Our now blue dining room went through quite a transformation over the last few years, from a color drench of paint to built ins and more. You can see where we started here when we first moved into our 1930s home back in 2017.
As my style has evolved and over time as I’ve collected treasured items, built a bigger library of books and inherited many family heirlooms, it was fun to evolve this room right along with me! This room is currently my favorite room in the house and today I’m going to break down all the details of this moody and colorful dining space!
Designing Custom Built-ins
First, let’s talk about the biggest visual change (and financial investment), our custom built-ins!
Previously, we had our round table centered in the dining room and while this looked nice, visually, it turned out not to be very practical. This is a small room (8ft x 9ft) so anytime one of us was sitting at the table, it was impossible to get by or around the table because the chairs would block all pathways.
Plus, while the white bookshelves we had previously served us really well (highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick and easy bookshelf solution), we desperately needed more storage and shelf space. This is one of the only walls in the house that does not have a window, door or archway on it. So, I started brainstorming built-in ideas to shift the room around and maximize our space.
I came up with the idea to do a built in bench around the corner with storage inside after my best friend did something similar in her small townhome and said it was life changing. That would allow us to move the table over just enough to clear our walkways and add concealed storage.
Then, we decided to do floor to ceiling built in bookshelves next to it which gained us a TON of shelving space.
Our incredible handyman built these and even took care to remove the custom, original molding, repair it and add it back around the bench to keep the continuity.
I hired an upholsterer to make the bench cushions and then I made the back pillows for extra comfort along the windowsill. I used this fabric that looks like a woven tapestry but is far more affordable.
Finally, we coated everything in Bell Blue by Dunn Edwards. Continuing the paint onto the ceiling was the best choice I made. The room feels like a little jewel box.
I’m still thinking about adding picture lights to the top of the bookshelf, but couldn’t decide if that was the right move or not, so left it as is for now!
DIY Faux Roman Shades & Cushions
I became obsessed with this green Susan Deliss fabric but it was QUITE pricey, so I decided to make faux roman shades instead of actual shades. We already had cellular shades which were still completely functional and it allowed me to use a fabric I really loved, but much less of it.
I purchased these vintage Spanish dining chairs after stalking/begging the seller on Facebook Marketplace. They are comfortable and beautiful. I recently added these cushions which I made out of a vintage Moroccan blanket I found at the flea market.
If you’re looking to make cushions, I always encourage to look outside of just fabric by the yard. Often times you can find gorgeous fabric for way more reasonable cost by using premade curtains, blankets or sheets!
Our Blue Dining Room Art & Decor
Believe it or not, these family silhouettes were done at Disneyland! Such a reasonably priced souvenir (Roughly $12 for the silhouette and $20 for the frame if you want it) for your next trip. (The line can be long so designate one person to wait while the others ride a ride or two!)
The rug is one of my all-time favorite vintage rug finds, I absolutely LOVE all the pops of color. It’s from moRUGco on Etsy.
Our stunning rattan shade is from one of my favorite lighting companies, Twenty One Tonnes. We used another fixture of theirs in our Palm Springs dining room.
I loved layering pattern in this room so I added a cord cover to the cord and I love how it draws your eye up.
Our other decor is collected from family heirlooms (That trophy above is my Great Great Grandpa’s from 1918!), souvenirs (we got the face bud vase on our honeymoon), treasures from local shops and flea markets and of course, tons of books.
Cost Breakdown
Here is a cost breakdown of what this room cost to make. I am including the cost of our table, even though it was from a previous partnership, to give a more realistic idea of cost. I am not including decor because, as you can see, there is far too much here to tally up or remember!
- Custom Built-Ins: $5,900 for materials and labor
- Paint: $1,200 for paint (Bell Blue by Dunn Edwards) and labor
- Custom Cushions: $265
- Fabric & Pillow Inserts for Back Cushions: $244.93 with Into The Woods fabric by P. Kauffman and pillow inserts from Williams Sonoma
- Faux Roman Shades: $459 DIY’d with fabric by Susan Deliss from Nickey Kehoe
- Vintage Moroccan Rug: $2,628 from moRUGco
- Rattan Pendant Lamp: $550 from Twenty One Tonnes
- Cord Cover: $55 from Pierce and Ward
- Dining Table (gifted): $1,599 from West Elm
- Vintage Dining Chairs: $250 from Facebook Marketplace
- Chair Cushions: $100
For a grand total of: $13,250.93
I took over two years to complete this room because of the costs for having custom pieces made and the time it takes to collect the perfect vintage pieces. And I know this room will continue to evolve from here!
That giant pillow on the ground was a yard sale find and makes the best coordinating dog bed!
I’m so happy with how this blue dining room of ours turned out. It is so cozy and so much more functional for our family!
Photos by Jeff Mindell
Design by Kelly Mindell
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