Dining Room Makeover, Part One

This past weekend we worked on tackling the ugliest room in the house.  Not necessarily because it was the brightest room in the house, but more because it is the first room in the house when you walk in the front door.  I also work from home and my office looks directly into the yellow abyss and was giving me a headache.  Therefore, on Friday night, I loaded up my daughter and husband and headed to our neighborhood Home Depot and purchases everything we needed to get this room tackled.  I had been surfing Houzz for some time and had really fell in love with the grey walls for the dining room.  Here are a few of photos that inspired our color selections.
  

Modern Dining Room by Addison Interior Designer RSVP Design Services

Traditional Dining Room by Downers Grove Design-build Oakley Home Builders

and

Traditional Dining Room by Minneapolis Interior Designer Twist Interior Design

This is the first time that I have decided to make a departure from my safe colors of red, gold, and green and go with something totally different in this house.  My husband and I were ready for a change, and hey, we are in New Orleans now, so why not go with some bolder colors??  Ultimately we decided to go with a darker gray and a teal/blue accent color.  I love the first photo above, but the color was a little too blue for my taste, and I didn't have the step ceiling. So I selected a color with more green in it and used it on one wall only.  

Now, the previous owners had added the crown and baseboards and colors, however, they didn't caulk any of the trim and weren't not necessarily accurate in their painting techniques, therefore we had a lot of work ahead of us.  We decided that we would rather do things right and not fast and have a better outcome.  Now, you will see a lot of boxes in the photos, again we have only been in the house about 3 weeks and we are still unpacking, but we are underway in our remodel. 

Here are some before photos.

Here is a rundown of what we did to the room:

1. Wiped down all of the crown and baseboards with spic and span to remove the years of dust and dirt build up.
2. Caulked all of the crown and baseboards
3. Used dry decking to build up the corners of the window sills where the previous owners dogs and chewed them off.  (in the future these boards will eventually be replaced)
4. Pulled out all of the nails the previous owner had put in and filled with dry decking
5. Sanded down huge texture globs that were left from the previous owners
6. Repainted all crown and baseboards
7. Repainted back of front door and closet door
8. Painted walls grey, two coats
9. Painted wall teal, two coats
10. Removed old cream switches and plugs and re-wired both with new white ones.  
11. Removed old cream switch and plug faces and replaced with fresh white ones.
12. Leveled out table and china cabinet with shims (because the flooring is so unlevel)
13. Unpacked all china dishes and put in cabinet.

Here are the during photos.

And the after, as of today.

This picture is probably the closest depiction of the true teal color.

Still on the to-do list for this room:

1. Hire electrician to come out and remove the old chandelier and hang the two that I have ordered.  Here are the two that I ordered to go above the table from Overstock.com

2. Find an entry way rug
3. Buy and hang a new entry way light
4. Buy and hang the new single light spot light that shines on the china cabinet
5. Hang wall decor
6. Order and install plantation shutters!

So, we still have a ways to go, but we are getting there.  I want this room wrapped up by the end of March, so you know, like in 13 days!!

Linking up to:

Between Naps on the Porch 

Monday Funday

Coastal Charm

Not JUST A Houswife

Hope Studios

Cedar Hill Ranch

Domestically Speaking

Trendy Treehouse

Savvy Southern Style

House of the Hepworths

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Somewhat Simple

The Brambleberry Cottage

It's a Hodgepodge Life

The Shabby Nest

My Romantic Home

What-About.co

French Country Cottage

One room, one day at a time,

Cara-Lyn