My dining room makeover.

The day has finally arrived where I can show you what I’ve been working on for the past few months.

The reason it’s taken so long to finish was because I had plans for the room that I couldn’t complete myself. I had to rope my dad in (which wasn’t hard) but the tasks I set him weren’t easy.

Let’s start by reminding you what our dining room used to look like…

You might think, it looks nice enough. But that’s it, it’s just nice. I wanted the room to reflect my style and a room we can all enjoy.

Like when I did my living room makeover, I created a moodboard first, this helped me plan the room and get a feel for what went with what and how it would look before I bought anything.

Here is my final moodboard…

The moodboard has a vintage, industrial style but with a hint of bohemian. Who says you have to stick to one style?
And here is our new dining room…

I fell in love with the beaded chandelier on my moodboard from marks and spencer, but I was reluctant to spend £300 on a light, so I decided to try and make one instead.
Looking back it was an ambitious idea, and I won’t lie, during the making of it I felt like giving up a few times.

I’m glad I didn’t though because I think my hard work paid off. Approximately 4000 beads and A LOT of threading later, my beaded chandelier cost approximately £60 to make.

Along with hanging this light, one of the challenges I set my dad, was to make me some internal shutters for the window. Thankfully he accepted my challenge and the clever little man pulled it out of the bag! I could not be more thrilled with them.

Plant hanger from Brintage (IG – shopbrintage) 

I already had these huge lamps in the dining room that didn’t quite go with the new theme, but instead of chucking them out I decided to give them a new look and paint them black!

It was a bold decision as they could have looked crap! But I think they actually look great! (Phew!)

One of the first things I did was paint the room. I love dark interiors but also fresh white decor too. As I’m stuck in the middle I painted most of the room white but left a feature wall which I painted farrow and ball ‘downpipe’. I really love the contrast that these colours create.

Not only is this a dining room but I use it for crafting as well, so needed some storage that wouldn’t dominate the small room.

I searched and searched but couldn’t find the perfect cabinet. Then I went to Molly’s den in Winchester and came across a vintage wooden cabinet with drawers. It was reduced to £25 so I bought it as a stop gap until I found the perfect storage. When I got it home, I painted it downpipe to match the wall, and ended up taking a bit of a liking to it. So I think it can stay.

The next thing I went on the hunt for was a rug. I love the vintage style Persian rugs as I think they can add so much character to a room. I ended up finding one in really great condition on gumtree for £5!!! I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep it at first but actually it has worked really, which is a bonus!

As I had now introduced pink in to the room, I turned to farrow and ball for their range of pinks for my bench. I opted for dead salmon as it has a really muted tone and went well with the rug and ‘downpipe’ wall.
Striped House Doctor cushion is from Grey September (IG-greyseptemberstore) you can visit their website – Here.

Gumtree was an absolute gold mine when it came to looking for things for this room. I found two vintage tea chests for £5 each and have used them as side tables.

Black belly basket also from Grey September.

I also found two ercol style chairs for £20 that I have painted black.

The other chairs I have are Eames style that I bought from eBay.

I found an amazing window mirror at a carboot sale for £10, so snapped it up immediately, and hung it at the end of the table, opposite the window to give the illusion of a bigger room.

I think plants and flowers really lift a room and help bring it all together. I stocked up on eucalyptus and distributed it around the room as well as adding a few plants, that I now have the responsibility of keeping alive. 🙈

Wooden trug from eclectic homeware company Nickie Kelly. IG – NickieKelly dotcom.

I’m loving all the neon signs around at the moment but felt they might be a bit too modern for our house. However after speaking to Emma at ‘light up north’ I worked with her to create a bespoke sign on a piece of steel, helping maintain the rustic, industrial, vintage style of the room.

Neon sign from Light up north.

Adding accessories to a room is what gives it character. It shows off a lot about your style as well as creating interest.

There are ways to buy homeware to keep your house looking unique. They include, buying from small businesses, buying second hand (gumtree etc) or from vintage shops and antique markets.

One of my favourite accessories is this test tube style vase from Hilary and Flo.

You should absolutely check out their website, your Christmas list will triple in size!

I also found these Edison bulb pull lights from The Range. I didn’t like the cord or the white plastic so I sprayed it copper and added a twine pull string.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what I’ve been working on. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Let me know what you think. I have tagged all the shops mentioned on my Instagram post.

Thanks for reading.

Hayley x