Stark to Old World Dining Room

Before

Emely Romero considers her dining room a decorating challenge. After three different paint colors and no success, she's decided she needs professional design help to get her room in order.

The Dilemma

Host Kristan Cunningham arrives at Emely Romero's home to investigate the dining room. Currently, the space has stark white walls and is overcrowded with mismatched furniture. Romero wants her guests to feel welcome in the space instead of retiring to the living room. She would like to swap the old blinds on the windows for some fabric shades. The outdated ceiling fan/light fixture needs to be replaced and the walls should be filled with color. Also, the current storage units are too bulky for the space.

After

The Solution

The team creates an Old World design to dress up Romero's dining room. Here's how they do it:

• The walls are striped in a two-step paint process using an olive green color. The base coat is applied at 100 percent; after it dries, the same color is darkened 50 percent and used to create the stripes.

• Design coordinator Dave Sheinkopf purchases new dining chairs and reupholsters the seats. He pops out the seat cushions, removes the existing fabric and replaces it with a plaid pattern that coordinates with the Old World theme.

The Cost

Furniture - $496

• wood dining chairs: Hotel Surplus Outlet

Accessories and lighting - $352

• Tuscan dinner plate: Z Gallerie - Autumn Acorn Dinner Plate, 409827269
  
• potted plants, gold pitcher: Mainly Seconds
  
• white ceiling medallion: Lowe's - White/33953
  
• decorative plate: Linens 'n Things - Rustico 11" Dinner Plate, 048552600118
  
• floor rug: Ariana Trading Co.
  
• tray table: Pier 1 - Bronze/1979831/1970828

Fabrics and window treatments - $120

• dining chair fabric: Michael Levine
  
• bamboo window shades: Pier 1 - 1851396

Paint and supplies - $30

• wall paint: Benjamin Moore - Wethersfield Moss HC-110

Project Total - $998