Dining Room Before and After

So the first room in the new house that I have made-over is 95% complete! All that remains is hanging the curtain rod and curtains. I have the brackets up where I want them to be, but I need a longer rod than I have. I did get a Lowe’s gift card for my birthday though, and will probably spend some of it on that!

So here is the before- before we moved in. The feature wall of mirrors and 1960’s panels.

Dining Room Feature Wall

From the other direction, looking at the curtain they left for us.

Dining Room Before

Here is the inspiration/mood board I created for this room:

Moody Midcentury Dining Room

And here it is today:

Dining Room After

Mr. Lucky and I are so pleased at how this has turned out so far! He is anxious to replace the light fixture- but I think that will have to wait for now. Same thing with getting new chairs- but we did find a mid-century modern dining room table that fits the size of this room perfectly! I scored it at a local online auction, and paid about $200 for a 60″ table, with two 24″ leaves, and custom table pads to fit. The table is by Walter of Wabash (just run of the mill American furniture).

Walter of Wabash Midcentury Modern Table

I think it’s pretty cool if I do say so myself. I like that it has a slightly different shape to the top. It needs a little TLC as some of the veneer is coming up, but with the table pads to protect it, I should have no problem using it for a very long time!

As I was putting the room back together, I photographed the Larkin chest first. I stole one of the arrangements on the mantle for the picture. The painting is of the Butterfly Garden at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. I painted it for a class I took in 2007.

Larkin Chest with Triptych

The different hues of green in the paintings really help the color come across as teal instead of a more green color. And surprisingly (meaning I didn’t even think to check it first), the other big painting I have hanging in here also plays off the color of the wall nicely.

Cloud Painting with messy kitchen

You can see my messy kitchen there too– I decided not to crop it out because I like how it shows the big contrast between the two rooms. The kitchen and living room stays bright and airy most of the time, and stepping into the dark dining room is like being enveloped in a warm cocoon.

Frame on Mirrored Wall

The frame hanging on the mirrored wall came out nicely too. And I rehung the other gilt mirror where it was before as well.

Gilt Mirror

I think the real gold looks so beautiful against the wall color. I’ve come across many blogs that talk about gilt pieces, or painting on gold, or even doing your own gold leafing, however nearly none of what I’ve seen being done in the DIY sphere is with actual, real gold. They are using something called dutch metal, or amalgam, or composition gold leaf. Some of these may actually have some gold in them, but for the most part they are made with brass or copper and a variety of other metals. Over time, that color will turn darker, maybe even brown of green. If you look carefully at the frame on the mirrored wall, you can see darker spots on it. This is from someone in the past trying to “fix” it by putting on gold paint. Real gold stay bright and beautiful and does not oxidize. How can you tell the difference? Usually it says what it is on the package, but if not, check the price. Real gold is pretty pricey.

Dining Room After

Mmm, I just love my “new” dining room! :)

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