in the dining room

{I'm doing a weekly "tour" of a room in the house in celebration of one year living here!

You can find looks at our family room here, and the kitchen here.}

In the dining room we have...
painted (same paint as in part of kitchen, had to buy second gallon, Lowe's Valspar Cottage Linen $30)
replaced chandelier (Lighting Direct= $34)(yes, $34!!!) and added a simple medallion ($15?).
new window treatments (existing wood blinds, existing rods spray painted black, curtains from Target: $30 for pair)
added new cabinet (Craigslist $30, painted with Lowe's Valspar English Bulldog from past projects, new knobs $2.50 x 4, new feet constructed by Ryan appr. $6 x 4)
removed wimpy beadboard and replaced with board and batten
all decor (including area rug) was owned previously: table runner and plate collection from Dayspring (no longer sold) I bought long before we moved but saved to put in the new house and mixed with (the white plates) other goodwill/Homegoods
scores here and there.

total: $160

Stepping back and looking at it, I feel like maybe our dining room is a little boring. Don't get me wrong, I really really like it... I think it's big and bright and cheery. It's just that other than slapping some paint on the walls, there's not much here saying it's us who live here. I'm thinking about how to change that since I do actually spend a lot of time in here, as it is my "craft room" as well. I like the simplicity of the room, but I feel like it's just missing something.

I had wanted to take off the beadboard with the too short chair rail and replace it with nice, big, chunky faux board & batten, like this transformation here. (and that's why you may notice my candle sconces are hung too high... I was planning ahead for the taller board & batten. Which Ryan has pish-poshed for the past year.)
I did refinish a little "sewing cabinet" that with it's plantation shutter type doors mimics the big china cabinet in the room. I still want Ryan to help me add some "feet" to it as then it will look more like the furniture goes together and they will be exactly the same height as the bulk of the big cabinet (minus the hutch) balancing out the room a little more.

Pictures:

Before:


listing pic
(can you believe how dark this room is? whole house, I'm telling you...
whole. house.)












and empty (this is looking into the dining room from the front living room)









check out this chandelier that was in here... it was huge and dark (the dark shades over the lightbulbs did not help) and it was a no-go from the start.



Also, again with the is-this-supposed-to-be-yellow? dingy paint color and the dark heavy drapes.


And our dining room now:
please excuse the slightly different tones in color... I took these some of these on different days (sunny vs. dark & rainy)































































































before and after of my sewing cabinet...
(this houses my sewing machine, fabric, etc.)


















and the light...


















and of course I have to highlight my most favorite piece of furniture ever,
my china craft cabinet and all it's glory...































































So there you have it.
What do you think? Taller board & batten in the dining room, Yay or Nay??