Surprise! And NO – it is not another child :)

Remember this?

 

Wouldn’t you rather eat here?

  That’s right!! The 1850’s house is D-O-NE!! And I love how it turned out. But if you were just looking for pretty pictures you would be reading Town & Country magazine so let’s get down to the dirt. And let me tell you --- my hands were dirtier in this house than in any other project I’ve ever tackled.

The room’s challenges:

-old plaster uneven walls

-2 hideous light fixtures

-stained and rotting wood floors

-DIY “built ins” (if that’s what you want to call them)

-only one small window and it consumed by window a/c unit

So…I of course envisioned what I think EVERY dining room should feel like. Light, airy, clean, and room for company at the table.

At my grandparents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary I remember my oldest aunt speaking of all the “strays” that came through their home. She wasn’t talking of pets. She reminisced that although my grandparents often didn’t have enough food to feed their own seven children that there was always room for one more. We may not have the same daily challenges of supplying food, but we need to capture that same spirit and always remember…

“Better is a dinner of herbs where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.”

I’ve loved this verse for such a long time knowing that it would be better to eat only greens and be in a loving home than to eat a feast of meat and all the “fixin’s” with contention in the room. (Note to self: get a vinyl letters cut out of this verse for your own dining room.)

The room’s remedy:

-heavily textured, paintable wall to ceiling

-bead board paneling as a faux wainscot paired with a

chair rail

-paint existing 6” baseboard

-floating floor

- decorative round trim for connecting the floating floor and existing trim

I’m a dreamer, a planner, and a doer. Despite that combination and 200 lbs of determination in a body that weighs less than that – I’ve yet to have a room go just as planned so here’s the real life down-low.

The room’s tale:

-Adding windows would require a building permit and the windows would overlook the property’s worst feature – the highway. The floor to ceiling textured wallpaper seemed to darken the room. The wainscoting was the answer. By breaking it up with something in ultra bright white the room takes on an elegant feel. The idea hit me where? In a restaurant of course. The wainscoting paired with a chair rail makes the room feel like a dining room even before there’s a table in the room.

-I tried several rounds of sanding and staining the wood floors. On our tight time and money budget, floating wood was the best option. The original wood floor is preserved if we ever want to return to originals.

-The chimney was it’s own special challenge. When putting up paneling or trim a brad gun and air compressor become your BFF’s! Can’t brad into the chimney so don’t forget the liquid nails!!

Random tips from the room:

-In a room that you’re using “wall treatments” paint all trim first. If you need touch-ups those will be a piece of cake at the end.

-At the end of the project use Elmer’s wood fill to hide the seams and brad holes.

-When cutting out holes for the electric plugs use a drill bit to create holes for the jigsaw blade at the corners

-Make circles with liquid nails to get the best suction in the “sticking” process.

-Use an Exact-o knife to trim wall paper around doorways and the ceiling

-The prefinished panel is the cheapest and fastest but BE CAREFUL a dull saw blade can rip it up and always cut from the back.

Cost and supplies:

-Texture wall paper. 8 rolls needed to cover my square footage of wall space. Remember you are calculating the area of the wall so width X height = the total area you need to cover. 8 rolls x $12 = $96

-Bead board paneling.12 sheets of 4’ x 30” @ $10 each = $120

-Ultra white trim paint. (Had it in supplies) $0

-New ceiling fan/light fixture. $25 at consignment auction.

-Chair rail,corner trim and floor trim. $120

-Floor $1.49/sq’ Approx. 200 sq ft = $300

Time spent with my husband and a job well done = priceless.