A Dining Room re-do has been on my agenda for quite awhile. I have been badgering my husband for about 2 years, asking him to repaint and purchase new furniture. We loved the red wall color when we painted it, but my style has changed a bit over the years and I was looking for something more neutral. I am going for casual elegance. I wanted a space that was less formal, comfortable and beautiful for dining at the same time.
The dining room set pictured here was purchased at a department store warehouse sale years ago. I was able to list it on Craigslist and it SOLD for $350.00! I was thrilled.
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| BEFORE |
After some convincing, my hubby agreed to taking this project on... All in all months went by and I have tried to capture our progress along the way in pictures below. I apologize for the pictures, the lighting was terrible when I found some time to snap a few shots.
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| Our Lil' Caroline helping out |
I searched several blogs for DIY tips. It seemed manageable and we decided to take a leap of faith and give it a try.
Installing Board and Batten Molding Step-by-Step
Prep work: Once we removed the chair rail from the wall, applied mud to cover the holes and imperfections, and sanded I cleaned up a dusty MESS for days and days.
We then primed the walls with Kilz Primer to be sure to cover over all the red as my plan is to paint the walls a much lighter color.
1.) We leveled the horizontal slats and taped off with 3'' painters tape to create a template. We decided to add an additional horizontal board about 18" from the bottom base board. In the end this wound up causing more trouble and added a lot of time to the project but the end result was worth so worth it.
3.) We erased our helper's pencil markings on the wall.
4.) We measured, cut, and secured the horizontal and vertical boards to the wall using a nail gun. We purchased all of our supplies from Lowe's Home Improvement for approximately $200.00 for the wood and $75.00 for the paint.
5.) Once all the boards were hung, we caulked the nail holes and any gaps between the boards to make everything appear seamless. We planned to paint the boards and lower half of the walls white in a semi-gloss finish. After much debate and deliberation I finally chose a wall color for above the moulding: Benjamin Moore's Edgecomb Grey.
Here is a picture of the final project. We are thrilled with the end result! I still need to shop for a new mirror for above the buffet because I think the one that is there now is a tad too small. The three picture frames are from Pottery Barn and they hang on knobs from chain. I love the burlap mattings. I framed prints of three special scenes from one of our favorite places on this earth, Nantucket!! From left to right: Sankaty Lighthouse, The Three Bricks, and an old sailboat named the Lillian docked in Nantucket Harbor. I purchased the prints from the Nantucket National Historic Association. They all date back to the 1800's.
The new dining room table is actually an old door from the 1800's as well. We purchased it from a local antique dealor here in our hometown. The owner of the shop makes and restores amazing pieces which he features in his store. This table was a real find, I love that it's a piece of history. It's very rustic and I love how its divets and holes tell a story. I recently found the cream end chairs at HomeGoods and they were just what I needed to bring some drama and a touch of modern into this room. I love the blend of old with new.
This was my table decorated for the fall. I sprayed painted the candlesticks Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze paint (they were shiny brass before). I filled a basket with some fall colored garland and real gourds and added a burlap potato sack as a runner. I love the warmth of fall decorations.
Hope you are enjoying the weekend. We are in the midst of another home project. Stay tuned...
Jen
