This project happened long ago, Gentle Readers, but I came across the pictures recently and was reminded how few new things we added to transform this room.
These amazing clients (seriously: so fun to work with) had bought the gigantic house across the road. The decorating was dated, but the furniture was super pretty, of excellent quality, and to the clients’ taste. They bought a lot of it — including nearly everything in the dining room — which was smart.
Here is the dining room when my clients bought the house:
It’s tough to see in the pictures above, but those walls are papered. If I had to guess, I’d say it was a Farrow & Ball “dragged” paper, better known as a strié pattern.
It did NOT want to come off. (So when I said “simple” in the title, that actually wasn’t true.)
I don’t know if the installer didn’t use the proper primer (or any primer), or if the pattern was printed on paper grocery bags or what, but removing it was ROUGH.
(I hasten to assure you that wallpaper is NOT this difficult to remove anymore! I don’t know why — advancements in manufacturing? It’s much easier now.)
Anyway, I digress. Once the paper WAS removed and the walls smoothed and primed, we could start afresh.
Ta-daaa!
New things: Paint, of course (Benjamin Moore’s HC-153 Marlboro Blue),
the rug, and a sofa in the bay window. (It’s SO fun to have a sofa in the dining room! Softens all of those hard edges). The chandelier and sconces may have come from another part of the house, but I can’t quite remember. They might have been new, too.
Existing items: dining table, chairs (although we did reupholster the seats), sideboard, and blue lamps, which had been in the primary bedroom. ALSO re-purposed was a Chinese cabinet that had been black. It isn’t anymore ;)
As you can see, we achieved high drama without replacing absolutely everything.
Sometimes, ya gotta. But sometimes…if you’re starting with good stuff…sometimes, it can stay.
Annie Elliott Design is based in Washington, D.C., but we travel for fun projects. We’re experts in creating gorgeous, color- and pattern-filled homes and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.