"Dear Laura, Need More Color!" Client Dining Room Reveal

I am excited to show off this client reveal! I have been working on several dining rooms lately and I will have to admit, they are not my most favorite room to redecorate for several reasons. People often feel trapped by their dining room furniture. It's expensive to buy but it doesn't get used that much and sometimes the furniture was given to them by family and they really don't love it or they have a bunch or fancy china and serving pieces they feel they need to display but want the feel of the dining room to be casual. And you thought people had more challenges in the bedroom!! :) 

On this project there were a mix of all the dining room challenges that I mentioned above but most importantly we were trying to incorporate more color in her main level. If you follow us on Facebook you saw my little sneak peek!

But before I show you too much I have to show you the BEFORE shots right?!? This one is a shot looking in at the wall that became our fun "mirror display" wall. 

And this shot below is looking from the opposite direction. Those windows to the left don't know it yet but they are going to get dressed in one of my all time favorite fabric finds! And in a color that is one of my favorite all time "neutrals," navy blue!!!

So lets get to it and start the AFTER tour! That's what you are all here for anyway right?! 

The feature on this big wall is obviously the mirror display. This wall was an important one in the dining room because it is the first thing you see when you enter their house and look to your right into the dining space. There is also a china cabinet in the room which I will show you next. A china cabinet gives off a certain look and sets the tone for the room. We wanted to tone down the formal feel but I felt like we still needed something on the wall that complemented the glass look of the cabinet and the traditional feel of the furniture. Because of that I decided to do mirror but instead of the traditional look of having one giant mirror, I updated the look using several small mirrors to form a large one. Did I mention these are from TARGET!?!

Yes, here is where my love affair started. Good price meets a little paint and a display vision, turning this little dinky mirror into a cool dramatic look….on a budget! Thanks to my client who believed in me when I told her I wanted her to hunt down 6 of these Target Threshold mirrors and paint the inside groove a coral color!! And excuse the bottom half of my selfie! At least you can't see my undies!

After a little paint intervention!!

The lamps on either end of the table are also Target, Nate Berkus finds and were a clearance item and are no longer available, sorry!! You do not, I repeat, do not need to pay a lot for a lamp. My first lamp searches always start at Home Goods where you can find a ton of looks knocked off for less. Target is always a great place to look also. Nate Berkus has really torn up Target with his trendy home line! I have fallen victim to many of his designs:) 

The table itself is the Tanner Long Console from Pottery Barn…. I know what you are thinking! I usually try to avoid PB as I think it is way overpriced for most things. I tried to make this $100 Overstock table work---which, by the way, is the SAME exact table as this Tanner Pottery Barn table for $400!! Point made! But I needed the longer length and Overstock only had the shorter replica. PB wins this one!

The rest of the table display items were all collected on a budget. They are from World Market, Z Gallerie, Hobby Lobby, Target and Pier 1. Nothing on this table was expense! 

Lets talk drapes!! I found this fabric at a local fabric store in Carmel! I loved the pattern. I am a sucker for all things chevron. I liked how the lines were skinny though and it was more traditional looking that the chunkier modern chevrons you see. And I said this above but navy is a great neutral. It goes with anything and yet it adds color to a room. The seamstress pleated the fabric out so you could see the design even better. She did an AMAZING job! 

I told you that there was a china cabinet hutch. These often set the tone of the room but there is no reason they can't be toned down a bit to be less formal. For this cabinet we decided to change out the hardware and to mix in some more casual pops of color on the shelves rather than just displaying only china. 

This is what it looked like BEFORE:

And here it is AFTER with new hardware and a rearrangement of the display case! Most of the pictures are taken with the doors open because I had a heck of a time with the glass and the glare when the door where shut. Not the best of photogs…I will admit:)!! 

Left side of cabinet

Right side of cabinet

New and improved hardware choices. Thank you Anthropolgie! 

Some detail shots of inside. The pine cones could be replaced with seasonal items. For Christmas she could do fancy bulbs on the plates or tiny little trees or topiary! 

In the summertime or any other non seasonal time she could do something like pears or apples (see below)

These frames were found at Hobby Lobby and we took some inexpensive World Market wrapping paper and framed it for a pop of color. It just so happened to go very very well with the Anthropologie hardware on the glass doors! Win!!

These items below were found at C Wonder which is a new store front here in Indianapolis at Keystone Mall. They have lots of great display finds that are fun and priced well!

Here is my attempt to shot the whole display with the crazy glare!! At least it gives you an idea of it all together, right?! 

OK and now for the centerpiece. I hate centerpieces truthfully and I don't like to reinvent the wheel each holiday so the apothecary jars that they sell anywhere and everywhere are a perfect centerpiece as they allow you to just swap out the contents for each season. Runners are great when you can find one that goes but we made our "runner" using a Hobby Lobby long frame we spray painted gold and our World Market wrapping paper. Did I mention the rolls were $2.99. Value!!

The only other thing I may add to the room would be a rug under the table but it is not necessary. I would probably choose a more neutral color palette for the rug but something that would help anchor the table. The chandelier also needs to be centered. I am dealing with a similar issue in my own house as I have gone from a round table to a long one in our breakfast nook. Ceiling repair can be expensive so you will see in my next couple posts how I resolve covering up a hole where you move a chandelier over. Stay tuned. Hope you enjoyed the reveal. I had fun with it and thanks to my client who took a chance on color! 

Cheers!! {Laura}