All this talk of the kitchen renovation, but what’s going on on the other side of the kitchen? Well, the dining room is also getting a makeover!
When we first moved into this house, we did a quick-ish makeover in the kitchen – basically a phase one. We removed an island wall that separated the living room from the kitchen and dining area and gave the kitchen a bit of a facelift (quick kitchen refresh here). Here was the before and after:
And a before of the “island wall”:
Dining Room Phase 1
The previous owners had their dining area set up against that wall that separated the living room and kitchen. So, once we removed it, we scooted the dining room table over against the half wall. Honestly, it makes a heck of a lot more sense in the overall flow of the house. Though, with just a half wall there, it felt a bit like the dining room was just floating around in no-mans land. We also wanted some more privacy to the back of the house where the bathroom, bedrooms, and laundry closet are. But taking out the wall was all we could do for phase one.
Dining Room Phase 2
Entrééé (read: ontrayyy) phase two. We finally worked up the gumption to tackle the half wall and build that sucker to a full wall. AKA – my dad finally had time to come help 😂
With a few of us working, it took about 2 days to raise the new wall. We removed the top of the half wall, framed out half another wall, and stacked it right on top. Then we secured them together in all the necessary places and, BAM, whole wall.
We also framed a new linen closet in over the stairs. It was completely unused space before! We could desperately use a linen closet in this house and this was the perfect spot to add one as we were extending the wall all the way up.
Someday I’ll make it cute. And put some shelves in. Add a door. You know, closet things. Someday.
Now, I’ve done a lot of drywall finishing. However. This was a beast I did not want to tackle. The other side of this wall is over the staircase, not to mention our walls are textured so we had to try to match the existing texture on the new half of the wall. I would love to get rid of all the textured walls in our house, but that’s just not realistic. So the only option was to match it, and that’s really just out of my skill set – ain’t no way I could make that look good 😂 So, for the first time ever, we hired out the drywall finishing. It only took them 4 months to show up … but, daaaang they did a nice job! Not gonna lie, it was really weird to have someone else work on our house. We’re so used to doing everything ourselves! But it was 100% worth the wait and investment.
A Blank Slate
Then we painted and put the trim back on. Here it is today:
My goal has mostly been to get the house to a blank slate. I know it looks a little plain right now, but my brain can only handle so many decisions at a time! I figure we’ll get everything to a blank slate and then we can add some character.
This wall is dying for some sort of trim or molding. I’m thinking I might go dark, but I haven’t totally decided yet. I’m kinda waiting to see how the kitchen turns out, and then we’ll go from there. Maybe a banquet too? Or a bench built into the wall? Custom DIY banquet? Who knows! But we’re so happy with the progress. It actually feels like its own space now. I’d been eyeing that tapestry FOREVER [HERE] and was so excited to finally have a wall to hang it on!
I like to collect images on Instagram and Pinterest when I’m starting to brainstorm a project. It helps to put some ideas together and see if there’s a common style you’re drawn to. Then put your own spin on it. That’s the coolest thing about design – no matter what, everyone produces their own unique design at the end of the day. You can’t help but put your own personality into your work. It’s the coolest! Check out my Dining Room Pinterest board for more inspo.
Would you go bold in a dining room? Or keep it more light and airy?
| Tylynn |
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