dining room re-do, done!

The dining room re-decorating is done! For now, at least. I already shared our messy and boring beginnings,  and how I de-cluttered and created a new furniture layout. Once the clutter was gone and the new layout was in place, I dressed up the white shelf and edited to decide which accessories would stay and what would go. Finally, I shared how I made over the dining room table and my saved from the trash tables. Today I'm going to share how the whole room came together from beginning to end.

As a reminder, this is what I started with:

before

And here is the dining room, after:

after

I'm so happy with it that I keep finding myself sitting in the living room, staring at the dining room! In my first post about the project, I mentioned the main areas I wanted to tackle were Layout, Clutter, Window treatment, and Furniture.

And here is how I addressed each area:

Layout: I moved the table under the window, and the shelf to the old location of the table. I love having the table right under the window to enjoy the natural light it provides. I also love that when I am sitting in this chair...

  ....I have a perfect view of my basil, which grows on the balcony railing. Mango approves, as well :-)

Clutter: Before I decided to re-decorate, the dining room had a lot of clutter from both Will and I. I cleared out the things that belonged in the trash or recycling bin, or other places in the apartment, and edited out accessories to decide which ones should stay, and which should go. Now we just need to work on keeping the clutter out! The dining room table can easily turn into a dumping ground for mail, backpacks, my purse, and school paperwork, but having it clear and ready to sit at for a meal at any time is definitely a goal worth working for.

Window treatment: I've gone on and on in previous posts about how much I hated the apartment provided blinds. I was so excited to take them down and replace them with these printed crinkle sheers from World Market (I was also happy that they were on sale for $15 each).

so long, ugly blinds

Furniture: I knew as soon as I began that I was going to paint the chairs to replace the brown plastic ones I had before. What I didn't know until I got well into the project was that I was going to paint the table as well. Now that I'm done, I'm so glad I did! I think it was the biggest transformation in the room, and it wouldn't look nearly as great without the color change.

I also added a printed fabric to the back of the shelf, which is one of my favorite changes in the room. (Pictured above)


You can see above some of the finishing touches I added to the room. I bought two linen colored placemats from Target. They have golden yellow embroidery, the yellow accents I was going for.

I also created a centerpiece made with all pieces I already had: a woven circular mat, black and white votive candle holders, and a green apple candle all from Ikea. The finishing touch was a plant I've had for a few months, in an apple green ceramic pot. 

Budget:
Fabric: $8
Spray Adhesive: $5 (with most left for future projects)
Primer: $8 (with tons left for future projects)
Paint: $9
Polycrylic Protective Coating: $7
Brush and roller: $10 (cleaned after using so they are usable for future projects)
Chairs: free!
Curtains and rod: $35

=$82

I think it's worth mentioning that I got what essentially feels like a totally new dining set for $34!

Re-decorating the dining room has been so much fun! I still have some ideas of things I'd like to do to add to the room. Yesterday I was at Target and saw so many things I would have loved to buy! Those will have to wait until my budget (and hopefully clearance items!) allow. So, done for now, but I'm sure there will be more to come.