From Dated to Devine

This is what my dining room looked like up until last summer. 

DATED

You might be saying "YUCK!" or, "That looks like my grandma's dining room."  Well, I liked it.  I had liked it for several years.  But, I was really ready for an update.

So the Hubs and I stripped the wall paper and painted the walls a bright white.  We actually just painted it with a white primer and quit.  (Stripping wall paper is exhausting!)  But we liked the brightness and freshness of the white.  And while I was jonesing for a new dining room set, I didn't really know what we would need.  Our house was on the market and we were looking to move.  But until our house sold and we found new digs, it didn't make sense to buy new dining room furniture without being sure if we would have a dining room to accommodate it.  So, I painted our existing table and chairs black like some of my favorite Pottery Barn furniture.  And I reupholstered the seat cushions with some fun and funky material that I found at Wal-Mart.  Yes, I said Wal-Mart!   I couldn't get over the transformation! My old, rickety dining table and chairs went from dated to devine!  And it only cost me $50 for paint and $20 for material and batting.  How cool is that?!

DEVINE

The secretary in the corner had once belonged to my dad.  He had bought it the year before he died and refinished it.  I would have to say that all my creative genes come from my dad.  He was awesome like that. Anyway, after he died, my little sister Kristie inherited the secretary.  My older sister and I inherited other nice pieces that he had refinished.  And after my little sister passed away and my brother-in-law remarried and moved to another house, he gave the secretary to me.  Wow.  I wasn't planning on going there when I started this post, but there it is.

After I painted the walls white and table black, I decided I wanted to fill the secretary with milk glass pieces.  I asked my best friend who is an avid yard-sale and auction attendee to keep her eyes out for some inexpensive pieces.  A few weeks later she ran across a whole box of these vases and other odd and ends for $8 at a yard sale.  Yeah, she's awesome like that.  I love how the white of the milk glass stands out against the dark wood of the secretary.  I just love the whole display.  It screams Martha Stewart to me.  It's a good thing!

IT'S A GOOD THING!

The other changes that we made in here was to loose the large area rug.  The blue and burgandy clashed big time with the black and green.  I changed out the artwork.  I had purchased these paintings the year before at a local arts and crafts fair and they were hanging in my stairway.  They are much more visible now in the dining room and I think they complement the color scheme better than the old botanical prints.  The green lamp was a great find at a local antiques/re-sale store for only $30.  And finally, I ordered the green drapes on-line from -  yep, you guessed it - Wal-Mart!  And they only cost $50 for all four panels!  

Let's take a side by side comparison:

DEVINE

DATED

This summer I plan on painting the china cabinet black with white insets.  I got inspired by a picture on Pinterest.  I'm sure that I'll tweak some things here or there, but overall I'm pleased with how the dining room looks now.  Not so dated; a lot more devine!