My "what was I thinking?" has turned into "I'm so glad I did!".
So, the last time I posted about my dining room (here) I was regretting ever pulling that first strip of wallpaper down.
I asked my self over and over, "what was I thinking?"
I eventually pulled myself out of the regret and started cleaning the tons of glue residue off the walls. My husband joined in and we found that it was going to be very slow going. There were a lot of really deep, big cracks in the plaster. It was only after we were almost done taking all the wallpaper down that I happened to be watching HGTV's Property Brothers when Jonathan mentioned that you should never take wallpaper off plaster. TOO MUCH WORK!
Yeah, I know.
By mid-June, not much had been done. My husband's neck, shoulders and back ached and my allergies were acting up. We realized that our ceiling probably should be painted first, but with 10' ceilings, we were dreading that too. We thought maybe if we hired the ceiling out, we could do the walls ourselves.
The glue was making us delusional.
You know how sometimes you just mention something in despair and it changes everything?
I was mentioning the dining room debacle to my sister and she just happens to have a son-in-law as a painter. She highly recommended him.
I called him, he came out and gave us an estimate for the ceiling and also to finish the walls too.
We went for it! He did it all! He got all the glue off, fixed the cracks, primed, and painted the ceiling and the walls.
Our house was upside down for only two days. We had to move everything into our parlor except for the large, heavy cupboards. They all got pushed to the center.
Enter Mike. He did a phenomenal job. The cracks seemed to disappear under his expert workmanship. I never knew he painted. So, if he is my niece's husband does that make him my nephew-in-law? Just wondering.
I really had a hard time choosing a color. I wanted a neutral, like a linen color. But being that the room is quite dark to begin with, linen in paint was just too dark. And I did not want a white white.
So what do I end up choosing? Sherwin William's Highly Reflective White. The name is deceiving because it is a very pretty, soft white in the room. My inspiration was the porcelain doorknobs in the room and that color was the closest match.
So here is the dining room BEFORE. You will see that most of the décor has stayed the same with some minor changes, but it looks so different without the busy wallpaper.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
You get the idea....
 |
| Sorry for the dark, fuzzy picture. It's all I could find. Now just a memory! |
 |
| I love that I finally have somewhere to put my suitcase collection! |
This was the wall with the awful large crack and many others and the plaster in the corner was all crumbled and holes. You can't see any of it now.
I restyled my bench....
This is the cupboard I have been waiting 20 years to hang somewhere in this house. It was in the dining room at my farmhouse and has been in the attic here since we moved in.
The wall looked a little empty and WHITE so I thought it was the perfect spot for it. I am still living with it and haven't even put anything in it yet!
Have you counted the number of cupboards in this room? Four!
Am I obsessed?
Did you notice the floors? While all the stuff was still out I treated them with olive oil. Just took my olive oil cruet and poured it on. I used a dry Swiffer cloth and spread it around. I had to wipe up some oil that didn't sink in, but most of it did. It does wonders to restore wood.
I got rid of the huge plate shelf and put my fish dishes on the wall shelf. They are pure treasures to me, given to me by my Grandfather after my Grandmother died. He said that I got them because I always caught the most fish when he took us fishing as kids.
Here is the lovely ceiling painted ceiling white. It helps to brighten things up a bit.
I love how my huge cupboard just pops against the white. The fact that it leans to the left is more pronounced now too. The floors are a little slanted!
I made a few new things for the dining room.
The ring clip valances, inspired by Kim at Exquisitely Unremarkable. I used 100% linen and I love how they turned out.
I recovered and repainted a stool I got at a garage sale for $2. I am so dumb that I waited to stencil the grain sack on it until after it was on the stool. It was trying, to say the least!
I made a new centerpiece for the table, using the same pine board and lacey burlap runner. The metal basket is from the shop I have a booth at, the cotton stems are from Décor Steals and the books are from garage sales.
One last picture. I love the vintage doorbell so we kept it right where it's always been. It just goes perfectly.
I love how my things just pop against the white. I have been collecting old clocks and bread boards and so they have replaced some of the other décor items I have had in the room.
Time for a change....20 years in the making.
Hmmm, which room can I do next?
I already have color paint chips up on the walls in the parlor.....
What room have you been making over?
AnnMarie
I am joining these fun blog parties:
