My very first thought when we looked at the house, was that the Dining Room could be beautiful. From the beginning, I could see the Pickwick Pine (aka knotty pine paneling) painted white, the walls opened up and a dramatic chandelier. But not everyone shared my vision :-) I heard lots of comments like "Seriously, you're going to leave that paneling? Are you crazy?" So it took some convincing!
We didn't make huge changes to the room - but we did eliminate that weird closet at the bottom of the steps and its trap door to the basement. Now there is a nice open landing, which provides a great focal point for artwork.
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| Dining Room Before - a sea of Pickwick Pine and Acoustic Tile Ceilings |
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| Dining Room After - Light and Bright |
Do you remember the pine built-in hutch? It took more hours that I thought to fix it up. But it was worth it. It's a great vintage piece that provides nice storage and a place for display. The glass shelves, interior light and frosted glass Restoration Hardware drawer pulls really dress it up.
But probably more dramatic than the dining room is the addition of a foyer. This was originally a porch, but once we knocked down the walls and added some built ins, it's a great addition to the house. And it gives you that open feeling from the minute you walk through the front door!
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| Original View Coming Through the Front Door |
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| A Real Foyer with Closets and a Boot Bench |
And finally, I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of the open floor plan. It gives you an idea how different a house can look, when you take out a few walls.
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| View from Living Room - Before |
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| View from Living Room - After |
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| Open Floor Plan |
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