velvet curtains Archives - A Dabbled Dwelling

When my 4 year old lovingly referred to my dining room as the “mail room” I knew it was time for a dining room refresh. The space had been taken over by packages and become the unofficial “catch-all” of the house. Does anyone actually use their formal dining room for dining these days? I knew the best way motivate myself to clean it out (and keep it that way) was to give the space a nice little update.

Dining room with 4 black and white chairs with a bench and a gray and tan rug underneath. Large window with camel colored curtains and the back wall with board and batten, muted green paint, and 3 gold frames. A beige chair sits in the corner.

Before photo of dining room table covered in random items and boxes

Dining Room Table Refresh with Liquid Wood

The product I used to give my previously dark veneer table a new light wood finish is INCREDIBLE. I’m talking mind-blowing. I used a paintable liquid wood from Retique It (Code “dwelling” for 10% off!). It’s made of 66% recycled real wood and can be added to almost any hard surface to give it a new layer of stainable wood.

Because my table was a veneer, I wasn’t unable to strip or re-stain alone because it would have just exposed the MDF underneath. This product made it possible to get the light wood look I wanted! After painting on the liquid wood in “light wood” I was able to use to Retique it “Pecan” stain and “Weathered Wood” glaze to achieve this neutral color.

before photo of dark brown table and traditional beige upholstered chairs — Table BEFORE

woman painting liquid wood on table to give it a lighter finish

final photo of table finish with a light neutral colored wood stain — Table After

Dining Room Chair Refresh

I was tired of my traditional upholstered dining chairs so I found a set of 4 on Facebook Marketplace for just $25! They needed some work but I was confident I could turn these dated-duds into designer-dupes.

I spray painted them black and picked up some “Marine Vinyl” that looked like faux leather from Joann’s. Next, I cut them into 1.5 inch strips and stapled them to the underside of my chair frame in a basket weave pattern. This gave them such a trendy look! The whole chair project only cost $60!

old coastal looking chair with arched back, light wood, and navy patterned cushion

woman staples fabric strips to the underside of chair

Decorative Elements

I only changed a few other elements to update this space, giving it a little color and a touch of moodiness. This included swapping out the curtains for these beige velvet ones. This was a bit outside my comfort zone of my usual gray or white curtains. Also, I painted the back wall “Acacia Haze” by Sherwin Williams for that bit of color. Then added 3 gold frames that I will eventually add family photos to. Lastly, this incredible “Minoa” rug from Boutique Rugs that really pulled together the whole space.