Dining Room Before and Afters (10 year Anniversary)

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I hope you all like going back in time as much as I do. Yesterday, I shared with you my front living room transformations over the years. Today, I'll be sharing my dining room. Truthfully, I totally forgot about half the things I did in this room until going through these pictures. I had some weird ideas for a minute with this space...probably laughable ;) At least for me! Enjoy!

Here's how it is today:

Jute rug: Amazon    Farmhouse Chairs: Amazon 

2009
And this is how it started. Like brand new, just moved in, and no curtains. We got this table as a gift from my mother in law. It is huge! It came with 8 chairs big enough to sit two butts on. 

 Not knowing what to do with the french doors in terms of privacy, I hung curtains to see how it would look. And obviously....I liked it, since I still have curtains up there today! 

2010
You may think this is decorated for fall with all the colors. Nope, no. This was my style. I was all about the Tuscan feel. I went back and forth for months if I should do Venetian plaster in here. Luckily, I ended on "back" and didn't do it! I couldn't imagine. I hear it's a pain to try to get rid of. 

2011
This was my first step to get out of the Tuscan look. I made these knock-off ballard mirrors. They were so easy to do and definitely changed the dynamic of the space.

Knock off Ballard Designs Garden District Mirrors: Tutorial

At this point, I wanted white e.v.e.r.y. thing. Like. For real. I wanted to paint this table and chairs oh so bad but my husband would not stand for it. So, I tried all that I could to brighten it up without painting it. I made this weird table top out of planks to give me my white table look without the actual white table.

 I then realized how funny it looked, and added legs made from plywood. I actually loved this look so much. It definitely was like just putting a dress on a table or something, but instead of fabric, it was wood. So, it  was odd, but I loved it at the time!

Faux Farmhouse Table Tutorial

2012 
I quickly realized what a pain it was to clean up spills and everything underneath the planks. I then had this crazy idea to put those planks to good use on my wall. I seriously just took the table apart and started nailing them up on the wall. I ended up loving the look. This is far before "shiplap" was a mainstream thing. This was called "planking" back in the day. 

Cedar Plank/Shiplap Wall Tutorial

 I decided at one point to chunk up my knock-off mirrors and hang them on the wall. I was trying to go for a garden-y feel in here.

Chunky Garden District Mirror Tutorial

 I then got bored with the space. Luckily that doesn't happen as much anymore. I took the mirrors down and switched them up with this diy wood sunburst mirror. I also made this table shorter....did you notice? It looks so funny to me now! This was like the only time ever that we have taken out the leaf. And if you can believe it, there's actually two leaves! We never use the 2nd one...it would extend the table into the door :)

DIY Wood Sunburst Mirror Tutorial

 The next transition was making this farmhouse bench. I was definitely starting to slowly turn this space into a farmhouse dining room. I realized at this point that it was the chairs that I hated in here. It was just too much brown! This bench opened up the space and gave the balancing white I had wanted so bad before.

DIY Farmhouse Bench Tutorial

2013

Loving the white against the brown with the bench, I decided it was time to toss the big brown chairs in favor of some white slipcovered ones from Ikea. 

2014

I'm pretty sure at some point in 2014 my farmhouse bench broke :( I made a smaller one to fit the table with or without the leaves in. 

DIY Farmhouse Bench Tutorial

2015

After having two kids, I realized the need for double duty furniture. I found this storage bench for like $30 and snagged it. I placed it under the table. It was awesome because it offered a soft cushion for butts, storage for linens, and good place for my kids to walk around on when doing crafts. 

2016 
My big addition in 2016 came in the form of more double duty furniture, my large buffet in the back.

Printer Style Buffet Tutorial

 From there on, everything stayed pretty much the same, besides seasonal changes.

 That bench was used a lot!....and then it got gross. I said crafts, and you better believe crayons, play-doh and paint were all over that thing. I swore to myself to never buy non-slipcovered furniture again. 

2017
To go with the farmhouse theme I was slowly creating in here, I switched out the bench with these metal and wood chairs. 

Metal and Wood Chairs

I then slowly updated my other chairs with full length slipcover ones. First, I just did the head chairs, then a few years later I would do all the others.

2018 
Then came the big change (at least to me). The wood sunburst mirror was in here for years!...since 2012! I decided to change it up and put this lavender gallery wall in it's place. 

Lavender Gallery Wall Tutorial

 I have always loved wood beams. I really want them in every room in my house, but know that's totally overboard. (ps. did any of you ever see that one House Hunters that they looked at a house that literally had a different style of wood beams in every.single.room of the house? It was a bit much :) ).  These faux beams weren't planned to stay in here forever. I actually didn't like them at all when I first put them in. I wanted to get an idea of what bulkier beams might feel like. Well, since I didn't like these much, the bulkier version was out. Months later, I have yet to take them down, and now they have grown on me :)

Faux wood beams tutorial

2019
A smaller change happened at the beginning of this year with my chandelier. I actually bought a brand new one to put in here about a year ago...and well, still haven't changed it out :) I tried to "farmhouse" this one up a bit by adding beads and taking off the shades. I also added full length slipcovers to the back 3 chairs.

Farmhouse Chandelier Tutorial

 Current
And here it is again today! The buffet decor now stays the same for the most part. The tablescape and pillows get changed per season. And did you notice?....I still have the same table! I never did get around to painting it white, and now I'm so glad I didn't. The wood completely balances the space. 

 I think my favorite addition to this space over the years is the planked wall. What do you think? Do you have a favorite? 

Stay connected this week to see more room tours in celebration of my 10 year blogiversary! If you missed yesterday's tour of my front living room, you can click below to see it :) 

Follow me on my social for sneak peaks, live videos, and fun new things that are going on!

  

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