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Have you ever enthusiastically jumped into redoing a space only to end up with a mess on your hands and no clue about what you want to do with it? This is me with my dining room right now.
I started working on our dining room just before Thanksgiving… so about 5-6 months ago. I knew, without a doubt, that the wallpaper had to go. I also knew that we’d replace the lighting, add some curtains, and hopefully get some white wainscoting on the walls with a fun color painted above.
When I started I felt like I had a plan, but once the walls were bare (yay!) I realized I don’t know what color I want to go with. I want something that coordinates with our rug, feels fresh, and doesn’t make the room too dark. It also has to look good with the family room and foyer because the room is visible from both.
Truthfully, choosing colors has never been my strong suit, but grabbing samples in easy enough. Just throw them on the wall and see what we like, right? Well now I’ve complicated things even more…
We’re planning to start homeschooling soon (in the fall at the latest), and I can’t help but see this rarely-used dining room as a potentially great school space. I’m really torn on what I want to do, which has left me completely paralyzed. Paralysis by analysis, I guess I could say. I’m probably over thinking all of this because I feel like I have to get things right the first time, but isn’t that part of the joy of home ownership? Our home can grow with us and change to suit our needs.
I think the best way to move forward is to just do something. All of my thinking is getting us nowhere now 5 months later. Hopefully, I’ll have an update soon with lots of beautiful pictures of whatever we decide to create.
What room in your home has given you the most trouble?
Happysuz
I feel your pain! We are moving to a new house next month and all walls need to be painted. We are hiring a painter (yay!) but that means I need to pick paint for the whole house before any of our stuff in ! I’m going crazy with paint chips! It’s fun though. For your dining room, I’d go with a neutral grey. It will look stunning with white wainscot! Then when you are using it for a school room you can add fun things with pops of color! Then when you need to use it as a dining space, you can take out some of the school stuff and you’ll have a lovely dining room! Good luck!
Emily
I have fallen pretty hard for gray lately so that’s definitely a possibility. Good luck with those paint chips. I’m struggling with one room; I can’t imagine an entire house!
Theresa
Can my whole house be the answer?
It used to be the bathroom… but I finally snapped before dinner one day and did chalkboard paint on the cabinet and hot pink for the counter to cover the horrible blue… plus white on the lower cabinet to cover the creepy white that had turned yellow.
Now it is probably the dining room… It has a terrible overly dark bold blue… but looking at our priorities repainting the room doesn’t make it to the top of our time or financial list… so alas lol
Emily
haha, sure! (If I’m being honest the whole house is my answer too.) Don’t you hate when money gets in the way of our plans. That’s so annoying.
Brooke @ Putter Home
What about a blue or yellow from the rug (assuming you’re using the same rug)? I bet that room feels so much larger with the wallpaper gone! I think the walls are screaming for some bookcases, which would be perfect for storing school supplies. You could conceal them with baskets and decorative boxes. Add some wall art. It sounds like you have a starting point – the rug! Then layer in your lighting, curtains and accessories as you go.
Emily
It feels huge now! I’ve been thinking about a deep blue or golden yellow. I don’t those would make the room too dark since the majority of the wall will be white. I think we may have to start with the wainscoting since that’s a sure thing and choose the paint color after that. The rug is definitely my starting point so I’ll just have to take things one decision at a time instead of trying to have everything planned at this moment (which the control freak in me totally wants to do!).