Winter/Spring 2001 Project -
After talking about the project for over a year, I finally attacked the dining room. No video decorating this time - too far away from the webcam. You can see how dreary the original looks, even without a close-up. It was a dingy off-white country print with small flowers, complemented by beige curtains with a sort of brownish trim. The former owners used the room as a living room, so I suppose it might have worked, but it didn't suit our tastes for a dining room at all. We wanted something a little warmer, with a slightly elegant feel.
What do you think of the transformation?
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After |
As with the hallway, this was a big job. I had to strip the paper, patch holes, repaint the ceiling and baseboard radiators, and apply fresh wallpaper. We decided to do a split chair rail style, using a border for an artificial divider. Here is a closeup of the paper we selected.
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We were a little nervous as I started putting up paper. The juxtoposition of the top and bottom without the border looked pretty strange. But as soon as I started the final stage of adding the border, the room came together. We are very happy with the result, which you can see below.
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After |
I made the curtains myself, using a rich dark green with a floral pattern, and a similar off-white fabric for the lining. I was lucky to find something I liked at the fabric store - it saved us quiet a bit of money over something custom from a curtain store. The green helps draw out the colors in the border.
Apollo helped, of course.
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Before we put up the curtains and the Lionel Aggett painting |
What a difference it makes to have the final touches! |
The centerpiece of the room is the gorgeous painting by Lionel Aggett.
Spoleto, Umbria Photo courtesy of Llewellyn Alexander (or this link) |
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