Color blocking, floral motifs, accent hues. and vintage silhouettes bring life to a formerly uninspired dining room.
Dining rooms often end up being pass-throughs between the living room and the kitchen and their decor can reflect that lack of attention. Can you imagine a more dismal place to stage a get-together?
But, without any renovation or large expenditures, you can give the space the decorative care it deserves as the room in your home that often hosts life’s most significant events: holiday celebrations, family milestones, and gatherings of friends.
With a little creativity and paint, pieces found at tag sales, in the attic, and others handed down from friends offer the potential for a new look.
A beautiful fabric we made into a runner for the sideboard inspired the dining room color scheme. We used spray paint to give a few accessories new looks to work with our palette.
Shades and tints of blue and green carry most of the weight in our redo but golden yellow and deep fuchsia add warm notes. It’s always a good idea to balance a cool color scheme with warm accent hues.
Color blocking updates this old sideboard. Two shades of green on drawers and blue on doors and linen drawer were pulled from the inspiration runner fabric. New knobs in matching blue accessorize the renewed piece.
Gather Your Materials
- Buffet
- Medium and fine-grit sandpaper
- Tack cloth
- Spray-on primer
- Olympic satin latex paint: Crumb Cookie
- Sherwin Williams satin latex paint: #SW 6717 Lime Rickey, #SW 6765 Spa, and #SW 6746 Julep
- Finish sealer
Instructions
Sand the top, sides, doors and drawer fronts of the buffet and wipe thoroughly with a tack cloth; let dry.
Spray the chest top, sides, doors and drawer fronts with spray-on primer; let dry.
Basecoat the top, sides, front framework with Crumb Cookie; let dry. Base coat the bottom drawer and the drawers with Spa; let dry.
Basecoat the top drawer with Lime Rickey and the middle drawer with Julep; let dry.
Apply two or three coats of finish sealer, letting dry between coats.
Tendrils of leafy vine climb up the edge of a white cotton curtain panel. When stenciling fabric, always wash and dry the piece first to remove any sizing. Iron the fabric to ensure a flat working surface.
Gather Your Materials
- White curtain
- Plastic sheeting
- DecoArt Americana So-Soft fabric paint: #DSS81 Yellow Green
- Disposable plate
- Craft stencil: Martha Stewart Crafts stencil: Tendrils
- Painter’s tape
- Stencil brush
- Stencil adhesive spray
- Absorbent paper towels
Lay curtain fabric on a flat surface that has been covered with plastic sheeting.
Spray the back of the stencil with the stencil adhesive. Apply the stencil to the fabric. Gently pat and smooth the stencil in place to ensure that all areas have adhered well.
Pour a small amount of Green onto the disposable plate. Pick up a scant amount of paint on a stencil brush. Tap the loaded brush onto a stack of absorbent paper towels. Too much paint on the brush can cause the paint to bleed under the stencil.
Using a circular motion and light pressure, apply the paint to the stencil.
Check to make sure all stencil openings have been covered and fill in where necessary. Let dry and remove the stencil. Move the stencil and secure in place for the next repeat, matching the register marks. Continue stenciling until the entire fabric piece is complete.
Cascades of flowers stenciled on wall and floor create a lively envelope for the refreshed dining room.
Gather Your Materials
- Royal Design Studio African stencil: Barka Flower
- Olympic satin sheen latex paint: Crumb Cookie #C20-1
- Sherwin Williams satin latex paint: Aquarium #SW6767
- Latex primer
- Small foam roller and frame
- Mini roller tray
- Stencil adhesive spray
- Absorbent paper towels
- Finish sealer
Base coat the wall with Aquarium; let dry.
To mark placements for the stenciled motifs on the wall, determine the desired horizontal measurement from center motif to center motif. Use a level and chalk pencil to make three vertical lines from floor to ceiling. Measure and mark the vertical placements along each line.
Pour a small amount of Crumb Cookie paint into the paint tray. Saturate the foam roller and roll off the excess paint onto a stack of absorbent paper towels.
Too much paint on the roller can cause the paint to bleed under the stencil. Using light pressure on the stencil roller, apply the paint to the stencil. Check to make sure all stencil openings have been covered and fill in where necessary.
Remove the stencil; let dry. Move to the next placement and repeat until the entire wall is painted.
Check out our next dining room post on Friday for instructions on the doily table runner, floor, and chair slipcover.
Photography by Chris Hennessey
Painted projects by Pat Garrington
© Caruth Studio