Dining Room Make-Over!

After the floors were installed downstairs I started painting and redecorating one room at a time.  I knew there was no way we could replace our dining room furniture because it was a very expensive set from Ethan Allen and Scot would kill me if I even mentioned it! Ha!  So, I had to make it work into my vision.

This is what the dining room was prior (please ignore the large blue paint sample on the wall!)...

I wanted the walls in this room to have some interest so I decided to distress them!  I researched and researched how to do this and honestly, I think its just one of those things you just jump in and learn as you go.  Here is what I did to accomplish this look... I used the current wall color as my base, indigo white, and 2 other light tan's - brown shades.  I used a dry brush and would dab a tiny bit of paint on it, blot it on a paper towel then on the wall and then I went back with cheese cloth and rubbed it in leaving some areas darker than others.  I worked in about a 1 foot by 1 foot section of the wall at a time.  Once this was done, I thought it wasn't quite dark enough so I went back over it with the same method but using a watered down stain.  I just love how it turned out! 

These mirrors on the wall are all antique and are my most favorite part of this space! I saw this idea on Pinterest awhile ago and started collecting vintage mirrors since.  It honestly, took me over a year to collect them all.  They had to be the right size and the glass had to have aging to it!  The mirror wall I saw on Pinterest had all white painted mirrors and I wanted something a little different.  4 of the mirrors I left with the original frames and 3 I painted with old white and then waxed them.

Now, I had to get rid of the green and red plaid fabric on the chairs but didn't want to recover them because the fabric was in excellent condition and with the way styles change so often would probably come back in again sooner than later. So, I had to come up with another plan.  I decided I wanted to do a sweet little skirted chair cover instead.  So, I first found my fabric for my window treatments and then chose 2 coordinating solid linens for the chair covers.  I love DIY projects but sewing is one thing I simply just do not enjoy nor are good at.  So, I told my seamstress exactly what I wanted and she made them perfectly! 

The centerpiece is made out of an old tool box that I found at an antique market and hydrangeas that I dried from my hydrangea bush this past summer.  It took the entire bush to fill it up so I planted another  one this past fall and cannot wait to make some more arrangements this upcoming year!