The above photos give a glimpse of some objects in my dining room. I’ve looked at these “things” many times over the years and now that I’ve decided to repaint the dining room I need to consider how they would fit with a different colour scheme. I’m not prepared to part with anything…yet.
Now I have to find a colour that works with the existing decor…the drapes are gold velvet, the rug is multi-coloured, the Sid Dickens tiles are bisque/antiqued or multi-coloured, some of the art work is colourful prints with gold frames or menus from Paris bistros, beeswax candles, wheat coloured urns and dried hydrangea.
This room has two antique buffets painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint in Paris Grey. For many years now, the walls have been painted a custom colour of grey, which was colour matched from a photo in a magazine. (The existing wall colour is darker than it appears in this photo.)
Now what direction do I go in? Grey has been a good contrast to everything else in the room and at one time (when I had the dining room where the living room is now), the walls were painted a high gloss red which was quite dramatic. I liked the red but admit that I grew weary after a couple of years.
Although this room is not large, it’s not an easy project. Just getting the room ready to paint is time consuming (there are over 100 Sid Dickens tiles). Also shuffling the furniture away from the walls is tricky considering the space restraints. Therefore, I want to make a good decision as I’m not keen on repainting in a year or two.
After days of going through numerous decks of paint chips, I decided on gold. I wanted to find a colour that matched beeswax candles…it’s funny what you land on for inspiration!
This room faces south with double garden doors looking out to the back garden. Most days it’s bright and light but we never eat in here during the day, only in the evening. On the occasions when we do dine in, mostly holiday, family dinners, my hope is that the room is warm and inviting like candlelight…probably an unrealistic romantic notion!
I’m not one to procrastinate, however, I waffled back and forth between 4 or 5 shades of gold for over a week. In the end, I settled on Benjamin Moore “From the Archives” (CSP-1060), in Aura matte finish. The trim colour is BM Ivory White in satin.
It took longer to pick a colour than actually painting the room!
Now that everything is back in place, the room definitely looks different. Before the wall colour offered high contrast and now everything blends in…it’s very monochromatic.
Will I love this for ever? I don’t know…we’ll see. I’m probably restless waiting for spring and garden season, however, I do think it’s a good idea to shake things up every once in a while. Even though I’m not planning any major renovations at this time, I don’t want my home to be locked in a time warp and making small decorating changes here and there helps.
There’s no doubt that January can be a harsh month, but I think of it as an opportunity to do things indoors that I wouldn’t dream of doing in the warmer months. It stops me from wishing time away.
How are you whiling away the January blues?
xox Judy❤️
Wow I love the change, really brings life to the room albeit has the hint of the colour of many of the objects but the flow is superb. Great job. Yes January and February has us dreaming of spring, I must admit I do not have your talent for change. I added new mirrors on the fireplace and new lamps on the sideboard in the dining room. Never thought to put lamps but they create a lovely reflection on the ceiling and drama to the artwork on the walls. Subtle but keeps me sane. Thank you for sharing your projects and giving inspiration for change whatever great or small that may be. 💕
Thank you Monique, I agree lighting is one of the most significant elements in home decor. The lamps you’ve added to your dining room will cast a warm and inviting atmosphere for those in a room inviting guests to linger over dinner and conversation. xox Judy❤️
Wow Judy! I loved the gray walls, but seeing the mellow bee’s wax color is really lovely. I love it! When you get to the “yet” stage of parting with anything, let me know. LOL Once again, thank you for the inspiration.
Thank you Karen, I’m still getting used to seeing the change but for now I’m happy! xox Judy❤️
P.S. I’ll for sure let you know when I’m purging…
Love the change – so, so beautifully and warmly elegant! Can I ask how you hang your Sid Dickens tiles?
Thank you Cathy, I hang the Sid Dickens tiles on an 1 1/2″ nail with a head on it. I space the nails 7″ across and 9″ down. The rows aren’t completely straight as the holes on the back of the tiles aren’t perfectly placed on every one. Also, the depth of the tiles are not the same so they’ll never look perfectly straight anyway.
Thanks so much for the directions – I’ll finally get my tiles displayed!
Happy New Year, Judy. Hope you are well. LOVE the colour. We did some major reno’s end of last year. Challenging, but we came in on time and $16,000 under budget. Quite the accomplishment. I decided to be daring and painted our dining room and serving area black, the butler’s pantry grey. We love the outcome. Let me know when you are in my area again, we have to catch up over a coffee. Regards from Mareli too.
Hi Elmarie, You should become a professional contractor…anyone who comes in under budget is a genius! I love the idea of black in the dining room. It must be so dramatic. My front entry is black and I love the way the mirror and artwork pops against it. I’d love to see you and Mareli for coffee. xox Judy❤️
As usual Judy, you have the Midas touch and it looks stunning! I’m a disaster at deciding on paint colours so I can believe it when you say that it took longer to pick the colour than it was to paint the room😂. I loved the grey wall colour as well but the gold colour you chose is also so beautiful and will be so warm and bright during the day and gorgeous and glowing with the night light and candles as well. Everything goes together beautifully and your gorgeous rug anchors it all perfectly! I’m going to steal your idea for painting my buffet in the Annie Sloan Paris Grey because mine needs a change (for the better!) and I love that colour. Thanks so much for sharing and enjoy your beautiful dining room! Hugs, Karen xo❤️
Thank you Karen, I walk through the dining room many times of the day and I’m still getting used to the colour change. It has completely transformed the room from moody and dark to bright and light. Have fun painting your buffet with Annie Sloan. Are you using the clear wax or do you plan to antique it? xox Judy❤️
Oh boy, that’s a good question Judy! I’m a newbie at doing this so I’ll have to do my homework to see how I go about doing this. I love the look of your buffets. I want it to look like an old French piece of furniture….any suggestions? Thanks so much Judy! Hugs, Karen xo❤️