Dining Room Makeover

A year after moving in, we have completed our dining room’s much-needed makeover! This project was a whole year in the making. The dining room is a place where we gather often as a family. It is important to me that exudes a welcoming, warm, comfortable space. But let me tell you what. The dining room was everything but that.

The size of our dining room is one of the main reasons I fell in love with this house. When we were searching for a new home, having a bigger dining room was a huge must for me. The first time I walked into our dining room, I actually thought it was the living room! I still facepalm at my moment of foolishness. 

Here is what the dining room looked like before.

Lighting

Lighting is everything! Replacing and adding new lights was one of the first things we did once moving in. We went with this lovely farmhouse/ industrial light fixture from Amazon for under $150! We have had a lot of compliments on it and it fits perfectly with our large table. 

Paint

The dining room was this ugly sage green color, not the nice modern sage green paint you see nowadays. One of the walls had wallpaper that was extremely outdated and peeling. There was a coordinating border placed midway along the wall which was crooked and peeling. Needless to say it all just needed to go.

After a lot more prep than I would like to admit, we painted the dining room Benjamin Moore’s color Collingwood. It took us forever to decide on a paint color. I am so happy with our color choice though. You can read all about our paint experience and the troubles of getting rid of that dang wallpaper in my painting our dining room post.

Dining Table

We upgraded our dining table shortly after we moved in. The old table was meant to only sit 4 people, which is way too small for us. Being a large family of 8, we needed the largest table we could afford. We found one from Ikea and that comfortably seats 10 people. The chairs were also from Ikea and they were the cheapest chairs you could buy. The old dining table is now our homeschool room table.

RELATED POST: Check out our new homeschool room.

Sideboard

Also kept in our dining room is our sideboard from Ikea. This is where I store extra kitchen items that we don’t use often. Such as baking supplies, large stockpot, and things like our waffle maker. I love decorating this area with seasonal stuff. We also move any table decor on the sideboard whenever we need the space. 

Eventually I would like to find better wall décor for above the sideboard. Until I have a better idea of what I want, we have this grateful sign.

Filipino Wooden Fork and Spoon

This authentic wooden spoon, fork, and knife set are my favorite decor pieces in the dining room!! It is so important that I tie in our family’s culture with our home decor.

It is very common within Filipino homes to spot a wooden spoon and fork in the dining room. The wooden fork and spoon symbolize good health, prosperity, and family strength. My grandparents had large a wooden spoon and fork in their kitchen. I remember gazing at them every time I was at their house, eating some homemade Filipino food. The best thing about these is they were only $20!! I found these gems on the Facebook Marketplace. Words can’t even describe how happy I was the day I went to pick these up. I also discovered that the seller’s family member bought them while on a trip in the Philippines. It truly felt serendipitous. The best $20 spent! 

Plant

Adding a majesty palm looks great the corner next to the wooden spoon, fork, and knife. I love how this plant adds a natural element to the room and it’s safe for cats and kids! I do not have a green thumb what so ever so we’ll see if I can keep it alive.

Liturgical Table

On the other side of the dining room, I recently set up a liturgical table. I have always wanted a designated area where I could display reminders of our Catholic faith. Items like pictures and prayers for special feast days and liturgical season. I decided to put together a liturgical table and I am so happy with how it has turned out. This little spot in the dining room is the perfect spot for this because we will see it every day.

RELATED POST: Read all about how to set up a liturgical table.

Homeschool Cart

Since we often do a lot of homeschool studies here, I have a homeschool cart in our dining room. It helps for us to have a designated throw all for our books and homeschool supplies. The cart prevents the sideboard and dining table from getting cluttered with school books.

It is so relieving to have the dining room makeover done. It’s another step in making our house into our home. I a few things I would like to still do here like:

• changing the bi-fold doors
• replace the trim and baseboards
• painting the ceiling
• possibly shiplap

DONT FORGET TO PIN THIS!