NEW HOME: Dining Room Before & After

Friends, It’s been a whirlwind of a month!

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you may already know that we just moved into a new home. It’s a charming Cape Cod style house that has so much character, but needed a little TLC to make it shine through and we were up for the challenge.

Over the past 4 weeks we have been in the process of painting all the dark wood trim, paneling, and kitchen cabinets which has proved to be quite the project. For a full tour of the home, visit my NEW HOME story highlight on my IG @tuftandtrim where I walk you through what it looked like when we bought it. The painting is nearly complete and today I’m sharing the first peak with you- starting with the dining room!

Follow along as I share the before and after pictures and be sure to scroll all the way through, because at the end of the tour I share the progress pictures and where to shop the look! 

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When I first saw the house online I fell in love with the windows and knew that if we took down the dated drapery and painted the walls, the whole room would feel open and inviting. And I was right!

Both pictures have the same amount of natural light, but look how much brighter it is now with the white walls! We stuck with my go-to white paint color, Alabaster by Sherwin Williams. It’s bright and clean, but still has some warmth to it. 

While I don’t mind the windows bare, I would eventually like to add some roman shades and maybe bring in some color. For now, I’m using everything we already had, with exception to the Chindi Jute rug provided by Unique Loom. It brings in texture with the warmth of jute, but with ivory woven in to keep it light. I love how it looks in the space!

The dining room was staged when I first went to go see the home and I tried to look past all the heavy dark furnishings and see the potential. I really wanted to be able to fit my server cabinet in the space and it just so happens it fits on this wall with just half an inch to spare! 

Does the chandelier look familiar? I loved it so much, I brought it with me from our old house. I was a little concerned it would blend in too much with all the white, but I actually like the soft contrast and how it doesn’t interfere with the view. 

I quickly accessorized the space since I was anxious to share it before the baby comes. Did I mention I’m 36 weeks pregnant?! I may be crazy for moving into a new home in my third trimester, but thankful to be getting these projects done now before I’m juggling a newborn and toddler.

I love these candle holders from Target and thought they looked perfect layered on top of the server cabinet.

The server cabinet is from our local Furniture Classics Showroom. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find it online, but I do recommend checking out their furniture. They have some lovely, high quality pieces!

I get a lot of people asking where my dining chairs are from. Would you believe I found them on Facebook Marketplace and spent a total of $90 for all of them! I chalk painted and upholstered the cane chairs and the slipcovered chairs are made by Ballards. 

This transformation did not happen over night, let me tell ya! Painting the wood paneled walls, windows, and doors was way too big of a project for us to tackle while trying to move and with me being so pregnant, so we had to hire out. I’m so grateful we did, because the process was a long one! Below I briefly walk you through each phase of the project.

1. Sand

The first step was to sand the wood and then wipe down the surface so it’s ready for the paint. 

2. Caulk & Prime

Once the surfaces were ready, every seam needed to be caulked so none of the dark wood could show through. Once the caulking was complete, everything was covered with a layer of primer.

3. Paint

They used a sprayer to apply two coats of paint on the walls and doors for a super clean finish. The windows, trim, and beams were hand brushed as they required more meticulous application. As mentioned previously, we went with Sherwin Williams Alabaster in a satin finish. 

We are so thrilled with the final outcome and amazed at how much the paint changed the look and feel of the space. What used to feel dark and dated now feels so warm and welcoming, don’t you think?

That’s it for today, but stay tuned because I have a lot more before and after pictures coming your way! To stay in the loop, follow me on social media and subscribe to my newsletter below. And as always, thank you so much for stopping by!

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