Dining room: before and after

I had a feeling I was going to have a hard time keeping up with this thing! Sitting at the computer is a rare thing these days, but I apologize for not being a more consistent blogger. I am finally ready to post a couple of before and after photos! The dining room is the most finished room in the house right now. It is not completely finished, but it is about as done as it's going to get for now. :)

When we bought the house, the walls were a dark red color. It really darkened the whole house. But what you can see from the photos is the character just waiting to be highlighted: the large, lead glass windows and the hardwood floors, which where actually in great shape!

We painted the walls with a soft grey, which ended up being my favorite wall color in the whole house! I was a little stressed about the amount of paint it would require to cover the red walls, but a coat of Valspar High-Hiding Primer and a coat of paint where all it took! I definitely recommend the high-hiding primer if you need to cover dark walls!

Here are the after photos. The room is a little more spars that I typically decorate, but I really just wanted this room to be clean and simple. I have a tendency to be a little cluttery when I accessorize - a habit I am really trying to break. I also wanted to avoid feeling like I have to have something on every wall. I wanted this room, and the whole house to be a good balance of modern and vintage.

I'm not sure why I feel butterflies about posting these photos! This house feels like such an extension of myself that I almost feel like I'm posting pictures of me in my swimsuit or something! haha

I realized after I took the photos that I forgot to turn the light on and forgot to pull the blinds up so you could see the pretty windows better. I really don't like blinds, but I suppose they are a necessary evil. Eventually I would love to get plantation shutters for the bottom of the windows so you could easily see the pretty old panes at the top of the windows.

The buffet was a side-of-the-road find that I refurbished. Not bad for free, huh? The table was an estate sale find, but I'm really wanting to find an old, rustic, farm house table and use the chairs on the ends and one side and put a bench on the other. I ordered the chairs from walmart.com. They are surprisingly good quality for Walmart! I really wanted shell chairs, but those can be pretty pricey so I opted for these for now. I'm actually really happy with them!

Although the room was intended to be light and clean, I do think it needs more wall art, but I haven't found the right thing yet. Also trying to be more selective about my accessories instead of just putting something up to fill the space. :)

Well there you have it! Hopefully I will be able to post more photos soon. The entry room is almost done minus the piano I am in the process of painting (a much bigger project than I anticipated!). Let me know what you think!