Dining Room Done! YAY!!

Well, it has been a long time coming, let me tell ya! I finally retired from my job, and wanted to get started on all the projects I have been waiting patiently to do. The dining room was one of them, with its dark blueish/teal walls, I was ready for a change! I know that dark walls are making a comeback in the decor world, but I have had these for like 10 years and need some light and bright!

After doing the entry way, I had decided I wanted the whole house to be more cohesive and a little more neutral, so I stuck with the same colors on the walls and trim and added a little flare! With lots of time on my hands and no deadline to hit, I began.

 Retirement is a funny thing, some people just keep right on moving forward and never look back, being busier than when they worked. Some get bored, and decide that they really don’t like it, and then there are those few that seem to have everything happen right after retirement. Well, I am in that third category! My last official day, I tweeked my knee! Two weeks later, my Mom was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer! Two months later, I tore my minescus in my other knee (a week after I started the dining room makeover) and had to have it scoped. When they scoped it, they found out that I had also torn my ACL! A couple of weeks later, my Mom passed away. This all happened within the first three months of retirement and needless to say, getting the dining room completed was the last priority! Luckily, I had done most of the higher part of the 11 foot ceilings, and all that was left was some of the trim and below the chair rail. Since I couldn’t climb a ladder yet, (torn ACL) I began painting the lower part of the walls. It took longer than expected, probably because I really wasn’t in the mood for awhile, and honestly kinda sad, but got that completed-FINALLY!

Even though my home will be all the same neutral colors, each space will have that WOW factor, and the dining room is no different. I originally wanted to do some wallpaper, but because of the budget, I made the choice to stencil. I opted for a large stencil that I purchased at Micheals craft store. For those of you who have never stenciled, there are a couple of different ways to get the same result. I find that it is easiest to use a foam roller on walls and furniture, but use a stencil brush on everything else.

Stenciling supplies:
     
                1.  2 Stencils
                2. Foam roller (small)

                3. Spray glue
                4. Painters tape
                5. Roller pan
                6. Latex paint




I will just quickly explain how I did this particular stencil project, I also did a very brief "how to" in my last post about the guest room, so if you already read that, then just skip to the end. First thing is to spray the back of the stencil with the spray glue. You can use any brand, but I used 3M brand of glue. Set it aside for about 5 minutes or until it gets tacky. While it is getting tacky, measure and figure out your stencil pattern on the wall. I don’t ever measure, I usually just eyeball everything, but if you read the instructions on the stencil package, it will tell you how to get started, usually. Then you simply place your stencil on the wall and make sure you use the painters tape to tape off any edges so you don’t accidentally paint over the edge onto the wall. Pour the paint into the roller pan and roll paint onto the
roller. Here is the secret, don’t use very much paint! If you use too much, it will bleed under the stencil. when you have all the holes in the stencil painted, simply remove the stencil. It is best to have at least a couple of stencils so you can continue and not have to wait for the stencil to dry. Just keep moving along the wall until you are done!


Hope you enjoyed my little Dining Room refresh, on to the next project!