Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Taming The Creme Nightmare.....Ahhh....Yes....The Dining Room Makeover Part 1

We have affectionately referred to our house as THE CREME NIGHTMARE for years.....because when we moved into our house there was not one painted room.....THE ENTIRE HOUSE WAS CREME! Ok....so it was nice to have a blank pallet to work with.....but.....ugh.....all that creme....bleh.....SO BORING!

So......I am sure most of you have heard how a little paint can totally change a room.....and....I have to say that I totally agree!  That's not to say that painting is easy....especially if you have a little one running around...to be truthful it is a big old pain!  All that taping and plastic....ugh!  BUT....it is SO worth it when you see that transformation!!

So....I got the itch one day to paint my dining room....oh yeah....did I mention that this was on a Monday....And.....we were having a party at our house on the following Saturday.....yep.....nothing like a deadline to get you moving FAST!! 

So here's what I started with......


Ok....ok....so it's not bad.....but it is REALLY creme!!  Seriously.....I think we need to spice this baby up a little bit!!

So.....I saw this post over at Thrifty Decor Chick and LOVED the color that she used in her dining room.....SO dramatic.....with such a formal touch.....SO....I had to try it!!

So.....here's the after......


Ahhhh.....L-O-V-E it!!  The color is Cinnabark by Behr.....it is a really rich dark brown color and it really POPS with the white molding.....did I mention that I love how this turned out.....oh yeah.....I guess I did!  Seriously though......going with a color this dark was risky for me......remember....I am an engineer.....so I like to play it safe!  And it didn't help that the hubs asked me about 50 times while I was painting if I WAS SURE that I wanted to go that dark.......ha............now he loves it too!!  Don't doubt the VISION babe......don't doubt the vision!!

Here are a few more pics, so you can get a good look :)






And a couple up close pics to show you some of the details......





The big "hurricane" type candle holders in the first picture above came from Home Goods (I bought one and my Mom bought one for me....thanks Mom!!). 

The second pic shows off my recent obsession with all things quatrefoil......just look around......this stuff is everywhere right now!  I suppose it is a trend of sorts.....but I noticed when I was at my parent's house that their 1970's kitchen cabinets had an bit of quatrefoil......so I guess what goes around comes around :)  ANYWAY.....since it's a little trendy I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it......SO I used a stencil to paint the quatrefoil design on the piece of cardboard that came with the frames (and I got the frames 1/2 price at Michael's......I think.....or maybe Hobby Lobby....can't remember).  I think they turned our pretty good for a cheap and easy DIY!!  I also like the sort of global / Moroccan feel that they give to the room.....there's my spice :)

And the last pic.....I just used some old vases and candle holders that I had around the house.....added some river rocks and candles.....and sat them on top of a mirror that we took out of our 1/2 bath when we remodeled it......such a quick and easy centerpiece......just my style!!

Well.....whatcha think?  Likey?  I hope so!!  We really do!!  BUT.....as I'm sure you can tell.....I'm not finished in there yet.....there are still lots of free spaces that need some love.  I've been thinking and I've got some ideas......oh yeah.....it's gonna be fun!!  BUT.....I won't spoil the surprise.....you'll just have to wait ;)

What ideas do you guys have for this space?  I'd love to hear about them......

Until next time....

XOXO-
Kristal

I'm linking up here.....

Thrifty Decor Chick

6 comments:

Kelly said...

I agree that the dark color really makes the trim stand out. I think it looks good. However, have you considered a lighter rug to balance out the darker walls, floor, and furniture? Maybe a natural fiber one, or maybe one that's mostly lighter with some chocolate in it. I think it will be really easy for you to add some fall color accents in this room - merlot, maple leaf red, pumpkin - linens, candles, chair pads(?), etc. With a neutral palette, same goes for the other holidays/seasons. Looks good Kristal!

Kristal @ Engineering Life and Style said...

Kelly - Ahhh....good point on the rug...I have been so torn on this issue....some say no rugs in the dining room b/c they get dirty, etc....but I think it might be a nice place to bring in another color to the room (like you said....something lighter).

The wood floors are pretty light although the pictures don't really reflect that so much....but still I kind of like the idea of the rug....

Yeah....I haven't put any fall decor in here yet....I've got some up other places, but nothing in the dining room yet. I am really excited about Christmas decor in here....we had it looking pretty good last year and that was even before the paint :)

I've still got a lot more to do in the dining room...were just getting started :)

Jenny @ Simcoe Street said...

The room is looking great!

Jenny
www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

Kristal @ Engineering Life and Style said...

Thank you Jenny!! Your comments made my day :)

Grammy Goodwill said...

That's a beautiful color in your dining room. At least you had a creme colored house - ours is just plain old vanilla white. Well, except for the one wall I insisted we paint a rusty orange. It's my favorite!

Kristal @ Engineering Life and Style said...

Grammy Goodwill-
Thank you!! We loved the color once we got it up on the walls and added the accents....we aren't done yet...it's a work in progress for sure :)
I'd love to see your rusty orange....is there a pic on your blog?

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