My Dining Room Plan Is Coming Together
Well, y’all, my plans of finishing the side studio steps yesterday were thwarted by rain. I was able to make some progress before the rain started, but obviously, I wasn’t able to finish. The good news is that it looks like today will be rain-free, so I’m going to do my best to get those finished up today.
So when it started raining yesterday, I came inside and sat down at my computer, determined to come up with a plan for the dining room. I know I still have a lot to do before I get to the dining room (a few more outdoor projects and then the storage room), but I really enjoy planning ahead. Not only do I enjoy it, but I want to have the whole plan in place and get everything ordered so that it’s all here when I’m ready to get started.
It all starts with a dining table, and as I shared a few days ago, I’ve been looking for a dining table since the beginning of this year. And literally nothing I’ve seen has inspired me. I’ve looked at ready-made tables that I can just purchase and move right into the room. I’ve looked at Facebook Marketplace about twice a week since January. And still…nothing.
But that changed yesterday when I came across this photo on Pinterest. If you had been sitting next to me when I saw this, you would have heard an audible gasp come from me when I saw this. This table is from Hibiscus House, and it’s not the style of the table that made me gasp. It’s the color. I absolutely love how bright and fresh this looks. I’ve really started loving greens more lately, and this one is absolute perfection to me.
After seeing this table, and having that reaction to it, I realized that my issue with dining tables hasn’t necessarily been that I can’t find the perfect style. It’s that the idea of having a large brown table as the jumping off point for my dining room doesn’t inspire me at all. Don’t get me wrong. I love natural wood, and I try to make sure that every room in our house has some natural wood in it. I love the warmth that natural wood adds to a room. I just don’t necessarily want so much of it. I like color, and I love painted furniture. So I like the big stuff to be painted and colorful, and then I like to add the natural wood in smaller doses.
I felt so inspired after seeing that table, and I can totally imagine a pretty green table like that in our dining room. As far as the actual table, I decided that I really want this table that I found on Marketplace, but the person who posted it won’t respond to my inquiry.
I don’t understand why people list things on Marketplace if they’re not going to respond to inquiries. Perhaps it’s already sold.
If he doesn’t get back to me, and if I can’t find another one similar to that before I’m ready to start on the room, I’m just going to build my own. A table like that would actually be very simple to build. I’ve built tables before, so I know I can do that. But the one thing I’ve never done before is paint a piece of furniture with a shiny lacquer finish. That will be a new challenge for me, but I’m excited about trying it. I generally don’t like shiny lacquer finishes. I’m almost always prefer a matte/flat finish on everything from walls to furniture to floors. But every once in a while, I do love a gorgeous shiny lacquer finish, and I think that bright, fresh green deserves a shiny lacquer finish.
Once I had that jumping off point in my mind, I needed a pattern. And because I’m me, my mind went to florals. I really wish I had one of those dining rooms with lots of solid walls where I could do something really dramatic, like wrapping all four walls in a floral or landscape wall mural. But of course, our dining room doesn’t actually have much wall space.
The largest area of wall space is where the picture ledge shelves and TV are now. But that’s not even a whole, uninterrupted wall because of the door leading to my studio. The front wall is almost all windows.
I knocked out the wall between this room and the kitchen so that they’d be open to each other, so there’s barely any wall space left there.
And then I added a wall between this room and the pantry, so while I do have some wall space on either side, there’s still not much of it.
So adding wallpaper or a mural to these walls wouldn’t have the dramatic effect that I would want. I’ll have to rely on my draperies to bring that drama and color. I started searching for the perfect fabric for the windows, and I came across this one on Spoonflower (affiliate link).
I’m not sure if this is the one. In fact, it probably isn’t. I love those big pink flowers. But the other colors may not be quite right. I wish the green had a little more yellow in it to better coordinate with the color of the table. And I think the blues might be too blue. I need (want) them to be teal. But this is the inspiration, and this is the direction I’m heading.
When you see the table and the fabric side-by-side, you can see that the green on the table is more of a yellow-green. There is yellow-green in the fabric, but I think it’s too bright.
So I might end up designing my own fabric with this as the inspiration, but with the perfect colors that I need for our house. I’ll keep looking, though. Like I said, I still have some time before I’m ready to jump into this project. But now, I’m feeling very excited about it. Until yesterday, and before seeing that green table, I had no vision for our dining room. I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do in there. But once I saw that green dining table, things started clicking. I feel like I finally have a vision for this room, and that’s something I can work with.
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
The floral curtains and green table will be stunning. And so you!
I really love the green table in the inspo pic, but I don’t think I love it in the actual room. To me, with all of the teal cabinetry, it just feels like two giant solid masses of color that I don’t think play well together. The green in your primary bedroom looks great with the color of the teal grasscloth, but the teal in the kitchen reads more turquoise to me.
Could you Wallpaper the ceiling for drama?
Ooo, yes!!
I hope you can find a shade of green that plays well with the kitchen teal and the tiles in the pantry and that allows for the purple buffet. Love the colors you already have AND the green table. Didn’t you adjust the colors of the flowers in the wallpaper you used in the studio? Perhaps when you find the perfect design you will be able to make the colors and shades match or play well with what you already worked so hard on. I so badly wish for your sake, that you could tweak your colors without having to completely redesign. Everything is already so pretty.
Years ago I painted a table and then used two coats of Polycrylic. It has held up very well. Just an idea for a gloss finish.
I love when inspiration comes out of the blue, it feels like it is meant to be when that happens. I love the table, the color and even the fabric. If I know you, you’ll have that looking awesome in no time at all. Can’t wait to see how you do the lacquer paint on the table, I have a few items that I am hesitating on here at home because for all the paint I have slung in my lifetime, lacquer is not one of them and it gives me pause when I don’t know what I don’t know, which usually ends in me screwing it up. Love, Love, Love it. Thanks for sending the rain up here to very dry Tennessee, we sure need it.
Cheers to you, Matt and the Fur Babies!
I thought you wanted a table that sits more than 4 petople. Do the measurements allow a wheelchair to fit.
I believe Kristi is more focused on the color. Did you see the part where she wanted the rectangle table? I believe she’ll paint whatever table she gets/makes
Love that table! However, I think much of its appeal in the inspiration photo is that it shines in contrast to the transparent chairs and all the ivory shades around it. Of course the table color is repeated in flowers, plants, accessories. So it is the simplicity of the surroundings (as well as the finish) that makes this table shine and take center stage. Something to consider.
Oh, I love this for you! As you where “spinning” around the room. I was sad at the thought that there was not enough wall space. Then for some reason as soon as you showed the fabric a vision hit me of every wall space there is along with the drapes and CEILING covered in the print! That might be much for some folk, but you could definitely pull that off. I think the fact that there is so little wall space might even be a boon. If you create your own print you could create a coordinating wallpaper.
So, you would be replacing the drapery in the dining room with the floral fabric? How about covering the dining chairs with the floral fabric and leaving the drapery as is? A floral fabric that combines all the colors in the room – teal, pink, green, purple, white – would be lovely!
Kristi moved the draperies in the photo of the dining room to her closet/laundry room.
I share your frustration with Marketplace. I’ve had experience where (in my mind) these 2 women had a ton of giggles yanking my chain for about a week. They had excuse after excuse for not showing up an hour before the scheduled time.
The table will be wonderful in your room. Even the scallops on the mirror scream “Kristi”! And I’m sure you’ll come up with the perfect fabric
for your room. Have a nice holiday weekend.
Love the green table and the idea of a bold drape though I find the one you’ve shown really too repetitive. It’s an issue I have with many Spoonflower fabrics which is why I always look to see if they have the fabric under curtains so I can see what it will really look like. I used this fabric from Spoonflower for Roman shades in my laundry room and powder room windows. She has lots of bold florals and many designs that remind me of Lily Pulitzer.
https://www.spoonflower.com/en/fabric/18300035-hydrangea-harmony-on-capri-seafoam-by-cherylgrahamdesigns
You may not have a wall big enough for a mural but you have a ceiling! Hire a professional and paper the ceiling in a big, bold, dramatic paper. Trim it out in beautiful molding and a little gold leaf! It will be fabulous!
Really looking forward to this room. I’m overwhelmed with the fabric choices at spoon flower. I need to recover the barstools, built in bench and the chair seat cushions. The bench has been painted a light green and the very old but sturdy woven chair legs and table top need to be painted as well. Do you have a post about combining fabrics?
Maybe instead of lacquer…. Top with a cut piece of thick vinyl, a few mm thick to self heal some & to mimic glass topped tables. Then can place a pattern like floral paper cut to size under. You may be able to use some of the leftover mural.
My minds eye is imagining a white trellis pattern somewhere in the room. I’m loving that green! The inspiration table is quite petite though, the table from Market Place appears a bit heavier. Just something to consider. Good luck as always you will figure it out!
Of course you can paint any piece of furniture any color-but I think this color on this table works because the table has a “faux bamboo” look to it very outdoor garden terrace feel and it’s also not a solid paint finish it has underlying shades of bamboo peaking through, or an “antiquing glaze technique” Which you could totally figure out how to replicate I have faith.
I feel like you need to look at tables with a lighter feeling base or pedestal instead of heavy turned legs, Maybe like a Regency or Duncan Phyfe pedestal with the brass on the tips of the legs-they’re everywhere second hand in every price point. My 2 cents.
https://a.1stdibscdn.com/vintage-regency-birdseye-extendable-duncan-phyfe-dining-table-for-sale/f_58522/f_451572521748013243909/f_45157252_1748013244136_bg_processed.jpg?disable=upscale&auto=webp&quality=60&width=960