Oh how I love before and afters! Especially when a project goes super smoothly from start to finish. I honestly can't say that happens very often when I tackle my projects, so I am thrilled when it really does happen. I was super lucky that my mother-in-law Rita's dining room redo was a breeze. And I am so happy with the finished product, and more importantly, so is is Rita. I've posted about the
first,
second and
third stages of the project thus far.
And here is the big reveal!
Before the color scheme was cream-pink-taupe. There was a large, puffy valence over the big, beautiful bay window. Striped wallpaper under the chair rail and a border on top of the chair rail. Brass bare-bulb large chandelier. Taupe trim. Brass switchplate covers. Pink & white toile chair covers.
And after - wow! We took down the wallpaper and border. We repainted the room with Valspar paint, matched to Sherwin Williams' color, "Misty" which is a grayish blue. We repainted the trim from taupe to Sherwin Williams Dover White. I thought the chandelier was a little too brass, so to tone it down, we brought in large white chandelier shades. This alone makes a huge impact in the room. When we removed the valence, we could not believe how much more light the room had. So, we kept the window treatments very light and sheer and went with DIY drape shades. We recovered the chairs in a pool blue damask to tie in better with the new color scheme. For the bay window, we played around with it and all agreed it needed some accessories. So we brought in some topiaries and a sweet basket of faux-pears that Rita already had and propped them on a cake stand from Marshall's that we found for a song. Finally, we decided to ditch the brass switchplate covers and brought in white ones. The room still has some brass, but it's sporadically placed through the room. Ahhh. (sorry for the dark pictures here - that window is so bright! I did my best)
Before - Rita had this beautiful oil panting above the longer buffet. I loved it and knew we could make it work in the room because the background in that painting is a near identical match to the Misty on the wall, and I loved that it tied in the brass chandelier in the frame and brought in that soft green so the room did not get too heavy on the white and blues.
And after - I just love this. I knew I wanted to bring in a mirror, because I am a sucker for an oversized mirror over a dining room buffet. We found a frame I liked at Home Goods ($25) and just painted it the same Dover White as the trim. Rita had tons of these blue and white little plates and they have special meaning to her, so I suggested we hang them on either side of the mirror. I *love* how this turned out. I found the blue and white vases at a fun little shop at the shore - they were a steal at less than $20 for the two. On the left side of the buffet, we added four chunky black candlesticks and white candles of varying height (note: we still need to bring in two candles!). I love how the black adds a little depth. And to tie it all together, I found this great blue and white runner from Target, which I think looks terrific.
Before - the smaller buffet had a few things on it and a little picture over top. I thought this area could stand to have a bit more drama, since it is the first thing you see when you walk in the dining room. The picture next to the french door came down too.
And after - we took down the little picture over the small buffet, and brought over the oil painting that I loved so much from the other side of the room. That buffet definitely needed a larger scale piece of art over it. We added the white buffet lamps here on each side of the buffet and found this sweet blue and white tray from Target for about $15. We went through Rita's house and found the accessories on the tray: a lovely silver creamer pitcher and some crystal pieces that bring in some sparkle. On the wall next to the french doors, we took down the picture that was there and brought in a great blue and white print from Target. I found the large blue vase on the floor at Home Goods on clearance for $7.
Finally, this last wall isn't in any of the "before" shots, but I wanted to include it. Rita found this adorable print of San Francisco hiding in their home office. We decided to use it in the room because the colors worked and it was so pretty. Love it! We just found a black frame at Home Goods for less than $10 and hung it on the wall.
I really love how this turned out and can't wait to break it in on Easter Sunday dinner in a few weeks. Next up? I think the foyer, stairs and upstairs hallway, all of which have lots and lots of blue trim. This will call for a special trip to my local Sherwin Williams store, where I will chat with my buddy Warren about his advice on covering the blue with white without having to do three thousand coats. Stay tuned!
What do you think of Rita's new space? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
See you
swoon,
