A “Dark and Dingy” Dining Room Gets a Stunning Makeover That Feels 3x as Bright
While some people appreciate wall paneling for its vintage charm and its ability to add character to a home, others find it more dated. For Maggie Stanley and her family, the paneling in their 90-square-foot dining room made the space feel confined and gloomy.
Maggie describes the room as “dark and dingy” before, with only a small window and, of course, the paneling that she believes dates back to the ’70s. “There really was nothing I liked about this room in the state it was in before the renovation,” Maggie says. However, she knew she and her husband, Reed, could transform it into something special.
The threshold to the dining room became larger.
When Maggie and Reed decided to renovate their dark dining room, they knew they needed professional help for the first step of their vision.
“A professional opened up the wall to make the entry to the dining room bigger, and installed the windows,” Maggie explains. This made the space feel much larger and brighter, providing Maggie and Reed with the perfect canvas to work with.
Paint and wallpaper made all the difference.
The outdated paneling was removed and replaced with white walls, which Maggie then covered herself with Magnolia Home’s “Pick-Up Sticks” wallpaper. To complete the look, Maggie painted the ceiling, trim, and corner cabinet an airy white (Benjamin Moore’s White Dove).
The accessories brighten the room, too.
The paint and wallpaper certainly brighten the dining room, and so do her careful decor selections, like the arched mirror from Magnolia Home and the three-globe chandelier from West Elm. “It’s so much more open and feels clean, fresh, simple, and inviting,” Maggie says of the room.
“I love the sun that shines through the windows on a sunny day; it brightens up the room.” After all of Maggie’s hard work, she is thrilled with the outcome. “I wouldn’t do anything differently. I love how it turned out,” she says.
Inspired? Submit your own project here.