Farmhouse Dining Room Makeover Finishing Touches

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As I near the end of my dining room makeover and start to put the finishing touches on the room, I stand amazed at what a difference a little fabric and paint can make.  I’m so close to the end and couldn’t wait to give you a few sneak peeks!

{CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL BEFORE AND AFTER REVEAL OF THE DINING ROOM!}

 At the beginning of this makeover, I had no intention of painting any of my furniture, other than possibly painting the small chest that was located under the mirror.  I agonized over that little chest.  Then, I remembered that I already had a gray chest in my foyer.  After moving it into my dining room and changing the hardware, I knew that I couldn’t stop there and wound up painting almost every piece of furniture in here.  Ha!

How To Redecorate A Dining Room - tips for putting the finishing touches on a dining room makeoverPin

If you’ve been following the makeover progress, then you’ll notice that the chair beside the chest is different than what originally resided here.  When Pookie asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I immediately said, “Recover the old office chairs!”.  And so we did.  Happy birthday to me.  Click HERE to see the original chairs.  I found the awesome buffalo check fabric at a local fabric shop!

Once I moved the gray chest from the foyer into the dining room, the sea of brown furniture bothered me even more.  That chest and the fabric that I recovered the chairs and chair cushions with was the jumping off point for painting the rest of the furniture.  The brown chairs just didn’t look that great with the gray and white fabric.

How To Redecorate A Dining Room - use spray paint to paint chairsPin

Spray paint to the rescue!  If you’ve been following me for long at all, you already know that I’m a totally lazy and messy painter and love it whenever I can use spray paint.  I have a go-to gray spray paint color that I almost always use – Rustoleum Anodized Bronze.  It’s a rich gray color that isn’t cold, like some grays can be.  Each chair used two cans of paint (three coats) to completely cover the brown.  Even though it appears that I added a dark glaze over the paint, I didn’t.  This is just the spray paint and nothing else.

How To Redecorate A Dining Room - spray paint chairs with Rustoleum Anodized BronzePin

Of course, one thing leads to another.  Right?  After the chairs were painted, it became obvious that I needed to do something with the table. Sooo….I painted the legs of the table to match the chairs.  There was no way that I was going to haul that heavy table outside so that I could spray paint it though.  I simply sprayed a solid coat of the spray paint onto a scrap of wood and took it to my local Sherwin Williams paint store to get them to color match it for me and it was perfect!.  All I had to do was to put a dropcloth under the table and spend an afternoon with my trusty paint brush.  Scroll on down to get the formula for the matching paint that Sherwin Williams created.

How To Redecorate A Dining Room - if you have a piece of furniture that is too large to carry outside a paint store can color match spray paint for you!Pin

I opted not to paint the top of the table for two reasons – 1) I knew it would get scuffed up with use and 2) I actually like the look of brown wood mixed with painted wood.

That left one more large piece of furniture that I truly never ever thought I would paint – the sideboard.  But, guess what?  It stood out like a sore thumb once the gray chest was brought in and the table legs and chairs were painted.  However, I felt that having another solid gray piece of furniture in the room would be too matchy matchy, so I gave it a gray-wash, that allows some of the wood to show through, with the gray paint that the paint store had mixed for me.  I used 1 cup of the gray paint mixed with 1/2 cup of water and applied it with a paint brush.  I dabbed more paint on where needed and used a rag to wipe places off that had too much, until I got the look that I was after.

How To Redecorate A Dining Room - use a mixture of paint and water if you don't want a solid color on a piece of furniturePin

Just like on the table, I opted not to paint the top of the sideboard.  At certain times of the day, the gray-wash is very subtle (like in this photo), but at other times it’s more pronounced.  I kept the same hardware, but removed the backer plates to some of the knobs and painted the remaining hardware with matte black spray paint.

That left one last decision to be made.  What to do with the mirror above the chest.  Replace it with a chalkboard?  Keep it?  Paint it?  In the end, I decided to keep the mirror as it helps to bounce light around in this often dark room.  I didn’t mind the black frame, but did not like the garish gold accents.  Once again, I didn’t want to paint the whole frame a solid color, so I played around a bit with a couple of different stains.  I first applied a coat of Minwax Special Walnut and before it was dry, I added a coat of Minwax Classic Gray.  I used the same dabbing on and wiping off technique that I used on the sideboard until I got it just right.

How To Redecorate A Dining Room - use stain to tone down garish gold tones on the frame of a dated mirrorPin

You can see that the stain still allows the black part of the frame to show through, but dramatically tones down the gold.  It’s a good technique to use if you don’t want solid coverage.

I’ll have the room ready for its full reveal soon!  In spite of my fear of painting my “nice” dining room furniture, I’m beyond happy that I did.  Thank you to my daughter and to a sweet blogging friend who strongly encouraged me to go for it.  I finally came to the realization that I would never be happy with my furniture as it was, no matter what else I did in the room.  So, if you’re hesitant to paint any of your furniture, start out with something small and take it one step at a time.

Sherwin Williams Matching Formula for Rustoleum Anodized Bronze Spray Paint

Custom paint formula for Rustoleum Anodized Bronze spray paint #diy #paintedfurniture #howtoPin

 

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108 Comments

    1. Thank you so much, Debra! That gray check fabric is exactly what I wanted, but I didn’t think I’d be able to find it.

      1. where did you find the fabric. I have same cherry furniture and very scared to paint it. I will probably opt to make everything else light except it. I may do the painting on a much cheaper table though. Love it all.

        1. Hi Tammy. I sure do understand your fear – I was terrified before I painted my furniture! I found the fabric at a local fabric store. I’m sorry, but they weren’t able to give me the manufacturer’s name or pattern number of the fabric. :/

      2. it looks so pretty. did you have to sand and prime the table legs and apron prior to using what looks like semi-gloss latex?

        Thank you.

        Kathy

        1. I didn’t do any sanding, but I did wipe everything down with Liquid Sandpaper and allowed it to dry before I painted. Glad you like it!

    2. I agree! The color is subtle and rich looking…very inspiring!

  1. Stacey Keeling says:

    Suzy, your updates are amazing! I bet painting all of the furniture was hard work. I love the outcome!

    1. Thank you so much, Stacey! Painting is one of my least favorite things to do. 😀

  2. LOVE what you did to transform your dining room!! I would love to know where you got the rug and the name of it, if possible. Thanks so much and I really enjoy your blog..

    1. I love the makeover! What name and color of spray paint did you use? I’m on the process of remodeling my dining room and kitchen.

      1. Thank you!.The spray paint that I used is Rustoleum brand in the color Anodized Bronze. It’s all listed above if you need more info.

  3. Nancy Carroll says:

    Oh GF it looks AWESOME!!! I saw that fabric at 1502 yesterday and loved it…still trying to decide where I could use it other than for pillows LOL. Where did you find your rug? Let’s get together…it’s been too long!!

  4. I love it all. Where did you find that rug? I’ve been looking for something like it for some time. Would love to know the source!!

  5. Wow! What an incredible change. Looks like an entirely different room. Have enjoyed seeing all the changes you make. Thanks for sharing.

    1. So glad you’ve enjoyed watching the process!

  6. You absolutely did the right thing in painting the table and chairs! MUCH Better!! Love the checks on the chair cushions as well. You are definitely headed in a stellar direction!! YUM.

    1. Thank you, Linda. I was definitely nervous about painting any of the furniture, but now I’m so glad that I did!

      1. I have the same problems in my DR: lots of brown, formal furniture! Was considering purchasing a Home Right paint sprayer to apply a neutral paint, but was dreading the sanding part. Did you sand your chairs and table legs? I’m really tired of the cherry finish and want a different look. Help! I can’t get started on this project even though I love your look…guess I’m not sure how to proceed. So, did you sand?

        1. Hi Nancy. I know that the thought of tackling a project like this can seem daunting, but it really wasn’t hard at all – just a little time consuming. No, I didn’t sand anything. But I do recommend wiping your pieces down with a solution of TSP and water prior to painting. That will get rid of any fingerprint residue that could interfere with the paint adhering well.

          1. Can you tell me what TSP is? Also did you use primer before painting? I just purchased 5 cans of the same color you used and it said semi-gloss. Is that the correct finish? I can’t wait to see the transformation in my dinning room.

          2. Hi Leala. I’m sorry for not replying sooner! TSP stands for trisodium phosphate and is a heavy duty all purpose cleaner. Here’s a link to it: https://www.lowes.com/pd/TSP-Deck-Cleaner/3014064. No, I didn’t use a primer before painting and yes, semi-gloss is the correct finish for the paint. 😀

  7. Cindy Pierce says:

    Absolutely beautiful!!!

  8. I love it, Suzy! Painting the furniture was the best decision EVER! Can’t wait to see the entire room reveal!

    1. Thank you, my friend! It was a scary thing for me to do, but I’m glad that I did it!

  9. This is so beautiful and I always love your style! What a great idea to have paint mixed to match the spray, why didn’t I think of that?

    Phyllis

    1. Thank you, Phyllis! I’m just glad the paint store was able to do such a good job matching it.

  10. I can’t wait to see the final reveal. Love the look of the painted dining room table and chairs. The washes for the other furniture pieces was a great way to change things up.

    1. So glad you like the table and chairs, Kathy. I was trying to keep everything from being to matchy-matchy, so hopefully using a paint wash on a couple of the pieces helped!

  11. Love it all. The completed room will be amazing. And just in time for fall decorating. The gray and white buffalo check is gorgeous. I also love the throw pillow. All of the furniture painting is beautiful.

    1. Thank you, Kathy. So glad you like everything!

  12. It all looks gorgeous, Suzy! Love what you did with the sideboard and that check fabric is awesome. Can’t wait to see it all together.

    1. Thank you, sweet sister friend!

  13. PBurchett says:

    Wow…it’s stunning! Anxious to see the reveal!!

  14. Wow, love how your dining room has come together. The gray looks fabulous and the buffalo check is right up my alley

    1. Thank you, Cheryl. I was thrilled when I stumbled across that fabric!

      1. Where did you find the chair fabric?

  15. Have been following your progress on the dining room. It looks absolutely stunning!!!

    1. Thank you for following along, Gail. So glad that you like it!

  16. LOL…I so enjoyed reading how your room evolved one step at a time. I can see myself doing something similar, but definitely with something smaller. I love the sneak peak photos. That IS a lovely gray paint color! Can’t wait to see the whole reveal.

    1. The first piece of furniture that I ever sprayed painted was the light gray chest that’s in the dining room. Once I did it, there was no turning back! lol I agree – I love, love, love that shade of gray.

  17. Your dining chairs look lovely. That is a great color.

    1. Thank you, Cynthia. So glad you like them!

  18. Love the gray spray paint. Thanks for giving us the name brand and color. You took a bold step and boy did it pay off. It all looks so beautiful -Great job !

    1. So glad you like it, Marilyn! I’m usually not to gutsy. For once I’m glad that I just went for it!