I want to share my Journey on refreshing our Dining Room with you all in hopes to inspire some Ideas in things you may be able to do yourself that can make a big difference! When we bought our home I remember thinking how beautiful the dining room could be! It’s one of the first rooms you walk into from the front door. The ceilings go all the way to the second story and the loft above has arched openings over looking the dining room. I grew up in an apartment and never had a separate dining room. All of the apartments and houses I rented over the years never had a separate dining space either. So this was a real special moment for me! I couldn’t wait to sit down and eat in a formal dining room with my family! We didn’t have much money to decorate when we moved in. The walls were painted green, and we kept the curtains that were hung from the previous owner. They were some shade/pattern of Orange. My Husband’s mother passed us down his Grandmothers dining table. The table was dated and the cushions were worn and ripped on every single corner. We hung a large picture we had from our previous apartment on the wall and the room stayed like that for years. We made so many beautiful memories in that ugly room! So many Birthday Party’s, Dinners, and Holidays. I was always just so thankful to have a dining room to do that in, but I always wished I could freshen it up. The room was completely functional! That was not the problem. It was just dated and dark. Not that dark and moody beautiful feel either! From the puke green walls and orange curtains, to the torn table cushions, nothing was MY style or a reflection of me. It never felt like my Dining Room. It felt like someone else’s Dining Room nestled in my house. I dreamt of turning it into a beautiful backdrop for all those moments we spent in there! Here is the room before minus the big picture on the wall. I had already removed it in this picture. Again completely functional room!

This was the very first room we decided to give a complete refresh to. At the time I was in love with the show Fixer Upper and had fallen in love like most of the world with her signature white shiplap! I didn’t necessarily want a complete “Farmhouse” Dining Room but I definitely wanted it light and airy and chose to go with white walls. The shiplap added that texture and warmth and focal point I was after. I changed my ideas for that room so many times through the years. The one main constant I stuck with wanting was the shiplap. So after years of dreaming of white shiplap walls, my husband made it happen for me for our Anniversary one year. We invested in a chop saw from Home Depot for this first project and to have for future projects as well. We bought a shiplap kit from Home depot as well. We had never done a home project prior to this and we learned along the way! I would say anyone could do this and will post a “how to” tutorial in the future. Adding texture to the walls with shiplap, or brick, or lime wash paint gives so much character to a space! The kit came pre painted white and we installed it directly over the already green wall.

The Shiplap was a major splurge for us but it has made such a difference! You can change décor out or even paint it as your style changes through the years but the texture and style it adds to a room I feel is timeless. Everything else in the room was DIY after DIY. I personally wanted to get a new table that was more my style but the table meant a lot to my husband. The fact that memories had been made around that table for three generations pulled at my heart strings as well. So we decided to keep the table. My mother in law also asked me not to paint it! UUUGHH! So with options limited I decided to at least recover the ripped chair cushions. I found some cute, funky, black and white fabric at Wal Mart. The pattern is called Dart Shadow. You can find the print at most fabric stores but Wal Mart was the best priced. The fabric is very thick and feels expensive but was super budget friendly at just $6 a yard. I can’t believe how such a small easy DIY made the world of difference! You can do this with scissors and a staple gun while watching a show! It instantly updated the table and gave it a more modern fun look! Again I will have to share a how to video for this in the future as well, but its so easy!

Next up my mom had given me a little side table that was set out for free in her neighborhood. The wood matched the shade of my table but I wanted to freshen it up a bit and make it look a little more custom to the space. I grabbed some chalk paint from Wal Mart as well. The brand is Kilz and the color is Toasted Poppyseed. The paint was about $20 for 1qt, but I had a ton leftover for other future projects. I painted it without sanding first but you could never tell. The paint is so forgiving and covered the wood so well! I painted the drawer white with some wall paint we had lying around and found a pretty little crystal knob at one of my favorite local Antique stores for $1. So this little corner piece was done for around $20 and added so much custom character to the space!

Next up was the main back wall behind the table. I wanted it to be personal to me and our family. I decided I wanted oversized portraits of the kids and started looking into that through companies that specialize in large prints and quickly realized they are extremely expensive and so are photographers! So another DIY project for this room was born. I am no photographer but I love to try! I took the photos of the kids using my phone camera. The look I wanted was classic black and white shots with a blank background. I put the kids in black shirts and snapped them against a plain white wall using the portrait mode. I then changed the color shots to black and white on my phone as well. I loooved how they came out! They looked so professional I couldn’t believe it! Anyone could do this! I recommend giving it a try in between those times of getting the family pics professionally done. Through some research I found you can print poster size prints at Costco for $9.99!!!! This is such a great deal! So I printed them out in 20×30 and they came out clear and beautiful! This was one of my favorite little projects because it created memories. We had so much fun taking the pictures and it made this room feel custom to our little family. I found the most incredible sale on frames at Michaels once they opened again after closing for Covid. It was buy one get two free for the 24×36 inch poster size frames! So I scored all three frames for around $40. Normally they run $40 a piece. They come in all types of colors but I chose the walnut brown to tie into the table and our staircase. I think the wood really contrast well with the black and white photos!

Underneath the photos we added The bible verse “They broke bread in their home and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Acts 2:46. I just love that verse for a dining room! The individual letters on the wall make such a different statement than the quote on a standard picture or a wall decal. The letters came in raw wood and I spray painted them with Krylon matte black spray paint. The wood letters on the wood wall really create depth and visual layers when you are seeing it in person. I believe I ordered them from Etsy originally but I have tried to find them again for this post and could not. I did see similar quotes on Etsy but they are metal and not wood.

We found simple white curtains with small black embroidery at IKEA that tie in perfectly with this space and finally removed the old Orange ones! The curtains are around $45 and come in the 98 length for taller windows. The curtains are called VILMIE LINJE. We also changed out our builder grade light for a matte black Traditional Pendant light by Allen Roth. We found the light at Lowes. They run around $130. A new light fixture can really update a space and take it to the next level. For a little over two years we have had our updated dining room with the same builder grade light fixture. I can say that small change has made a huge difference recently! I love the Edison looking bulbs we added to it as well!

This has been an ongoing project for a while. We still have a few changes to incorporate. We will either paint the rest of the second story that is currently tan to white to blend better with the white shiplap or eventually take the shiplap up to the ceiling. New floors or a pretty rug one day too! I’ll definitely update you guys as we continue! This room has definitely been a labor of love. I can say that doing these little DIY projects has really made the space our own and this is one of my favorite rooms. I love to drink my coffee at the table in the mornings now, gather the family for dinner, and host gatherings because I love the space! It functions just the same as it did before but feels so incredibly different!!! It’s calming and personal. It definitely fits my motto of something new, something old & something made captures the real you in a room! This room has a story, this room is us, and this room is now a beautiful backdrop for the beautiful memories created there! If you have a room that doesn’t quite feel like you, you can change that! Get some inspiration ideas and start towards that! A room doesn’t have to be completely high end or styled by a professional. If it is you, you will love it!