Colonial Foreclosure Dining Room Renovation

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See this Colonial foreclosure dining room renovation now including easy DIY chair rail wainscoting and faux Venetian plaster paint.

If you recall from the Colonial Foreclosure Renovation Before Tour Part 1 this is how the dining room looked before renovations.

Not super exciting.  The ceiling was covered with thick popcorn-styled plaster and the flooring was a cheap peel and stick.  Both of which had to go.

 

Colonial Foreclosure Dining Room Renovation

The ceiling

As mentioned before in the Colonial Foreclosure Library Renovation, we had my father-in-law, who was doing all of our painting, scrape off the thick popcorn texture and then sand it down with a pole sander. 

Popcorn ceiling scraper here and pole sander here.  It actually created a fairly smooth yet subtly textured appearance.

My wonderful father-in-law! 

After the Victorian house renovation, Zach and I would have been happy never to hold a paintbrush again (didn’t happen), but we are at least grateful to be able to pay a pro at a family discount!!

 

Colonial Foreclosure Dining Room Renovation

The floor

For the flooring, I went with a click and lock laminate and tried my hand at installing a floor for the first time. 

I was glad to only be 5’3″ while spending so much time hunched over. 

I have a newfound respect for flooring guys.  This is tiring work!  I did the dining room into the living room and then carried this same flooring into the hall and half bath.

You can see several boxes open in the picture above. 

In order to keep your pattern as natural as possible, it is recommended to pick each plank from a different carton. 

Also, I highly recommend buying a flooring installation kit to keep in your toolbox for future use.  It will include spacers, a tapping block, and a pull bar to keep your planks tight.

Colonial Foreclosure Dining Room Renovation

Lighting

Initially you can see that there was a classic 5 armed brass chandelier.  Buying a new fixture here wasn’t a priority, so I spray painted it with a metallic spray to give it more of a matte gold finish. 

I wrapped the white “candlesticks” and used a gold spray very similar to this Rustoleum Warm Gold.

I was actually quite pleased with how it turned out.  I covered the bulbs with pretty little shades that I found on Craigslist, and 6 Linen Chandelier Shades.

Colonial Foreclosure Dining Room Renovation

Wainscoting

This wainscoting is actually just the lower half of the wall painted with the trim paint and then base cap molding cut to form boxes. 

To class up the chair rail we used a chair rail backer first and then placed this chair rail molding on top.  I love the timeless elegance of pretty white wainscoting. 

Don’t forget to cap the ends of your chair rail for a finished look!

Colonial Foreclosure Dining Room Renovation

Paint

I wanted to try my hand once more at decorative paint (if you missed my epic faux Venetian plaster fail read about it here), so I used  Ralph Lauren’s patina finish decorative paint. 

I used the color “Peridot.”  I just followed the directions on the back. 

First was the green paint, and then I took a trowel and added the swirled patina finish on the top.  It’s hard to capture on a picture as the finish is subtle, but below you can see some of the patina swirl. 

The pearl patina finish actually leaves the wall soft to the touch.  This product is no longer available, but a similar product can be found here.

Colonial Foreclosure Dining Room Renovation

Walls

I love an open concept layout, but I also like to create intentional spaces. 

I felt that the dining room and library needed to have some visual separation, and I didn’t want that to be a line down the wall where the decorative paint from the dining room ended and the wallpaper from the library started. 

I decided to add two half walls with columns to help separate the rooms and add dimension to the space.

When you go back for a second Masters, coach football, work outside of the house, and have two kids – house renovation projects happen whenever there is a good time which in this case apparently meant in my slippers!  Ha.

My handsome boys!

Those eyes.  That smile.  Going to get this little man in and out of a lot of trouble one day!

For those of you renovating with young kids or who would like to renovate but have young kids – it can be done.  We are living proof.  Our kids have grown up in construction zones and, praise the Lord, never one injury. 

For us or for them. 

Unplug a power tool EVERY TIME you walk away from it.  Keep all sharp objects out of reach.  Always clean up after you finish for the day.  Get them their own set of toy tools (as Caleb has above).  As they get older let them participate in safe ways and take advantage of teaching moments. 

It is overwhelming at first trying to manage a project and your kids, but you get used to it and they do too.  Don’t be afraid to get them involved and make some memories while doing it!

Add a touch of crown molding with some French Country decor, and voila, a boring dining room turned French Country beautiful. 

It also happens to be decorated for Christmas at the moment.  Enjoy!

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