Dining Room Remodel Reveal
Our dining room remodel is finally finished, and it only took a year and a half! What? That’s not so bad! Come and have a look!
I think part of me started to believe it would simply never finish and that we’d live with a half-baked brick wall for the rest of our lives.
Now, I’m a very different sort of bloke than The Magnificent Shrimp. For starters, she’s not a bloke at all. But aside from the obvious anatomicals, our brains operate on wildly different frequencies. In fact, it’s probably safe to say our brains inhabit two mutually exclusive universes.
Whereas her eye-brain apparatus is constantly surveilling our home environs with Terminator-like efficiency, capable of detecting and reporting on (bitching about) any flaw, deficiency or anomaly in the homespace continuum, my primitive brainstem has the infuriating (to her) ability to edit the information coming from my eyeballs and only see what it wants to see.
Unfinished brick wall? Been like that a year and a half?
No problem! Let’s just edit that fact from the brain and carry on in blissful ignorance!
But even my chimpish brain has its limits, and this dining room (in general) and dining room brick wall (in particular) were starting to weigh on me.
Of course, knowing that it was weighing on my babes a thousand times worse didn’t help matters any.
So last fall I swore a solemn oath to deliver The Shrimp a finished dining room by Christmas or consider seeking new accomodations in the foothills of the Himalayas.
I’m happy to report that I’m still living in Florida (though it feels a little like the Himalayas today) and that I have an elated Shrimp sitting next to me.
She got her finished dining room, I get to live another year, and we both can now set our sights on the rest of the interior!
So let’s have a look. We’ve earned it!
Dining Room Remodel VIDEO Recap
Watch our short and fun video below for a recap of our dining room remodel.
Watch Our Tutorial On YouTube
On Tiktok
But first, let’s take a glance back at where we started. This was the dining room when we moved here in March 2022.
I wasn’t really a room at all – more like a growth on the living room, loosely defined by out-of-place Roman columns.
And the chandelier! That tangled iron octopus (technically a dodecapus I suppose) loomed over the area and dominated all lines of sight into and out of the space. It existed in its own reality bubble because it sure as hell didn’t fit in ours.
Handan’s plan from the beginning was to remove the columns and replace them with arched brick walls.
And of course, the chandelier would be replaced with something a little less overbearing. I had to patch and repair the ceiling where the original chandelier hung, since it was centered over precisely nothing. I installed a new junction box in the ceiling centered over the dining table and ran wiring from the attic down into the new box.
Along the way we also tore out the hideous carpet and replaced it with LVP.
I gave the bricks a slightly weathered look with the grout, leaving some bricks red and making others a little more white. In the future we may limewash the brick entirely, but for now my babes loves it the way it is.
Some people on social media have commented that the walls look unfinished since the brick doesn’t carry up to the ceiling, while others (usually from Turkey) have said it reminds them of traditional Turkish houses made of brick or stone on the bottom and wood/stucco on top which is exactly what Handan was striving for with her design.
There is an incredible view through the arches into the kitchen/family room area.
Once we remodel the kitchen (it’s starting now!), the view below is going to be mind-blowing! As I write this, the tile floor is being demolished. The rest of the kitchen will follow shortly!
The dining room is now defined, but it still has an open and airy feel.
We widened and raised the passage between the living room and kitchen – I’ll write more about it in the kitchen remodel posts – but here’s a view from the kitchen looking towards the front door. I love how the cedar frames the view towards the brick arches.
Nothing frames a scene like an arch!
Our trip to the Taj Mahal while living in India opened my eyes to the power of the arch as a frame. Entering the Great Gate and seeing the Taj a quarter mile in the distance and perfectly framed in the Gate’s arch was a sight that haunts me to this day. It was one of the most powerful experiences I’ve ever had.
It starts like this when first entering the Great Gate…
And it resolves to this…
It’s a wee bit less grand, but it still works for me!
I love the arches, and after installing the bricks and mortar/grout, I have huge respect for anyone who does this for a living!
Handan and I love the transformation, and we’re itching to get started on the rest of the interior, so stick around, because we’re just getting started!
Looks fantastic! What a difference. The chandelier is beautiful. I am looking to replace a foyer chandelier and would love to know where you found this one 🙂
Thank you, Michelle! I’m going to let Handan jump in with the answer to that!
Well…I’m sending thought waves to my hubs…”You NEED an arched bridge & still use the wrought iron twin headboards we found in the trash”…you CAN DO IT!!!”
Would “that work” on you….franki
I’m sure it would, Franki. I’m sure it would! 😂
Wow! Looks fantastic! I love the weathered brick look!
Thank you, Audra!
Greg, as always, you guys knocked it out of the park! Between Handan’s vision and your expertise, you guys can, and will, do anything you want! It’s very inspiring – keep up the great work! I also always enjoy your writing style. You can always pull at least a chuckle out of me, if not LOLs that everyone hears. Well done, sir!
Thank you so much, Geoff! This is going to be a very busy and productive year here – so much to do inside the house!👊
That….is……stunning!
I love it! I know it’s been a pain to pull off but in the grand scheme of things… a year and a half isn’t bad.. ( keep telling yourself😄)
When you have your heart into a project, try it, then try and hire it out… it becomes beyond frustrating. I understand why you waited after trying to hire the work out to finish it.
It’s amazing some people still have jobs after what looked like a two year old worker trying to lay a straight line of brick!
You have much to be proud of. And it turned out just like you envisioned. And YOU did it!!
A job well done, that’s for sure.
Thank you so much, Melody! It was so frustrating, and I must admit the rest of the project was daunting. But it’s done, we love it, and it’s time to rock!
Absolutely gorgeous – the finish on the brick is fantastic!
Thank you so much, Abby! We spent hours with rags soaked in vinegar to get the contractor brick to the look we wanted, and then I copied that with a damp sponge on the brick I did!
Looks great! Only a year and a half? My almost ex said he’d put the new drawer glides in when the pitiful ones collapsed. So they’re still sitting there, meanwhile our daughter graduated high school, college and got married. He found a mistress and hopefully divorce is final 2 years after he started the affair. I won’t mention the myriad of other repairs he could have done which are costing a lot of lost money on house sale. So trust me, you are a speed demon!
Love your craft projects.
Oh wow, Anne, if those old drawer slides could talk, eh? I think it’s time you took up the mantle of Resident DIYer and get those slides done once and for all! 🙂
Your dining room is beautiful! Hope you’re both 100% healthy now. Your lip is great. Would you share info, please? Thanks.
I’m replying to my own post. I meant your lvp is great. Autocorrect changed it to lip. 😂
😀
Thank you, Lulu, we’re getting there! Our LVP is Trucore Prime XL in Chambord Oak color.
Absolutely beautiful! When the house is done- let’s be real a house is never done- you can get a lot of work as an “arch builder.” Looks stunning and looking forward to more!
I’m just trying to understand how we built arches 2000 years ago with massive stones. I had a hard enough time with lightweight brick and construction adhesive!
Congratulations on finishing the dining room! It looks beautiful. Getting sick on a trip sucks. Hope you both are feeling much better.
Thank you so much, Pam! Fortunately, whatever it was – covid, flu or whatever – it left us with enough energy to do all the things we needed to do on our trip!
You two are a dream team. Looks absolutely fabulous!
Thank you so much, Peg! 😊
The transformation is really beautiful! The chandelier is perfect!
Thanks, mom! (and thank you for the chandelier!) 🙂
Absolutely beautiful and so worth the wait! Congratulations on a job well done. Always enjoy the projects you share.
Thanks, CB! 🙂
I love the design that you guys came up with. The brick with the wood floors are the cherry on top. Great job!
Thank you so much, Deborah! We love it too! 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous transformation! You two make a great and inspiring team!
Thank you, Freda! I have the best teammate in the world. How she puts up with me, I’ll never know! 😀
This came out absolutely GORGEOUS!! You guy’s as always have done an amazing job!!
Thank you so much, Glenda! We’re thrilled with how it turned out! 🙂
Just beautiful, bravo!
Thank you, Jean! 🙂
WOW I LOVE it. Simply amazing look. Love the arches and I can imagine the “shrimp” is extremely happy with the outcome.
The Shrimp approves, Sharon!
I love it! Great job! Can’t wait to see the kitchen as it progresses…
Thank you, Cynthia, we can’t wait either!
OMGosh, this turned out beautifully and it was totally worth the wait!!! I love the cool vibe the room has now. 🤩
I already sent this to a friend that has a similar dining room that resembles the before. This is great inspiration for those that feel they are just stuck with similar pillars.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor! Cheers! 🍻
Hey Mo, thank you so much! We love it and can’t wait to start using it!
Wow, breathtaking with so many beautiful designs. I love the changes. Your home now looks so inviting, warm and welcoming. Thanks for sharing. Fabulous home!!!
Thank you so much, Ivory! The best is yet to come!
Wow, it might have been a long process, but it sure was worth it. The result is spectacular. Love everything about it. The weatherlook is amazing.
Thank you so much! We love it!
Well, it certainly turned out absolutely beautiful no matter how long it took! I love the partial brick walls…I think it would be too much all the way up. Can’t wait to see the kitchen!
Thank you, Susan!
It looks great! I wouldn’t change a thing.
Thanks, Beth!
Your dining room is absolutely wonderful. You two did an awesome job; you are a great team!
Thank you so much, Kathy! 🙂
Woo hoo, one room down and 556 more to go! Love the arches much better than those weird columns and kudos on the chandelier. So much better. After what you did to your kitchen in the previous house, I can’t wait to see what you do to this one.
I know, right? We’ll finish someday, but first…KITCHEN! 😀