Rustic Dining Room Reveal

I love our home. It has the perfect rustic cabin feel. But if I'm truthful, our oak trim has made finding the right decor and paint colors a bit challenging at times. I've learned to embrace the trim, which I don't want to paint, and instead focus on other ways to bring light into our home. And thus, enter the dining room project. After a long time of dreaming, painting, and re-painting, I am so excited to finally be revealing the finished product!

Before, our dining room was fine. The previous owners had gold painted above the wood trim chair rail, and a deep dark brown beneath it. The curtains we inherited with the house were modern, and a series of dark squares. The room was rich, but felt so dark, especially when paired with our oak table and chairs. I dreamed and dreamed about bringing a lighter, more rustic feel into the room. It all started with some white and gray curtains I got on sale at Kohl's, and everything fell into place from there (details below). I love how bright, light, and airy our new look feels. And so much bigger. See for yourself! 

BEFORE

AFTER

The Paint Colors

It took me a long time to finally settle on the perfect pale green. Let's just say that I learned a lot about paint samples and room lighting. Don't let the picture below fool you- my paint samples were actually Valspar from Lowe's, they were just mixed with the Sherwin Williams base in the sample size so that they would be an eggshell finish. I finally landed on a dreamy, pale green-gray called Cliveden Gray Morning  for above the chair rail. It's amazing how much greener it looks on the wall in the daylight than it did online and on the sample card.

After finding my perfect green, I realized it didn't go well with the dark brown beneath the chair rail, so I decided to paint that too. I wanted to lighten the room, and settled on a pretty pale gray that matched my curtains perfectly: Smoked Oyster, also from Valspar. It blew me away how much the gray brightened the room, in comparison to the dark brown of old. And the best part? I painted the entire dining room with a little less than three of the sample size containers, which were only $3.75 a piece. So I spent less than $12 on all of my paint! 

The Canvases

Once I got my colors right, we decided to keep our dark brown mirror and clock up on the wall. I started to dream of other wall art, and found some beautiful tea towels from Martha and Mary. I was in love with the beautiful lettering, and the phrases on both towels. I received them as gifts for Christmas, and then set to work making them into canvases that could be hung. 

To accomplish this task, I took my towels to Hobby Lobby and purchased two canvases that were the right size for me to stretch the towels around while still keeping the lettering in view. They ended up being bigger than I expected, but I actually love them a whole lot. I threw them in the dryer and ironed them on the opposite side to get the wrinkles out.Then, with Aaron's help, we wrapped them towels around the canvases and stapled them down. The color is perfect for the room, and ties in oh so nicely with my $3 burlap table runner from Target. 

The Centerpiece

Another one of my fabulous Christmas gifts was this rustic wood centerpiece that Aaron made for me. I love the bottles, the stain on the wood, and the fact that I can switch out different types of artificial flowers from Hobby Lobby whenever I want. Baby's Breath are some of my favorite flowers to use in it, and I also like anything off-white, like roses or tulips that I use to brighten the room and provide an accent. Of course, I'll also be happy to put some fresh cut flowers in here on special occasions. If you love this centerpiece just as much as I do, you can actually order your own from our new Currently, Kelsie Shop. Aaron and I are starting to sell a line of rustic wood decor and other custom handmade items, and we'd love for you to check it out!

Our dining room is a place where we constantly spend time. It's the first thing you see when you go up the stairs, and it's the place you'll find us gathered around the table with those we love- playing games, sharing meals, and swapping stories. I knew that I wanted a dining room that I loved, one that felt like the perfect mix of cozy, inviting, and bright. And now I've got just that- the beautiful, rustic room I've always pictured. And the best part is that we spent hardly anything to change it. How can you bring new life to a room in your house?

Currently,

Kelsie

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