Dining Room Makeover… another one!

Remember when I moved into my house in NY, I did my dining room like this…?

I liked it. It worked for us. Fast forward 8 months and the black table and chair set was not working for me… It did the job just fine but looked too dark and overwhelming in the space with the 4 chairs and the black made it look really heavy in the room. Not too mention, I never put vinyl on my burlap chairs and my kids did a number on them. Burlap, food, and kids dont mix! PS. Its a 35″ square table and it took up most of the space being in the center.  I was over it!
I browsed Craigslist for a month or so… really often… I didn’t find anything. I toyed with the idea of building a farm table. I wanted a farm table but I needed a very specific size. It was a tall order for the mediocre Buffalo Craigslist classifieds to fill. Then… I FOUND IT! I found a square white farm table with a wood top and two chairs for $50! YAY!!!! I called the lady and she said she still had it and I could come see it. THEN she warned me. The top was formica and not in the best shape but the table and chairs were sturdy and in good shape. I wanted the base of the table and was willing to pay her price for the perfectly sized farm table base I’d been searching for. I could construct a new table top right??
(Craigslist photo)
I drove my little SUV through the ghetto to her cute neighborhood. Her neighborhood was fine but the area between her little town and mine was scaaaaaary to say the least. HA! I talked her down to $40 due to the condition of the formica table top.
I had the brilliant idea of swapping out the formica top for my black table top since THEY WERE THE SAME SIZE! Meant to be people, meant to be!!!!
BIG thanks to my adorable hubby for going in our garage (where it was 20-something degrees) and doing all the detaching, sanding, reattaching etc.
He brought my table inside and I was in loooooooove! With him and the table 😉
I bought a little tiny can of this magical stuff…. I bought the teeny tiny 8oz can and only used half of it! So remember if you have a smaller staining project, save yourself the money, this stuff goes a long way and you save money by not having to buy Polyurethane! Learn how to stain wood here. I bought it from wal-mart and bought the “gloss” not satin as pictured.
Then….
It didn’t go on quite as dark but I love the shade I ended up with. If I would’ve done a few more coats, I could’ve gotten a darker shade but I was happy after 2 coats.
I found a few wooden chairs for $3 each and got to work on them. I painted the chairs the same color as my craft room dresser since I had the paint lying around and I LOVE the color.
I updated my curtains by removing the top ruffle and adding a $1 wooden valance that I scored from ReStore. I actually bought it cuz I loved it and had no idea where it was going then about 3-4 months later I figured out that it fit PERFECTLY here! I love that store!
I used the removed ruffle fabric and made these cute little bow tie backs. Eeeek! I love bows!
With a little rearranging, I absolutely love my dining space now!
and… Ta-da!
Here’s the move-in photo, progress and AFTER! I love progression photos!
and one last time for fun!
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Ahh! It makes me so happy to see it finished! Next, I’ll show you the rest of the kitchen. I just refinished the cabinets and I’m in LOOOOVE!!!

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29 Comments

  1. Wow- you really did score on Craigslist!! You’ve been busy with these makeovers but it has been well worth it! Love the ruffles on the curtains and the black wall clock, too!

  2. Beautiful! You found a great table and chairs for $40.You made it look fabulous with the wood top! love it! Stopping by from Under The Table and Dreaming.

  3. Lucky you to find a table base and 2 chairs for such a good price. I love the white and light blue and agree it really makes it all seem lighter and brighter. The wispy wreath is a great addition.

    1. I did my chairs black several years ago and I’m also quite over the black as my “neutral” to pull the space together… I like the softness of the blue and am itchin to relocate to FL, maybe I’ll start reinventing my MN home with FL colors and themes. I also have a frame like item that I could paint and use differently and I love the idea of putting it in the kitchen/dining space. Thanks for the ideas ladies

  4. So sorry, This is adorable, but I thought that your sign said “Fat” instead of “Eat” at first….I was like, well, that could get me to think twice on what I am putting in my mouth! HA!

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