Welcome welcome! Come on in. Today is the reveal of our dining room and I am so glad you are here to check it out! This is the fourth time I have participated in the One Room Challenge and I can say that each time I have participated I feel the same roller coaster of emotions. From excitement, to frustration, to feeling completely defeated, to complete joy. All in a short 6 week time frame. Every time I say I will never do it again, yet here we are… again. 🙂
I mean, can we just talk about how short six weeks is to design a room and then actually pull it off?! If it sounds hard, it’s actually harder than it sounds. But the beauty of the challenge is that it keeps me focused on one space and the result is always worth it at the end. Since we moved in our new home a year ago, the dining room had not been given any attention, so for this challenge, it was time to make it feel like our own. (to see the rest of our home, click here)
So without further ado, let’s take a stroll through our newly designed dining room.
Whoa, maybe you didn’t see that wall of birds coming? If the birds feel like a surprise, that’s because they were! Admittedly, the birds took me a bit by surprise as well.
But once I had the vision I literally could not stop thinking about it and spent the next 5 days hunting for frames and getting the birds printed. Eat. Sleep. BIRDS. Repeat.
The bird gallery wall was a big undertaking, but one that I just love and makes me smile. The best part is that it cost under $100 so if someday we find a perfect piece of art or get tired of the gallery wall, I can easily swap these out for something else.
But I just don’t see that happening any time soon. #thebirdistheword
With the statement wallpapered ceiling, I needed something neutral to complement it and was a bit stumped on what to do for awhile. I love how these birds are neutral, yet bold.
Is bold neutral a thing? It is now!
OK, now let’s stroll over to the other wall. The mirror was a thrift store score that I couldn’t pass up. For $25 I figured the scale was good and loved the rattan detail.
I knew right away I wanted to spray paint it a mossy fern color. Turns out, it was just what this wall needed and the large size mirror really helped anchor this wall.
The console below the mirror has now been several colors in several rooms and it got a coat of dark gray for this room. I love when a piece of furniture is so versatile it can be used in just about any space.
OK, let’s talk about the side chairs flanking the console. I could write a novel about this drama, but I will spare you the details. Long story short, very early on in this challenge I decided that I MUST HAVE a pair of cane chairs for this room. And I went on the hunt. I scoured Craigslist and hit my Goodwill. And I struck out. Repeatedly. With only a few days left to pull this room together, I was sweating it on Monday, but decided to give it one more go.
Boom! Imagine my delight when I saw this pair of chairs.
Admittedly I was hoping for something taller and bigger so while the scale isn’t really what I had my heart set on, they cost me a total of $4.04 (yes as in $2.02 a piece)….
They started out a pretty ugly neutral wood color and the seat covers were all wrong. But the cane back was what I had my heart set on, and those caster feet (rub n buffed with gold) are a sweet surprise. Nothing a quick coat of satin black spray paint can’t fix. Oh, and I have been obsessed with the Les Touches fabric for years so decided to try my hand at DIY-ing a similar pattern for the chair cushions with some navy blue paint. (after of course, you guess it, I spray painted them white first)
The Les Touches pattern is just so classic and timeless and while this is far from the real thing, I love how the pattern plays with the rest of the room. Wait, is that another bold neutral I see? I think I am definitely making it a “thing” here.
OK, now let’s take a look at the next wall where we have a window and drapes. Similar to the wallpaper ceiling and chandelier, the drapes were left by the previous owners. But I wanted to add a little something-something so decided this Greek key trim was a fun way to put my own stamp on them.
I love this extra little “pop” this simple update made to the room! Little details really do go a long way.
But really, this wall didn’t need much more “pop” after I decided to paint the pair of benches I recovered in Antelope fabric and painted with a fun coral/red spray paint. I mean, if the color is called Paprika it’s definitely going to be a fun “pop” am I right?! There is actually a pair of these and I have them under the windows but since I have yet to figure out how to take pictures into windows you can get the idea here. (Seriously, what is the trick to getting pictures taken into windows to turn out?!?)
Moving on to the colorful art you see here. I wish I could claim that I started with this and built the room around it because that is how perfect it ended up, but it was actually the complete opposite. On Monday, I was also spinning on what to do for this little wall. I needed something to help tie the room together but was coming up blank. The very same place I found the pair of cane back chairs I stumbled upon this fabric. (Yes, if you are doing the math, Monday was 3 days ago. That is why this challenge is bananas!) When I found this crazy fabric clearly from the 1970’s I figured that the colors were pretty and maybe I could use it somewhere in the house someday. But the more I looked at it on the drive home, the more I was convinced this fabric was actually the P-E-R-F-E-C-T fabric to tie this room together.
So into a frame it went. Y’all. It has geese. And bunnies. And a lemon tree. And aqua, coral, navy blue and green. I kind of love how the birds play off the other wall, too! #happyaccident It pretty much makes my heart sing. And I just love it’s groovy feel. I have about a million yards of this stuff so I would definitely expect it to appear again in the house.
I know I will always continue to tweak this room. (ahem, just like every other room in my house) But overall, I am SO happy with this room turned out and can’t wait to invite some friends over to break it in.
But honestly, I am going to take a little break from spending any time in here, because I have spent WAAAAAAY too much time in here over the last month. So we will probably be eating al fresco this summer. #notmad
Oh hey there! Had to snap one with me zhushing some Trader Joe’s flowers in my new fave room!
And because we all love a good before and after- here is the space before we got started.
And one last look at the after!
I am so incredibly thankful for all of your support along the way. And I am so happy you came by to take a virtual stroll! A special thanks to my friend Rachael from This is Our Bliss who I texted at least 359 times over the past 6 weeks. Also, a big thank you to Linda, the creator of the One Room Challenge, for hosting this fun challenge.
If you want to see the progress each week you can see all of the updates below. I also tried to source as much as I could for you below, but as we already discussed, this room is full of DIY’s and vintage pieces so I will share tutorials on those soon.
xoxo-
Heather
FOLLOW ALONG AS I TRANSFORM OUR DINING ROOM!
WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 & WEEK 5 | WEEK 6
ROOM SOURCES:
Spider Chandelier
Trellis Wallpaper
Wall Color- Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White
Dining Room Table- Restoration Hardware 17th C. Priory Round Dining Table
Dining Room Chairs
Bird Wall Art- DIY Project of Olof Rudbeck Bird Prints- full tutorial coming soon
Green Rattan Mirror- Vintage- painted with Satin Moss Green
Drapes- Custom using Rose Tarlow Fabric
Greek Key Trim on Drapes
Sisal Rug
Benches- Rustoleum Paprika Spray Paint
Orchid Vase- Vintage Silver Trophy Ice Bucket
Floral Art- DIY using vintage Burlington Madrigal Nature Scene Fabric (1970’s)
Cane Chairs- Vintage Chairs and DIY Les Touches knock-off painted chair cushions
Benches- Stone Antelope Fabric
Ahhhhh!! This is so beautiful and everything, not just works, but looks like it was all meant to be. The chairs [oh, the drama] the birds, the fabric art, the mirror, lamp and so on. I just love it so much. Now, if we can find a way for me to get down for a visit to help you break in this room soon, then all will be right in the world ha!!! Fab job, girl! xoxo
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Those chairs are still giving me nightmares. So thankful you encouraged me to do the ORC because you know this room would be nowhere near done… and those chairs would still be sitting in the garage waiting to be dealt with! Thanks for all of your support!
It’s beautiful. I’d really like to see a tutorial on how you painted the chair cushions…and how you scored such a great deal.
Heather, it is amazing! I really love the bird prints. And that great mirror. What a find. The entire room is just gorgeous.
Thank you so much Lauren. I still can’t believe that mirror was just sitting there waiting for me to bring it home right as I was spinning on what I was going to do in the room. I love this challenge for how it pushes me to think outside the box and make it all work in such a short time!
Love this!!!! THAT CEILING… O M GEEEEE
Thanks Cait! The wallpaper really is such a bold statement- but somehow it becomes a neutral?!?! #magic
The Ceiling – the green and blue hues – the bird print wall! And those chairs!! I’m seriously swooning and love all the details you put into this room. Rich with color and texture – it’s a stunning reveal! Congrats!
Thank you so much!
Heather, you totally knocked this out of the park! There are so many good details and I LOVE your story of coming across just the right pieces at the last minute. Love it when that happens! I never would have guessed that you painted those seat cushions, I thought it was an expensive designer fabric! 😉 Birds, ceiling, mirror, art, stools…. all so fabulous. Thanksgiving is going to be fun at your house this year!
Thanks so much Jennifer. I still can’t believe I found those chairs for $2 a piece. But thanks to the ORC everything is actually put together and not sitting in my garage for months waiting to be finished, lol. And you know I was channeling you with that green mirror! 🙂
Beautiful, and I love the birds!
Thank you so much!
Heather it’s all gorgeous! Love LOVE your neutral bold bird wall!! Totally agree #thebirdistheword as grouped en masse it really looks amazing! And the pattern on the ceiling, trim detail on the curtains, and pop of green from the mirror!
Neutral Bold- totally makes sense right?!?! 🙂 Thank you so much! What a whirlwind 6 weeks but it’s always fun when it all comes together!
I adore the vintage glasses and the duck gallery wall. Good Job.
Thank you! Duck, duck, goose lol. But really, isn’t it so fun to have a few vintage pieces in a room?
This room is gorgeous! You did a great job. I LOVE the fabric you framed. The collection of bird art is stunning.
Thank you so much. That fabric truly brings a smile to face- what a fun find!
Wow! That ceiling is stunning! I love your wall of birds! So cool! Great job on your new room!
Thank you so much!
Love, love, love the room. Can’t wait to see your house one of these days!!
Thank you! YES! Come on down!! xoxo
Wow – love the wall of birds! Fantastic statement wall. And the green mirror is beautiful – truly a great find. Your room turned out beautifully! Congratulations!
Thank you! The birds still take me by surprise when I walk in but boy do I love them! Thank you!
Your room is gorgeous! I love the bird wall and those seat cushions. Great job!
Shelley
Thank you! I still can’t believe I found those chairs for $2 a piece. Yay for the ORC for making me actually finish them because you know they would still be sitting in my garage otherwise lol!
So pretty! That chandelier and the wallpapered ceiling are the stars of the show!
Thank You!
THIS ROOM IS AMAZING! I love that you put details on every inch of the room. While it is so hard to pick, I think my favorite part is the pair of chairs! So pretty!
Thank you so much Jewel! Those chairs were definitely doomed but it always fun to breathe new life into things! Thanks!
I just can’t pick one favorite thing because I truly love the entire room. It is so fresh and unique. I adore rooms that are totally unique. But, I’ll be checking back to see how you painted the cushions on the chairs. Congrats on a great makeover! Now, time to enjoy. ~~ Susie from The Chelsea Project
Oh my, there are so many things I love about this post. well done. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful room and I love the framed fabric! Did you paint the blue lamp that is on the buffet? If so, what is the paint color?
Thank you! Yes i did, the color is Krylon Satin Oxford Blue.
Heather this dining room is awesome!! I love your bird wall, I just love when inspiration strikes and takes on a life of it’s own. Your green mirror was a fabulous score and I love all the pops of color!! Congratulations on a beautiful makeover!!
Ahhh! I love your dining room! That green mirror is by far my favorite, but I also love your wall of birds and, of course, the ceiling!!
I am absolutely loving your dining!!!! The wallpapered ceiling, the inspiration bird wall, the green Mirror and the fabric on those chairs !!! Looks like I am going to find a room to do wallpapered ceiling .
Heather, I’m so sorry that it has taken me this long to see your beautiful dining room makeover. The bright green mirror is a stunner and I love adding the trim to the drapes. Using fabric as art is such a great idea. Lovely job.
Hi Heather! Love love all of your decorating posts but this one is one of my favs! Are you still planning to do the DIY bird wall post? I keep looking for it… 🤞