Provence Dining Room

Makeover Room, before

Transforming the Makeover Room

Guest designer Robert Fountain helped direct the transformation of a dull, lackluster dining room into a space with Old World European charm.

Inspiration Room, $46,000

The walls were painted with a warm buttery yellow (Benjamin Moore: Hawthorne Yellow.) A red rug with medallion design was placed in the room to add warmth and texture.

Mounted handmade fabric valances are used for the window treatment. Shades were added to the existing sconces to soften the lighting. The cabinetry is old cabinetry is refreshed by painting it to match the walls of the dining room.

New shelves were placed on the walls to hold decorative items, and an inexpensive china cabinet was painted to match the other storage items as well as add balance to the storage area.

A rustic pine table is placed next to the storage area; and reupholstered chairs are added to create special back pads for the end chairs.

The table is topped with a yellow Provencal fabric table runner, hurricane lamps, a lavender plant and other accessories to accent the new place settings.

The table is dressed with blue and metallic charger plates, wineglasses and other accessories.

The Bottom Line

To see where the savings are, take a look at this direct cost comparison of some Inspiration Room items and the creatively comparable ones used in the Makeover Room:

Turkish rug, $3,500 / Red rug with medallion center, $250

Tall bronze candleholders and candles, $580 / Large-scale candles and aged patina candleholders, $18

19th-century oak farmhouse table with iron legs, $4,500 / Rustic pine table with turned leg detail, $250

Four French-style ladder-back chairs and two matching end chairs, $1,980 each / Six ladder-back chairs, yellow fabric, $115 each

sideboard (Markir), blue floral bowls - IKEA
shelves (with lip), large candleholders, artificial ivy topiaries, fruit plates with blue borders, red bowl, green covered dish, flatware, candles, "pewter" pitcher - Ross
shelves - Pottery Barn Kids
wine cabinet (Sonoma) - Bombay Company
decorative plates, napkins, jam servers, chicken dish - Cost Plus
square plate, Asian blossom plates, plastic chargers, wineglasses, gravy boat - Pottery Barn
glass bowls - Williams- Sonoma
cream pitcher, scalloped edge chargers, etched hurricanes - Crate & Barrel
rustic pine farm table with turned leg detail, glass hurricane bases - Pier 1 Imports
sconce shades - Lamps Plus