Dining room makeover: ideas for my own situation

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I see a couple of ideas here that are useful for my own remodeling. But the thing that really jumped out at me in this story is that the homeowner and I have nearly the same name: she is Kathryn Price, I am Kathy Price. However, she has three kids and a law degree. And I don't. But still.

This simple dining room makeover took place in a Western Springs, Ill., home, near Chicago, and was reported on by the Chicago Tribune.

Here's what I noticed that can help me:

Paint that table: I have a wooden table in my kitchen that probably won't retain any zing whatsoever after I get my kitchen walls and cabinets repainted. Trouble is, my husband Bill bought that table a few years ago and brought it home for me as a gift (see it here). Now, Bill is not very domestic. That's all on me. So for him to take the initiative and have enough caring and concern to actually pick out a table and bring it home . . . well, that's not something you want to set out with the recycling. So this room shows me that painting a wooden table can be a solution. And I'd definitely go with high gloss. And it looks great with wooden chairs, and I have wooden chairs.

Go bold with the chandelier: I've had this same issue, using a too-small chandelier or hanging lamp to fill the space. Going big and bold takes courage, but what a difference it makes here. I'm considering a hanging lamp over my kitchen table, so I want to remember this lesson.

Pour on the moldings: This room already had base moldings, but nothing where the walls meet the ceiling. Adding the crown moldings gave this room a substance it couldn't have gotten otherwise.

Anything you like here?

Read the whole story

Comments

[David Kean]

Nice job! It shows the power of a can of paint.

David Kean

[Inland Empire]

Color and art work bring the room to life. The painted table looks sorta drab.

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KPR: Thanks for pointing that out, I.E. Sometimes it's hard to determine exactly what's making a room so appealing.

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[h]

The moulding makes the window look larger...that helps.

[sasjeh]

What makes this room work, is the fact that it has bold details compared to before, but not to many. I has 2 main colors, where if the room was completely gray or pink, it would have been boring again or over the top. And the 2 colors work nicely together they are not fighting. Also, this is very light and bright room, that can use some color. Not some dark room, where the light color used before might have come in useful.

1 wall to focus on, one focal point, not 27.

But I really like how they changed the 'place' of the window in the room. Before, the location of the window was annoying, look at where the painting was located. Now they framed the window like a work of art. They embraced the window.

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KPR: Oh, nicely put!
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