My house is dark. There are two HUGE elms in our front yard that make the natural light in our house less than abundant. And we can’t paint the walls in our rental. Check out the sad before pictures of our dining room:
Since we will live here for only a year, I decided to go with a really bright and fun color scheme for the room.
I reupholstered the $50 Craig’s list settee myself earlier this year.
Before:
After:
{And, yes, I am slightly embarrassed that Chiang Mai pops up so much around here…}
The table is a mid-century Drexel piece that seats 12 with all the leaves installed. I love it. It was purchased for $50 from a Craig’s list seller who had “distressed” it to “look like a Pottery Barn table.”
There were 10″ long scratches in the surface and perfect phillips head “star” screwdriver gouges! A little bit of wood filler and some sanding helped a lot.
The table’s been painted black for most of the time I’ve owned it, but I recently painted it this really moody ink blue color that I love, called “Umbrella” from Martha Stewart.
The chairs were purchased last fall at the Brimfield antique show. They were in really bad shape when I got my hands on them…
I blogged about them here. They are painted one of my favorite creamy white colors, Martha Stewart’s ‘Macaroni.’
I had planned on putting down a seagrass rug, but I actually really like the way the PB Collette rug looks in here. I like the muted tones layered with all the really bright colors.
I sewed the drapes myself using peacock blue linen fabric that I bought for $1 a yard at a local fabric store because it had been sun bleached. I simply dyed all the fabric with some RIT in the washing machine and fixed the discoloration. This saved me some serious cash.
I used cream twill tape trim from eBay for the box pleated accent on the leading edges. You can purchase a similar trim at M&J.
The tortoise shell-looking bamboo shades were on clearance at Home Depot (though they can be purchased full price here). There were only two shades left at the store and they were different widths, but you can’t tell layered under the drapes.
Remember the clock?
I cut off the scalloped apron and added $5 worth of moulding to the sides.
The whole thing got a coat of Martha Stewart’s ‘Vintage Map’ and then I trimmed out the moulding with glossy black paint. I’m still waiting for the brass ring pulls to come in for the bottom cabinet doors.
I bought nine IKEA Ribba frames for $7.99 each. I can’t find the link online, but they were a natural wood color before I spray painted them the persimmon color.
I photoshopped some old family photos for the frames and I love getting to see images that remind me of our family heritage every day.
The tole chandelier was another Brimfield purchase ($40).
I bought a very pretty gold-leafed plein air frame for a client a few months ago and didn’t end up using it, and I really wanted to incorporate in my own home. Rather than buying a painting to fit the frame, I scavenged my art supplies in the basement for an old 16×20 blank canvas and some oil paint to create a VERY rough version of this image from Lonny.
I don’t love it, but I guess it’s fine for now.
The server was a birthday gift a few years ago from my mom. It used to be an old dining table that was cut down and two new legs were added to the back to make it console table sized. I gave it a coat of chartreuse green paint for the dining room redo.
The Chinese stools were a total craigs list score and have a permanent home under the server table. The large sunburst mirror is from Home Goods. I bought it a few months ago.
That’s it for part one. I’ve got lots of fun DIY projects from other parts of this room that I can’t wait to share with you all!!
Absolutely Amazing!!
LOOOVE IT!!
Especially the mirror!! :)
Great Job! I would love to see how you reupholstered the settee!
No way. Wow! I am amazed. I love your style! Your ability to add so much personality and color and sophistacation is inspiring. I need to paint something! My husband is in training, no real job for another 2.5 years and I have used that as an excuse to have a house full of mis-matched junk for too long!
I can't believe you reupholstered that settee yourself! Brilliant!
This really is incredible. Really. How in the world did you reupolster that settee? And I've always wondered about dying stuff in the washing machine. Did you have to worry about other things getting stained after you dyed the curtains? Seriously, I would buy your book if you had one. I would spend $40 on a design book by you. And then I would buy it three more times to give to my best friends. You're amazing.
The settee!!! Holy cow that's gorgeous. Do you know of any good resources for learning how to reupholster?
Okay are you like kidding me right now that room is adorable….I have only been following you for a short time, can't wait to see what you create when you're not pregnant…you make me look like a slug :(
LOVE what you did, can't wait for the DIY's…. !!!
Kathy :)
Gorgeous room – I would never have guessed it had been put together on such a minimal budget.
Magazine-worthy, definitely!
I second all the people who asked how you reupholstered the settee. Did you wing it or learn the trade somewhere? PLEASE PLEASE DO TELL!!!
Jenny,
Once again, you hit it out of the park. You are such an inspiration for people who live on real budgets but still don't want to sacrifice. Your dining room is absolutely lovely. Thank you so much for sharing your talents!
How do you do all that AND have small children? I have no excuses for my own boring dining room now…
i am inspried! you are so creative!!!
SO many great pieces in this space. You know that settee is going to get lots of love!
Looking at all the projects in this room makes me tired for your pregnant little self. Go take a nap honey, you earned it.
I love the color palette here!
so great! you inspire me to just go for it in my own house. and holy crap I can't believe you reupholstered that settee yourself!!!!!!!!!!
The room looks amazing. You seriously blow me away with how talented you are. You have give me the courage to upholster a chair myself (fingers crossed).
Please tell us how to reupholster a settee or armchair ourselves.
I am LOVING the settee. Can you please do a tutorial on upholstery tips? Not sure I"m brave enough yet to tackle that.
Hi everyone!!
Thanks for all the nice comments! I really appreciate the positive feedback. :)
About the upholstery questions: I think that upholstery is a project that most anyone can figure out. BUT on the scale of DIY difficulty, I would put the more intricate reupholstery projects (like my settee) at about a 9. It is REALLY labor intensive and takes a very long time to reupholster something like this. That is why upholsterers charge a fortune!!
I am actually planning a upholstery tutorial in the future, though to be honest, it will probably cause more headache for you (and consequently for me) than it's worth! Every upholstery project is so unique and requires a different approach.
My best advice (the way I learned to reupholster) is through trial and error and through reading books on upholstery. I've blogged about this book before, but an all-time favorite is Singer Upholstery Basics (available for cheap on Amazon). I have read that thing cover to cover. It's good.
About the painting projects, all of the furniture in the room (the server, the clock, the table and chairs, etc) were all painted (brushed or rolled on) with regular latex paint in semi-gloss or hi-gloss finish.
Southern Aspirations: I DID switch the sunburst mirror and the family portraits!! The orange frames were too much visually above the settee and the furniture layout is more balanced in this version. Good eye!
Katie, if we could paint in this room, I would probably choose a very very pale blue, like BM's Winter White (OC-21), which would read as a super clean white. The current white on the walls is very yellow and makes the room feel dingy.
And speaking of our lame paint, if you own a rental (or if you live in a house with kids) PLEASE DO NOT paint your walls in flat paint. I can't even touch our walls without leaving a mark. I walk around the house literally every single day with a wash rag and a magic eraser trying to undo the day's damage. NIGHTMARE!!!
So gorgeous. You really transformed that room! It is fabulous. I love how well the curtains came out with the dye and that trim. Also that chandelier is such a great find. You have such a great eye. The painting is great too. Is there ever an end to your talent? I see my spot at the dining table right over in the corner:)
Jenny!! stellar job, i really love how colorful vibrant it all is, just stunning, really. I hear you on the flat paint too, we just bought our first home and I was actually hoping to use colorful furniture and NOT paint, but to my dismay the builder used really cheap flat paint and Im in the same boat as you, scrubbing off every mark my three yr old makes, arrggghh!! Again, love your work.
Woooow! Every renter HAS to see this- it's proof of the amazing things that you can do with a borrowed space.
incredible once again! love your style!
One more question, Jenny! Can you tell us anything about the potted plant? It's adorable, especially in that gorgeous pot.
Kind of amazing.
I have a question….where did you learn to reupholster? I would love to learn how to do it, or is it just something you do and learn along the way?
OH MY GOODNESS!!! I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR TEAL LINEN CURTAINS FOR TWO YEARS!!!!!!!! I HAVEN'T PUT ANYTHING UP BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO SETTLE! NOW I AM OFF TO BUY LINEN….AND DYE AND MAKE THE DARN THINGS MYSELF. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!
As MANY others have said now, this room really is inspiring. It's just gorgeous and it's given me so many ideas. You make this look effortless, but I can see just how much work you've put into this room! Thank you for sharing! I've been enjoying your blog so much, especially as I decorate 50's ranch from scratch!
Your entries make me so excited to have my own place! I'm getting ready to graduate college and am hoarding ideas for my future home!
I love how you can make a craigslist find look like a million bucks!
FANTASTIC. You ooze with talent. Well done.
Absolutely beautiful! You have totally inspired me to search Craigs List more often. Great finds. I would die for a tutorial on how you reupholstered the small sofa! I am so intimidated on doing thins like that.
I love everything I see on your blog! Although I don't usually go for lots of color, you may just change my mind. Your dining room looks fabulous!
This is truly beautiful. Every detail is perfect! Just out of curiosity, if you were going to paint the walls in this room, what would you have painted them?
Jenny's aunt here…..Yes, she is this amazing girl that just can't stop doing stuff like this. She might have little gnomes that help her, but I've never seen them. I think her 'ever creativeness is hereditary. (Her mom is the same way). They are both
'non'sleeper people that thrive on making stuff look cool. Hi Linda and Jenn…..Becky
i. am. in. awe. of. you. WOW!!!!!!
I totally admire your fearlesness with color!!! Go Jenny!
oh wow! so many good ideas! i never tire of seeing that chiang mai fabric…one day it WILL be mine :)
I'm in awe over your design sense. This is temporary space yet it is completely decked out. I love the colors and amazed at all the work you put into it. How do you have time to do it all?? Amazing. Love!
That is one of the most beautiful rooms ever! I'm blown away by the gorgeous settee!
Absolutely lovely and an inspiration for me to get to work on my dining room. If you can do such beautiful things in a rental, with 2 small kids and another on the way (right?), what is my excuse?!
Hi Jenny — I'm a new follower of your blog, and I absolutely LOVE your ideas. I have a quick question – when you refinish furniture you sometimes choose to paint, and sometimes choose to spray paint. What makes you choose one over the other?
Thanks!!
Noa
Wow. Can't really think of what else to say!
Nicely, nicely done!
You do more in a weekend than I've done ever. This all looks so good. Amazing. I need to get up and do something substantial but I've said that before. Eventually.
I really like how bright the blue accents make this room. I wish I could learn how to reupholster. It'd save me so much $ and I could change things upon every whim!
OMG!!! Who are you?!!? What are you?!!!! You need your own show!
JUST FABULOUSLY AWESOME!
adore the entire room..
am green with envy..
wish it were Mine!!!
thanks ever for sharing!!!
Loui♥
You're amazing. Very, VERY nicely done.
Brenda
LOVE IT. People complain all the time that they can't add colour because they can't paint their walls. You have obviously proven them wrong. I also love the stripe on the little side chair. Tons of texture and pattern … One cohesive room. congratulations.
Oh my stars! That is absolutely stunning! Care to come do my dining room? My dining room is still in a state of chaos, and we've been living here almost 2 years! I am still trying to figure out how to arrange some inherited furniture. Love, love, love the colors you chose!
Amazing job! I can't wait to see part 2. Can you please do a tutorial on how you reupholstered that settee? I'd love to see how you did it yourself.
Design fusion at its best! It's contemporary. It's shabby chic. It's antique. It's modern. It's multicultural. It's clean and classy, but not so intimidatingly fancy that you wouldn't want to touch anything or hang out in there. Congrats on finishing it!