5-Day Dining Room Refresh

Like many of you, I have a never-ending list of improvements I want to make in my home. My latest refresh was my dining room, and it was long overdue. 

The dining room often gets overlooked, especially as many kitchens now incorporate some type of eat-in space. We’ve all seen dining room tables used as a place to pile up odds and ends, cleared off a couple of times a year for holiday dinners. 

But what if your dining room became a place you loved? With a quick refresh, the dining room can be your go-to to enjoy your meals and conversations with loved ones.  

The great thing about the dining room is it doesn’t take much to complete a refresh. Keep reading for how I did it in five days!

Day 1: The Before

Our dining room was fully functional and already had a dining room table I LOVE from Madison Furniture Barn, as well as an incredible light fixture from Serena & Lily. The only problem was, my family of five used it more as a passing-through than anything else. The room, in general, felt a bit dated with gray trim and chair rail on all four walls. 

Day 2: Trim Removed

Like any refresh, you must first remove what you don’t want before adding in what you do want. For me, that meant taking down all the trim. 

We put down paper to protect the flooring and hung plastic in the open doorways to prevent dust from going into other rooms. Then, the removal began. This included removing the ceiling, floor, door, and window trim, and well as the chair rail. 

Day 3: New Trim Installed 

Next, we installed new trim. We went with white trim around doors, windows, ceiling, and floor. This clean, simple look blends perfectly with the next feature added!

Day 4: Shiplap Installed

That’s right, shiplap! We put in white shiplap horizontally on every wall, with the exception of the nook (which used to be a closet!) that houses our dry bar. 

Day 5: Painting Complete

Finally, a bit of touch of paint was completed to finalize the dining room refresh. We used Super White by Benjamin Moore for a crisp, clean look. Since I already have a light fixture that I love, that didn’t need to change this time around. 

The final look is casual enough to enjoy family meals every night, and stylish enough to have after-dinner drinks with guests. 

If you’ve been thinking about making some changes to your dining room, here’s your sign! Feel free to send me any questions, and of course before and after photos!