At least with the dining room.
And sister, we got what we wanted.
Now, there are room makeovers, and then there are Room Makeovers.
You’ll know when you’ve graduated from little “r” and little “m” to Big “R” and Big “M,” because the first words out of your mouth when gazing upon your New Room will likely be “Holy Shit!” or something similar. The more pious among you may gasp and whisper “Oh my!”
This exclamation is often followed by tears of joy, happy dancing, and the celebratory pouring of martinis and spiced rum (at least in this house).
When I first looked upon our finished Dining Room Makeover, I blurted out, “Jeezum Crow, my babes! I never knew this room had so much potential!”
Potential.
Everything has it.
People have it. Hey, I was a wayward dipstick before Handan put me on a proper patch to success. She saw the potential that I had squandered and abandoned. I can’t imagine where I’d be if our paths hadn’t crossed in cyberspace back in 2008.
Old furniture has it. As DIYers, we’re all well aware of that! Even the most beaten up and ugly beast can have a pearl of beauty locked within. The trick is to see that pearl and tease it out.
And rooms have it. They are just spaces delimited by a floor, a ceiling and 4 walls, but they are defined by so much more. Our rooms speak to who we are and where we’ve been. They showcase our sense of style and tell tales of past adventures.
I think our rooms are the truest representations of ourselves – far more so than clothing or a hairstyle or the music we listen to.
So when I looked at what my babes and I had accomplished with this Dining Room Makeover, I knew that not only had we graduated from little “r” and little “m” to Big “R” and Big “M,” but we had created a space that told the tale of a Turkish girl and a Yankee boy and all the places they’ve called home.
The Big Bad Before
The basis of any good Room Makeover post is the before shot, so here ya go.
This was the “before us.”
And this was our “before.” This is what we moved into.
The carpets were trashed and the walls were extraordinarily….red? Rouge? Victorian? I don’t know, but they were something, alright.
Our very first order of business was to give that nasty old carpet the heave-ho and put in some proper hardwood floors.
You can read all about that adventure in our Hardwood Floor Installation & Refinish post.
If you’ve already read it, here’s a little refresher on the goodies we found underneath the carpet.
Nothing says Eat in Here like a floor full of mysterious brown powder!
The Dining Room Makeover Begins
But soon the carpet and all its horrors were whisked out of the house, and the new flooring was laid in its place.
We love the new color, though Handan did manage to spot a few flaws that were soon fixed.
Our next task was to pick a color to replace that, erm, unusual choice. What do you call that color and mottled style? It makes me think of Victorian brothels.
Not that I’ve ever been to a Victorian Era brothel, mind you. I’m far too young for that.
But “Brothel Red” sounds a little too tawdry. How about “Burgundy Boudoir?”
Yeah, I think that’s a little better.
So what to slap on the walls to hide the Burgundy Boudoir?
We went to Lowe’s, Home Depot and Ace Hardware to collect paint chips.
We looked at hundreds of colors – all variations of blue/gray and green/gray. As we narrowed our choices, Handan would prop them up against the wall, so we could see how they looked against the white wainscotting.
Normally, I’m not one for sitting on floors. After a time my old hips start screaming, my knees lock up and I start groaning like a walrus, but I actually really enjoyed this time spent on our empty dining room floor with my babes!
I think this is the point at which I started to see the potential in our new dining room. I knew that changing the wall color from Burgundy Boudoir to something a little less brothelly would pay the highest dividends – even higher than the new floor.
Eventually, a winner became clear.
Well, at least for me.
Handan has such a hard time with choices like these. She simply can’t choose a clear favorite among so many choices, so ultimately the deciding vote is cast by me.
There was one color I kept coming back to, and when that happens, I know it’s the right one.
**Side note: big shakeup in the kitchen remodel! We fired our granite subcontractor and made a last minute change. The new slab I just selected for our island was picked in the same way I chose the dining room color – I just kept coming back to it. More details soon!**
The color I chose is called Software, by Sherwin Williams, and it is the perfect blue/gray for our dining room.
As I’ve been mentioning over and over in the past couple of months, painting has kinda become my thing. I’m single-handedly painting every room in this house, often the ceilings and trim, too.
And I was really looking forward to painting the dining room!
No other room in this house would give as much satisfaction!
So you can imagine my irritation when I walked in on my babes painting the room!
The nerve of the woman!
There I was busting my ass painting some floor-level trim, crawling around the ground on all fours like a dog, and what did I get for my hard work and fidelity?
She goes sneaking around behind my back and paints the one room I’d been so looking forward to paint!
But karma’s a bitch, and her little unauthorized painting tryst turned into a bit of a messy nightmare.
After I had busted her and stormed off to carry on with my gloriless trim painting, I started to hear some muttering from the dining room.
Soon, the muttering became swearing.
And then it happened.
“BABES!!!!” There was real anger in that voice.
I dropped my brush and heaved my sweating carcass off the floor.
“Coming!” I said.
I walked into the dining room and found my dearest wife glaring at the wall, roller in one hand, rag in the other.
She was furious.
I looked at the unfortunate recipient of that withering look.
“The paint won’t stick!” She said.
At this point, I hadn’t yet started the chandelier makeover, so I couldn’t have known how much grease was trapped in that room.
Oil is the sworn enemy of latex paint.
We wiped off the paint she had already applied, and I filled a small plastic tub with warm water and a bit of TSP.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: nothing cuts grease like TSP! It is the sworn enemy of french fries and pizza.
After a quick wipe-down with a TSP-soaked cloth, we were back in business.
Yes, “we.”
I allowed my babes to continue painting the first coat, but when she took a break, I dashed in and finished the job.
Hehehe. I told you – painting is my job in this house!
With the Burgundy Boudoir on the outs and the Software in, our Dining Room Makeover was really shaping up!
My next job was to freshen up the wainscotting with some ultra-white. It was painted an off-white before, but we really love the clean look of ultra-white for trim and wainscotting.
But oh, look at that chandelier in the picture above! It just wouldn’t do!
Most of you know how that turned out, but if you haven’t done so already, please read our Chandelier Makeover post for a quick and easy way to update an old builder-grade classic.
The room was showing its potential. I walked by one evening, as the setting sun shone through the blinds.
It was beautiful.
I couldn’t wait to carry more furniture in from our endless procession of PODs.
Paint and carry. Paint and carry. Paint and carry. For a couple of months, that was life around here.
But we were building our dream, so every time I felt the enormity of the job ahead crashing down on me, I just reminded myself to take it one piece of furniture at a time. One trip at a time. One room at a time. One wall at a time.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and our new home would not be settled for months. As long as I kept working, we’d keep moving forward, and my goal would keep getting closer.
Oh yeah, and I’d have a very happy wife.
You know what they say, right?
Happy wife, avoid the knife!
Or something like that…
Anyway, we kept plugging away at our Dining Room Makeover – a little bit here, a little bit there.
Once the floors were laid, the walls painted and the chandelier updated and re-hung, the rest was just moving in furniture and decorating.
But since the furniture and decor items from our old dining room were spread among our 5 POD containers, we didn’t finish decorating until just recently.
We were able to put most of the furniture from our old dining room back into use here, except for the vintage buffet that my babes and I made over a couple of years ago.
That post has one of my all-time favorite comments from a reader named Louise:
You ruined it!!! First time I don’t like your makeover. Coulda done better… : – (
Handan and I both had a good chuckle over that comment. We didn’t take it wrong or get offended. I think poor Louise was legitimately dismayed at the makeover and just had to let us know. Of course we love all the positive comments we get, but comments like Louise’s keep me grounded. Keep ’em coming, Louise!
To this day, my babes and I will still call out to each other at random times from across the house.
“You ruined it!”
Well, Louise will be happy to learn that the buffet didn’t fit in our new dining room, so it’s cooling its heels in our laundry room until we can find a suitable place for it.
Okay, enough of my yapping (yeah right, like I’ll ever stop!) – let’s get on with the pictures!
Dining Room Makeover
*There’s a source list at the bottom of the post, so just enjoy the ride until then!*
Coming in through the front door, this is our view to the left.
If daddy is doing something, Penny is bound to be nearby. One of her favorite hangouts is under the dining table – she just loves the security of something right over her head! This day, she was content to flop out on the floor like a rag doll.
Here is the overview shot. This is the main view that visitors will first see. This is also the view from my desk in my new office.
The table and chairs are the same ones we used in our old house. If you haven’t read the odyssey of that table, start with this post: A Good Idea Gone Bad: The Antique Victorian Dining Table that Almost Was.
Then read about about how it came to be what it is today: Farmhouse Dining Table with Gothic Revival Legs.
Here’s the view from the other entry off the kitchen hallway.
We ditched the heavy drapes and blinds that came with the house in favor of something lighter. The sheer curtains offer plenty of privacy (you can’t see anything inside when they’re drawn), but they also let in tons of natural light.
We bought the rug secondhand last summer in Glastonbury, CT. It’s a Pottery Barn Delancy kilim rug that sells new for over $1000, but we picked it up for $300. My babes has a nose for bargains!
This is my favorite corner of the room. I love everything about it, from the Pier One chest of drawers (bought just before they declared bankruptcy) to the Pier One vase (bought in-store during post-bankruptcy liquidation) to the Turkish nazar beads that I bought at our Turkish grocery store in Connecticut the day before moving down to Georgia with Baris.
You can’t beat blue, white and orange!
It’s hard to pick a favorite project, but this antique china cabinet that I restored and built doors for has to be right up there near the top. I don’t think I fully appreciated its beauty until seeing it in this new setting. It holds some of our dearest treasures from lands afar: onyx vases and candlesticks from Afghanistan, a carved soapstone elephant from India, an opium pipe from Vietnam, an intricate and exquisite silver lace tea set from Turkey, a gourd flute from India, a statue of the Egyptian goddess Ma’at from a little shop at the very tip of Cape Cod and several more.
We picked up this tree at our local nursery…in the faux plants section. Since moving down South, I’ve wanted something like this for somewhere in the house. I think it looks amazing in the dining room, and the best part is, I don’t have to remember to water it!
Across the kitchen hall entryway from the faux plant is an accent cabinet – another pre-bankruptcy Pier One purchase. Above it hangs a brass platter that Handan bought a year ago from a small antique/secondhand shop in Connecticut while we were on our way to pick up Baris from JFK airport in New York. She’s been dying to put it to use, and I think it looks perfect against this wall color.
Handan has named this the Copper Corner.
Across the main entryway from the Copper Corner sits an identical accent cabinet from Pier One. Did we buy two of them?
Nope.
The first one they sent was broken. Like broken enough that the average person couldn’t fix it.
But I’m not the average person, heheheh.
Anyway, I got in touch with them and told them the issue. I backed up my claim with plenty of pictures. Instead of telling me to return it, they’d send a new one. Meanwhile, they suggested I dispose of the broken one.
Riiiiggghhhht…
A little wood glue and some clamps, and it was good as new.
Hey, I was willing to return it and get one that I didn’t need to fix. Not my fault they didn’t want to deal with it! 😀
Yeah, so we got two for the price of one. This one holds some Hindi blocks and a pair of soapstone elephants from India and our Bead Garland Candle Holder.
I’m a huge fan of Michaels’ faux florals. Yes, I’m a dude, and I can admit that! While Handan is the main decorator around here, I was responsible for the vase below. I love the dusty purple and green against the white wainscotting.
Here’s another shot of the blue vase – just because I love it so much.
On the dining table sits an old classic – our centerpiece tray.
We’ve got free plans for you if you’re interested in making one for yourself. Check it out right here!
What the tray sits on is another Pier One liquidation find and another pick by Yours Truly.
Handan poo pooed this table runner in the store. She didn’t think it would work with the colors we were planning.
But I had other thoughts.
I felt vindicated when one of the employees told me I had good taste when she saw this runner in my basket. I smiled at her and said, “It’s about time someone noticed!”
Have I told you about this blue vase and the corner I love? Well here’s a picture (or three).
Handan bought these doors years ago from Grandin Road, and she got the birdcages from Homegoods.
A couple of evening shots…
I think our new Dining Room not only shows our style, but it also tells a bit of the story of who we are…where we’ve been…what we’ve done.
I think we’ve unlocked and unleashed this room’s potential.
What do you think?
I know what these two think. The dining room has become their new favorite lookout point!
Source List
- Floor bird cage lanterns: we bought them from HomeGoods, but Kirkland also has similar ones.
- Large led pillar candles
- Vintage gate wall art (from Grandin Road)
- Antique china cabinet
- Leather elephant: we got ours from a consignment store, but you can find similar ones on Amazon.
- Pottery Barn Delancy kilim rug: we bought ours on Facebook Marketplace.
- DIY farmhouse dining table
- Smoke blue dining chairs
- Light linen dining chairs (with ring-pulls)
- Dining room decor tips & inexpensive chairs
- Chandelier Makeover
- LED candelabra bulbs
- Centerpiece tray
- Small pillar led candles
- Turkish evil eye
- Chest of drawers: we bought ours from Pier One, but you can find similar ones here.
- Large faux potted philodendron: we bought ours from a local nursery, but Joss & Main has similar large faux plants.
- Accent cabinets: we bought ours from Pier One, but you can find similar ones here.
- Brass decorative metal tray: we bought ours from a thrift store, but Etsy and Pottery Barn have similar ones. This is the one from Pottery Barn and these are from Etsy.
- Glass and Metal architectural candle lanterns (classic European buildings/houses)
- Fairy Lights with adaptor
- White washed carved floral wood wall decor
- Faux flower stems
- Glass floor vase: we bought ours from HomeGoods, but here are some similar ones.
- Bead garland candle holder
- Curtains and curtain rod
- Arched mirror makeover
- Wall Color: Sherwin Williams Software
Related Reads
*******
For those following along, here’s how we stand with the short-term project list.
The Navage Patch Short Term Goals 2020 Checklist
Install radon mitigation systemBring power and light to the basementInstall hardwood floors on the first floor Phase 1Pantry makeover – DIY pantry shelvesInstall hardwood floors on the first floor Phase 2Stain the staircase posts and handrailsKitchen remodelInstall kitchen backsplashBuild workbenchesBuild dog feeding stationBuild floating shelvesPaint interior walls, trim and bedroom ceilingsDining room chandelier makeoverDining room makeover(this post)- Change living room fan
- Change foyer chandelier
Paint interior door knobs- Baris’s room setup & related projects (in progress)
Floating desks for Baris’s studyOffice setup & related projectsChange front door lantern and install a second onePaint front doorRemove big shrubs near front door- Replace the ghost window
We love it when you share our posts on Facebook and Pinterest!
Your dining room is a beautiful calm room. It was not calm before. Love all the displayed keepsakes.
Lol, it certainly wasn’t calm before, Carla, but we really love the colors in there now! 🙂
I second this! The original ‘design’ was nightmare fuel. This is now the perfect space for great food, the sharing of stories, and the sound of laughter! Cheers!
Thanks, Mo, we think so too! 🙂
LOVE< LOVE< LOVE it. Same colors as mine in my dininng room. Absolutely beautiful. I love the claw foot table as well.
Bother your husband and the dog are cuties.
Why thank you, Carol, I am a cutie! 😀
What a beautiful room. Anytime you and Handan want company for dinner let me know.
Thanks, Regina, will do! 🙂
Beautiful room. Before, the room – especially the wall color – yelled at you.Now it whispers, come in and dine in peaceful surrounding. Love it!
You’re right, Dorothy. It is much more peaceful now! 🙂
Looks amazing! Paint can do wonders. I wish my husband felt the same way you do though. When we bought our house 3 years ago, we painted every single room. I broke him. He won’t even look at a paint brush now. Ha! Anyway, love the beautiful blue/gray! My kinda colors.
It’s funny, Lori. I felt the same way your husband does in our old house. Handan and I had painted every wall more than once, and I had had it with painting. But in this house, I felt renewed. I not only wanted to paint every wall, ceiling and trim, but I wanted to do it alone! 🙂
Wow, looks so much better. I love looking at all your treasures. So cool. I am so going to miss Pier One. I found some really unique stuff there over the years. Those chests are lovely BTW.
I thought bordello too when I saw those wall. Geez. And did the former owners believe in cleaning? Didn’t they ever wash the walls and light fixtures? I mean, gross if they are greasy enough paint won’t stick. Mine get scrubbed once a year with plenty of Simple Green. I dare you to find any grease on my walls. Triple dog dare ya.
Nice to see the rooms coming along.
Thanks, Laurie! You know, out of all of the Covid bankruptcies, Pier One hits us hardest. It’s funny, this house was immaculate when we looked at it – but that was just the obvious common surfaces. I don’t think it had been deep cleaned…well…ever! Great idea to scrub your walls. I admit, we’ve never done that, but after seeing these walls, I think we’ll do it, too!
Now wait a minute… I call “no fair” on pajama counter picture #38. You showed us (and counted!) that one once before… I’m sticking up for Handan on this one! Set the counter back one notch, Buster!
(Love the dining room though! ?)
No way, Julie! Go take a look at both pictures! Yes, they were taken on the same day, but the pictures are from two different angles, and Handan is pointing at two different spots! The counter stays as is! 😀
Beautiful room. I love everything, the color, the furniture, the accent pieces and especially the dogs. You can tell they love the room too.
Thank you, Cheryl! Oh, yeah, the girls totally love it!
Absolutely beautiful. Love the wooden cabinets and dining chairs finish it off.
We live part time in the US but stuck in UK just now with all that’s going on.
I’ve loved all the details and pictures you give. Stay safe and thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Carol! I’m sorry to hear you’re stuck over there – I hope you’re able to come back soon! Take care! 🙂
Beautiful transformation!
Thank you, Madeline! 🙂
The room looks beautiful Greg! Congrats on another great job!
Thanks, Connie, we love it! 🙂
You un-ruined it!!!! Very elegant, love everything about it.
LOLOLOL! Thanks, Mary! 🙂
Well that definitely is a holy mackerel transformation! I love it! The color is amazing with that white wainscoting. Keep up the fantastic work, and stay safe!
K
Thank you, Kay – it really is a beautiful color!
My goodness! What an explosive change…that dining room is GORGEOUS!!! I have been contemplating painting green or grey for mine, which is considerably smaller than yours, for about 4 months. It is currently burnt orange ragged…and I love orange, but not quite that much, plus it slides right into the adjoining kitchen…which I also can’t decide on. It is very dark, with one window, which is located on a porch…makes for a very dark room. Guess it will be grey soon, as I can finally see yours finished. I was thinking of wainscoting, too. Love your results, and I am not copying, just thinking it’s nice to have someone else with the same taste…now, if I can just get MY babes going on it…Great job!
Thank you, Cindy! Gray or white would do wonders to lighten up your dark space. Is there any room for another window or possibly a skylight? Wainscotting is pretty easy, and I think it really adds character to a room, so I say go for it in your dining room!
Wow. That’s a wonderful, sophisticated color, and with the white — chef’s kiss !! Everything looks curated and definitely shows your coolness factor. So, when you say the tip of Cape Cod, I’m going out on a limb and thinking P-Town ?? Growing up in Falmouth I spent many a day into night walking, shopping, drinking and dancing on Commercial Street. Good times…. Looking forward to the Granite saga…. Congrats on the R. M. ?????
Yep – I took Handan to the Cape for our mini-honeymoon back in 2010. She loved walking around P-town. I had been there many times as a kid, but it was my first time back in decades. 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous!!!! What a difference. Love it. My favorite is the blue and orange corner, So glad you kept going back to it. Saved me from scrolling. ????. Also the copper corner. Looks like a-lot of love went into it. Happy to hear you are really enjoying this makeover. You can see it in your work. Sounds like you guys are enjoying every bit of it . Can’t wait to see the kitchen. Hang in there!
Thank you, Vickie! I’m with you on the blue and orange corner. Fortunately I get to look at it every time I sit at my desk. Lucky me! 🙂
Omg such a beautiful transformation. I love seeing your restorations. You both to some amazing work
Thank you so much, Tanya! 🙂
Hi Greg, hope this is not a der question but what is the name of the white that you used with the Software. It is as sharp as and quite gorgeous .
Suzanne (Australia)
Hi Suzanne! Okay, so that white is just the pure, uncolored white by Sherwin Williams. It’s called Ultra Pure White. Note that it is different than the paint that they use to mix color in – those are called base paints, and they shouldn’t be used without color. In our Home Depots and Lowe’s, you can find the Ultra Pure White right in the same area that they keep the cans of base paint for mixing. We use Ultra Pure White for all of our trim and wainscotting. Some people like to go just a bit off white for those areas, but for us, nothing beats the look of pure white!
Your dining room is restful, serene, and beautiful. I bet I could stand in front of your antique china cabinet for an hour studying your treasures! What a great family history you have put together!
Thank you so much, Kathy! I actually do that from time to time! 🙂
Stunning transformation. Lovely color choice and beautiful vignettes of your travels. THE only thing I would change is to remove the two doors against the wall. Oh, I will be using “happy wife, avoid the knife” . Not as a threat mind you. :),
LOL, thanks, Cheryl! 🙂
It looks fabulous Greg and Handan! The colors you chose are perfect for the mood of the room. And I can see that the girls agree!
Thanks, mom!
Wow what a stunnigly beautiful transformation, you two have a knack for getting everything just right. Always a pleasure to read your entertaing blogs and follow thecreation of your perfect home.
Well thank you so much, Catherine! I hope you’re doing well! 🙂