Before and After: The Dining Room

Originally, this house didn't have a dining room.  But early in the design phase, we decided to take one of the first floor bedrooms and create one.  After all, you need someplace to have Thanksgiving dinner!

So this was our starting point....behind this wall.  The room inside was okay, but nothing exciting.

Dining Room Before 

But after removing the wall to the hallway (and yes, we rescued the phone caddy - more about that later), it changes the way the entire first floor feels.

And it's a great space!  There's room for a large table, as well as a sideboard.  I wanted to jazz it up a bit, so I painted these big, dramatic stripes on the wall (if the future buyers hate them, I can paint over them pretty easily!).

In a nod to the mid-century roots of the house, we went with this drum shade chandelier.  I just love the big metal ovals on the perimeter.

And we changed out the corner windows and put a double window on the front wall.  It looks so much nicer from the exterior and brings a lot of sunlight into the room.

Cooper Dragonette

Local artist Cooper Dragonette was kind enough to lend me this beautiful original oil painting.  Artwork adds so much to the space!

We think this is a great room for entertaining.  Wouldn't you love to have a dinner party in this room?

Sources:

Chandelier - Ovala by Uttermost

Dining Table - Pottery Barn

Sideboard - IKEA
Table Lamp - Christmas Tree Shop ($14.99!)