Before & After: Moody Modern Traditional Dining Room
The dining room design I’m sharing with you today has everything I love most — moody color, a blend of modern and traditional details, dramatic lighting, mixed metals, textures you can see and feel, plants, great views, a bar area, and so much more.
Is it any surprise that this is my house?! My husband would say no, no surprise at all. ;)
We finished our dining room renovation at the end of last year, right before Thanksgiving, and it may be my favorite project EVER. (You may remember sneak peeks of it in my Tablescape Inspiration blog post.) At the time, we were pitching it to publications, so we couldn’t let the cat out of the bag just yet.
Now, I’m THRILLED to report that our whole home renovation was just featured in Architectural Digest!
They did a stand-up job of touring our home, but now it’s my turn to give you the tour… starting with this daring dining room.
Design Goals
Our dining room is the first room guests see when they enter our home, so I wanted to make it feel brighter, give it more character, and of course, elicit a “WOW!” I also wanted to feel like I was hosting people properly while entertaining. The dining room before was dark green and dreary. It didn’t quite special enough for a ladies’ brunch, much less a holiday gathering.
Must-have List: Wow Factor.
For my own home, I don’t always put together mood boards. Designing this room started with more of a problem that needed to be solved. It was too dark, the old table was too small, and we needed storage. Setting the mood was important though.
I started with a quest for paint, found the image below of wainscoting and had to have it! it all sort of unfolded from there. Here are the images that sparked the fire…
As soon as I saw this beauty, I knew that wainscoting was a must. I also love the pairing of dark metals and moody hues. (source)
In this space, the velvet seating, moody backdrop, and warm gold frames called my name. It’s a sexy space with a punch of fun. (source)
After: Moody Modern Traditional Dining Room with a Touch of Whimsy
Ahhh! It is glorious, isn’t it? We’ve lived with this dramatic dining room for several months now, and I am still in love with it.
Since my number one goal was brightness, we addressed the lighting first. As an old room with Old World character, I really wanted to avoid recessed cans. Instead, we added small ceiling lights, the super small flush mounts, in addition to the chandeliers. See them in the corners? it’s an incredible design detail.
The next big venture was adding wainscoting. This is quite a process, but with a good contractor and the right trim pieces, you can create beautiful wainscoting in pretty much any room. It felt so good to ADD architectural details to a home for once! Textured walls are a key component to making a room feel more intentional and worthy of your time. :)
Surprisingly, the whole time the wainscoting was being built, I actually thought I was going to paint it a blue or green. As I was searching for the right one, they all felt either too rich or too dark.
Then, I found this deep blush color and fell in LOVE. It felt colorful but not too bold or dark. So we painted the wainscoting with it and used a glossy finish (to help reflect light and keep the space bright), and I am never looking back! I credit the wainscoting almost entirely for taking a room that originally felt bland to a truly special space.
Above the wainscoting is a super special wallpaper I found. I love the whimsical pattern of Queen Anne’s Lace. It adds an extra something in the room that offsets the moodiness and makes it feel light-hearted and not so serious. It also helps draw our eyes to the windows and the great outdoors! OR “great backyard,” I should say. (Which we also completely remodeled, and It’s fabulous!!)
Then, there’s this angle: Gubi Beetle chairs in Cabernet-colored velvet and brass legs, old world-inspired chandeliers, the charcoal black edge of the table, and thick, luxurious drapery that makes the space feel elegant yet cozy all at once. When I say this was probably my favorite project of all time, I mean it!
Last but not least, what dining area (or home, for that matter) would be complete without a bar area? This credenza serves as the perfect storage space for all things entertaining… including Darroze brandy straight from La france.
P.s. If you’re looking for a way to get your kids to fall asleep, watch Netflix in French. works every time in the Novak house!
Alright, this tour ends here, but I want to end on this note: a design that turns out like this — truly special in every way & perfect for our family — comes from trusting the PROCESS.
Once you find someone you trust — a professional with a similar style to yours, with experience, and the ability to listen — let go a little and trust them. I don’t mean hide your feelings (We always want your honest feedback at each checkpoint during a project!), but smile. Have fun with it. Let your designer get creative and see what kind of magic happens! IT’s exciting!
That’s how you create a room that transcends its physical space and takes on a life of its own. And not just any life, but the one that is perfect for you and your family. can you tell that I love what I do?!
xoxo,
Susie