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The Dining Room Wallpaper is in!

November 21, 2022

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You all know I’ve been tempted to wallpaper the dining room for a while now… and we finally did!

Wallpaper | Rug | Table | Pendant | Stems

It’s even better than I imagined it would be!

Ever since we added the cased opening to make it feel more enclosed, I’ve been tempted to wallpaper it. At one point, I considered using a toile, but I wasn’t fully convinced, and I wasn’t going to make the jump for just any paper. In the meantime, the walls have remained white, teasing me to wallpaper them until I found the one.

And I found “the one.” Actually, I found the one and used it in our Modern Cottage powder bath. I loved it so much that I even saved the scraps and moved them all the way to North Carolina! When I came across them recently, it hit me… This needs to be in the dining room! 

I ordered more wallpaper that very same day. 

After

Before

Here’s that same angle before we moved in, scooched over the back hallway entrance into the kitchen, and added a cased opening to separate the dining room from the kitchen.

Once my heart was set on this wallpaper, I needed to decide what I wanted to happen with the trim and doors. We actually decided to make the opening into the living room smaller by just 16-in. We still like the flow between the two rooms, but on the living room side, we just wanted a tiny bit more wall space! Our contractors were able to use all the same original trim!

It’s kind of hard to tell in the picture below, but now it’s just a bit narrower than it used to be. Still, plenty of room to walk through!

We decided to paint the trim and doors a beautiful gray-blue (Gibraltar Cliffs, Benjamin Moore), and it reignited my love for contrast trim.

Cabinet | Lamp Base | Lamp Shade | Brass Candle | Candlesticks | Taper Candle Holders

I’m too scared to hang anything on the fresh wallpapered walls right now, so I’m just letting this room breathe for a bit, but I did roll out a Chris rug (Ivory Clay). I love it!

Arch Cabinet | Francis Rug | Swivel Chairs

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What do you think?

  1. Victoria Pool says:

    It looks beautiful! I bought the same wallpaper in the green color for my babies nursery. Do you happen to know what wallpaper paste was used to put yours up? On the cole and sons website it says to use their specific paste, but I could not find where to order that within the US.
    Thank you!

  2. Eileen Rinehimer says:

    my daughter has a sample piece of this EXACT wallpaper on her dressing room wall, waiting for the “funds” to purchase it, and then have me wallpaper. seeing in over a larger area looks so beautiful. you and she have such good taste in design !!

  3. Adrienne says:

    Lovely! The color of the trim really looks good with the wallpaper. Maybe you’ve answered this before, but if you’d ever be interested in doing a blog post on choosing a busier pattern vs a larger pattern and what your thought process is for each space I’d be super interested. Is there a secret to knowing which will make a space look larger or smaller, etc? Another blog post idea would be how to handle wallpaper with peaked rooms. I see you do have a sloping ceiling in this room, but it’s still a pretty easily defined difference between what is wall and what is ceiling. In my little cottage I have some upper rooms where halfway up the wall it starts to peak. Is that wall or is that ceiling? I kind of don’t know how to handle it. I’d like to put wallpaper in there, potentially, but do I wallpaper it all? If I decide to not wallpaper the ceiling where do I stop? Anyway, just some things I’m wondering and I’d love to know your opinions if you have any!

  4. What a beautiful room. I can see widow treatments against that wonderful paper.
    https://smithshangups.com/

  5. REK981 says:

    This looks so good!

  6. Heather says:

    I love, love this space but no surprise here, you are a brilliant designer. Just so good. I am shocked at how many comments share opinions about what you should and shouldn’t do and what they wish you would have done or not done. People and their opinions amaze me. Like news flash this isn’t your house! Julia and Chris don’t need you tell them what they should or shouldn’t do keep it to yourself and do it or not at your house. Good lord. God bless CLJ for sharing with us in the first place. Audacity is at an all time high. “Beautiful space CLJ”! That’s all that’s needed or nothing at all. Unsolicited advise = criticism

  7. Jess says:

    This is such a great example of how important sight lines are. The way you moved doors and encased in the room truly elevated the appearance. Now when you look from each vantage point the view looks nice. I love how the wallpaper plays off the Pigeon color in the living room.

  8. KB says:

    Happy dance looking at this room. Probably my favorite you’ve done. I agree with not hanging anything yet — that wallpaper is art itself, anyway. When the right thing for the room shows up, you’ll know and can hang it then. How nice to dress up this room a bit; I bet that takes away some of the temptation to use the study as a formal dining room :)

  9. I love the wallpaper and rug!! Where is the engrance to the kitchem?

  10. Mary Lynne says:

    The Dining Room and trim are stunning. Sometimes the wall paper is the artwork. Like in this case ! But I’m sure you already know how to hang the art without damaging the wallpaper lol! Happy Thanksgiving!

  11. Paulina says:

    Great wallpaper but i do wish you would’ve drop matched it instead of straight matched it — it’s so repetitive

    • Catherine says:

      I mean, wallpaper matches how it matches, it’s very rarely something you can just shift without things just terminating into thin air and looking cut off. Either you like the pattern or you don’t, the paper is what it is.

  12. Nicole says:

    It looks beautiful! The warm wood chairs contrast so nicely with the color of the trim and wallpaper.

  13. Kotti Rocha says:

    Are you tempted to paint the ceiling the same color as the trim? Curious about when you choose to do this and when not too. Maybe bc this room is vaulted?

    • Kotti Rocha says:

      Also meant to mention that this room is looking so GORGEOUS! The choice to shorten the width of opening to the living room was brilliant. It’s the little things that get a bad rap for feeling non-fun or maybe not worth it that can make a HUGE impact! Bravo!

  14. Patty says:

    So beautiful, as are all of your design choices! I’m curious about where the dining room trim color meets the living room color. They seem to be a similar tone.

  15. Abby says:

    I love the dining room chairs so much but can’t find anything similar! Boo hoo! Any ideas???

  16. Cassandra Cataldo says:

    Yea it looks beautiful! I like the paint color as well and do feel like it would look nice with the mural wallpaper in the study too. It seems very versatile.

  17. Ashley says:

    Beautiful – what color did you use for the trim?

  18. Celia says:

    Love the wallpaper and the painted trim. Don’t think the rug works. Too contemporary with the wallpaper. Love the living room paint with the wallpaper and trim color. Please don’t paint the living room white.

  19. Geen says:

    So pretty!

  20. Amanda says:

    Beautifully done! Love the contrasting trim, love the wallpaper, love it all. ❤️

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