DIY Coastal Dining Room Makeover

Brian & Kaylor
by Brian & Kaylor

My husband and I bought a 1980's waterfront home in June of 2013. We went into this purchase knowing we would update and DIY the entire home.

The kitchen and dining area were first on the list. After a 10 week kitchen makeover (read about it here), the dining room was pretty easy to do.

The walls needed paint and we added crown molding, but everything else was furniture and accessories (the floors were updated through out the entire house, minus bathrooms, when we moved in).

Here are the before pictures. There was sticky back, puffy tiles in the area. You could pull them up using your fingers. Ick.

The light fixture wasn't horrible but it had paint on it and was held together in a few spots with fishing line.

The dining room is the entrance to the kitchen so I wanted the table as far over as possible to keep the walk through open and not feel crowded. We thought about doing a built in window seat but ultimately decided against it because it is a permanent feature. Well, semi-permanant. Its not as easy to remove as a bench.

This is probably not our forever home so most of our decisions were based on resale value and appeal to a buyer in our neighborhood. I found a pretty bench at Homegoods as well as some beautiful chairs from there and World Market.

The buffet is our coffee bar and extra storage. It is my grandparents' dresser from the bedroom set they had when I was growing up. I inherited it several years ago and it was one of my first furniture makeovers.

I built the dining room table to fit the space. It is wider than a normal table and fits the length of the bay window perfectly. The lantern was also a DIY project. We previously lived in New Orleans and I fell in love with lanterns there. This lantern was purchased our last week in New Orleans during my last shopping trip to the French Quarter. It used to be a candle holder. I turned it into a hardwire light fixture using an early 90's brass chandelier.

The curtains our made from Sarah Richardson's Errington Lake fabric. This was a splurge in the space but I couldn't find anything else I loved as much. When you know, you know. I bought the fabric and sewed the curtains myself.

I love my dishes. The plates are Fire King, Alice in vitrock and blue. I have a set of 8 and they were my high school graduation present. Yes, my love of old started many years ago. The anchor bowl is from dishes that were used my the US Navy from 1920-1950 ish. There are conflicting dates on how long these dishes were used. They are reported to be the daily dishes used on all Navy ships during that time. I have salad bowls, bread plates, large plates, cups and saucers. Instead of putting one set out at a time, I like to mix and match.


The shutters over the buffet/coffee bar our from my parents' house that they lost to Hurricane Rita.


See more before and after pictures on my blog. There are links to the DIY lantern, DIY coffee bar, and the DIY dining table there. Also, you will find details on all my accessories.


Thank you to Ever & Anon Photography for taking such beautiful after pictures (http://everandanon.com).

Brian & Kaylor
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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