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Aaron and Heather’s "New" So-Fresh-And-So-Clean Dining

June 12, 2012

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Heather’s home is clean and clutter free, but she wanted to add “fresh” to the mix and nix some of the builder beige.  We started in this dining room nook that is right off of the huge kitchen and opens to the living room.  As you come in the front door, it is one of the first areas you see, which is why we started there.
 

In a day and for less than $100, we created this little oasis:

Fresh, clean and crisp, right?  There were a few things that set the color scheme here.  First, it was the fabric choice for the adjacent living room window seating:

So, although we weren’t using it in the dining room, because it is all one open space–it was important everything flowed well.  The second deciding factor was actually spray paint, if you can believe that!  We knew we wanted to breathe some life into the black chairs and spray paint colors are not as varying as wall paint colors.  When we found that Krylon Dual’s Ivy Leaf matched the lighter green in the fabric swatch almost perfectly, we sprung for it and knew we could find a happy blue for the walls.

With 6 helpers by my side (Aaron and Heather’s children), I educated them in the art of spray painting these black chairs a glossy green.

I highly recommend a cheering section for every spray-painting project.  The youngest girl eagerly exclaimed, “It’s so CUTE!” multiple times, when I only thought it in my head.

The wall color is Benjamin Moore’s Green Wave.  It’s a warm, light blue also known as, light turquoise. It has some gray undertones which makes it perfect for an adult space like this dining room, but could easily translate into a nursery or tween room or spa-like bathroom.  It definitely made my go-to color list.

Besides painting the chairs and the walls, we dug through all of Aaron and Heather’s plates and found cheery greens and yellow ones to fill her plate rack that always hung on the wall in the dining room.

For the wall opposite the plate rack, Heather had white frames on hand that she really wanted to use.  I simply painted some squiggles on the cardboard backing with the paint colors they had on hand and it made for some no-fluff, chic-cafe-ish art.

Yeah, that runner is totally a throw rug.

We found it on clearance at Kohls and I insisted they needed it.  Not only did it pick up the green and blue, but it also had cream, orange and brown–which are found in the adjacent living room’s area rug.  Pairing the throw, err runner with three glass tumblers and lemons and crab apples–we had a centerpiece for the monstrous dining table.

And, this room was a wrap.

Before:

After:

A very cheery wrap.  When we broke down the budget–Heather got a little happier.

Paint–$34.41 (with a $10 off coupon at Ace Hardware)
Benjamin Moore’s Green Wave color matched at Ace
3 cans of Krylon Dual Ivy Leaf
Throw Rug turned Table Runner–$16.95 at Kohls
3 Glass Tumblers–$6.99 each at Ross
Faux Fruit–$22 at Walmart

Total: $94.33!!

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What do you think?

  1. […] While their house is absolutely gorgeous and top-to-bottom organized (you saw their dining nook here, their jaw-dropping laundry room here and their music room here) she has been working hard to […]

  2. wilma says:

    !!! wow. would she ever consider painting the inside of that exterior door black? it loooks great.

  3. Jane says:

    I voted today. Love the color on the walls! So cheery!!

  4. Ashley Clauss says:

    Your touch is amazing!

  5. Leilaviana says:

    Just voted for you guys! hope you win

  6. Meagan says:

    whoa six kids…can you tell I am single and childless – I would totally throw some pillows on that bench haha

  7. Maybe down the road. Right now, with 6 kids, Aaron and Heather are all about practicality. And wiping down the benches is too frequent to throw pillows in the mix.

  8. Girl, you are GOOD! This is such a fun and bright room! I love it. And I can’t believe the cost. I about died. You are definitely coming over when we build.

  9. Wow, fabulous job! Adding color is so scary for me but you make it look so amazing! I’m just now doing my first painting-black-piece-of-furniture project and it’s scary because black is so safe…but definitely not as interesting! Thanks for the inspiration.

  10. Meagan says:

    Wow those chairs in green are rocking my face off!! Love it! Are they going to add some fun pillows or cushions to those benches?

  11. Wow. Jealous. As usual.

  12. I love the plates you pulled out on hand! Did she just use the plate rack as wall decor before? It was just meant to be what you did, I loved this part of your writing “but could easily translate into a nursery or tween room or spa-like bathroom. It definitely made my go-to color list.” Perfectly articulated

  13. Victoria Bradley-Morris says:

    Oh my gosh! I totally love this. My favorite part are the green chairs. I thought the chairs looked so chic in black; I would have never imagined that they could pop SO MUCH. Love, love love. Can’t wait for you to come to my house, Jules.

  14. Will do! The adjacent living room we have just started brainstorming, but we tackled the music room last night. Stay tuned!

  15. I am not sure! The molding around the window is really stunning in person and I know that they are especially smitten with it.

  16. Heather Gearhart says:

    This looks amazing! I love the color combinations and the green chairs are to die for! I can’t wait to see what else you guy do in there :)

  17. Meg - 18Preston.com says:

    This looks so great! I love the budget friendly transformation from a “builder’s beige and white” dining room to this! Will they ever add curtains? That would be the icing on the cake.

  18. Love it all. The chairs especially.

  19. That is their garage! Haha. Their town is windier than Chicago most days and we didn’t want to risk spray painting outdoors.

  20. Jessie McKinley says:

    Love love love it. I can’t get over how amazing the chairs look. I need to make that happen to my chairs asap.

  21. Lindsay @ Off For the Season says:

    Ummm *scared.

  22. Lindsay @ Off For the Season says:

    I’m so impressed with the makeover! Did you guys really paint the chairs inside? I’m waaay to scraed to do that!

  23. Kathywestwood says:

    Yes, a totally fresh, inviting makeover. Julia, I’m going to be sending some pics of our master bedroom. It really needs help and see what you might recommend. Love ya. Glad that things overall are doing really well. Come see us in Iowa!

  24. Ashley Rae says:

    Super cute! Although, I might love it even more because I have that same fabric in my apartment! I loved that it tied the teals and greens of my decor with my white trim and beige walls. (What I REALLY needed was something to make that odd shade of beige on my walls look intentional and not like my landlord picked up whatever he could in the Oops section at Home Depot. Ha.)

    I really love what you did “with” the fabric though. Please link back so we can see the final living room area when she’s done! I’m sure it’ll rock!

  25. Adore the wall color and the color of the chairs! LOVE it!

  26. Adore the wall color and the color of the chairs! LOVE it!

  27. Adore the wall color and the color of the chairs! LOVE it!

  28. meaganbriggs3 says:

    Those chairs!!!!!!! Sooooo adorable!!!!!!!!

    Love the color choices! So inspiring!!!! Good work with such a small budget!

  29. Ashley Clauss says:

    and I voted today too:)

  30. Anne says:

    This is beautiful! Isn’t it amazing what a pop of color can do?

  31. Jessie McKinley says:

    I voted today!

  32. Julia F says:

    love the personality you added to the space!

  33. I voted today! (I totally forgot to vote yesterday… I’ll try and remember tomorrow.)

  34. LOVE that color! I really want to use it in our guest bathroom! It is so calming and fresh! :)

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