Simple Inexpensive Dining Room Refresh

Last week I decided to tackle our dining room. I gave this whole room a refresh for less than $100, and I’m sharing the details today. Come take a peek at our simple, inexpensive dining room refresh.

The dining room is one of my favorite rooms. It’s also the biggest room in our home. Over the years we’ve lived here, it’s seen many “phases”. Truthfully, the way I had it last was my favorite so far. Why did it need a refresh then? Like anything in life, it had fallen into disrepair. The beadboard wallpaper that I applied years ago was showing some wear and tear (thank you, cats.). It ended up being more than I could replace. So, I dove headfirst in and tore down the wallpaper. It quickly snowballed into a mini-makeover. I had two requirements for this inexpensive dining room refresh. 1. It had to be simple. 2. It had to be inexpensive. I believe I accomplished them both.

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First things first

I mentioned I removed the wallpaper. You can see from the photo above the cats had really done a number on it. If you’ve never removed wallpaper before, it’s really quite simple. Once that top layer is removed (which is the hardest part), you simply use a spray bottle of water to dampen the backing and scrape it off. It really didn’t take me over a couple hours from start to finish. Once I had the wallpaper down and the chair rail removed, it was time to prep for paint.

My go-to paint

We’ve lived here for a decade this year. Needless to say, there were quite a few nail holes in the walls that needed patched. I used some drydex, and got them filled and sanded before I painted. Truthfully, I had forgotten about the dining room being such a dark tan when we moved in. It stayed that way for a long time until I added the beadboard wallpaper and painted the top Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams. As you can see, I had quite the task to cover over all that paint. I used my favorite grab n go paint from Wal-Mart in the color antique white. It never disappoints me. It really only took one coat to cover over that darker tan. The dining room is south facing so it gets a lot of really great natural sunlight. I love it!

Once the walls were painted, I decided to add a simple tablecloth I picked up at Target. I have been so drawn to the checked pattern lately. It keeps popping up in many rooms in our house. I love the simplicity and coziness that it adds to a space.

My mom bought me the canvas cow art as a birthday gift a few years ago, and I added the lattice strips to hang it up. It’s really one of my favorite pieces, but it is SO BIG. It takes a great big wall to hang it on, so the dining room is the best choice. I had an arrangement of plates and vintage wall art up before, and I really did like it. I left the nails up behind the canvas just in case I got the urge to hang the plates back up. 😉

Waiting

The hardest part for ANY project is waiting. I ordered this beautiful VERY affordable rug from Amazon, and wouldn’t you know it, it was delayed in shipping. This especially seems to happen when I’m excited about something. Anybody else? I paid so little for this rug I had no expectations. I read the reviews, and so many said they were shocked at the quality. It’s machine washable which is super important to me. Anything I can throw in the washer is a win! I took a chance on this rug, and I will say, I’m pleased. I don’t feel like the color description was super accurate, but I’ve never ordered a rug and had them be exactly like the description. It’s a very thin rug. Almost like a giant kitchen throw rug, but it really does feel like velvet. I think it’ll be great for what I wanted though.

Am I finished?

As much as I love the all-white, I believe I am going to bring some color in. The rug has some green in it, and I’ve come up with a fun way to add some green to the room. Green is my favorite color, and I love to add little bits of it throughout our home. We still plan to get the floors refinished. Even if I have to do it with a hand sander. I really want them done this year. Overall, I am pleased with this inexpensive dining room refresh. It definitely needed done, and the room is basically a blank canvas for me to bring in personality and color.

I’d love to know what you’ve been up to lately. Have you been refreshing any spaces in your home? The weather has been so warm here that it definitely has me dreaming of spring planting and flowers blooming.

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As always, thanks for spending a tiny part of your day with me. I appreciate you!

Simple Inexpensive Dining Room Refresh