Dining Room Makeover

This was our dining room "before." Then I came up with an idea for reverse wainscoting, to which J replied "That sounds really weird." That's what he always says to my design ideas right before he gets roped into doing them with me and ends up loving them.

This is the "after." It was really hard to get a picture of what it looks like, because of the backlighting from the window. So, here's a mediocre picture of what our dining area looks like now. The second picture shows it a little better. I chose a greenish-grey color for the bottom, and matched our existing trim color for the top part.

With the help of our friend Mike, we put up the chair rail first (the window is beautifully wrapped, but hidden by the window panels) and then measured the vertical slats, which we attached with liquid nails, and a finish nailer (any excuse to use power tools). J caulked everything before I did the painting. Then we attached the drapery rod and black ticking window panels. I found my white hemstitch runner that I thought I mistakenly gave to DI, which was a total bonus for the table.

And what window doesn't benefit from glass jars full of fake fruit?

This project was really fun, and totally worth the tendonitis that I suffered with for two weeks after.