Designer Karen Lynch turns an urban, white-walled dining room into a contemporary garden oasis with floral fabrics, muted colors and metallic accessories. The room already contains great features, such as extensive woodwork, a plate rail and built-in hutch with leaded-glass windows. However, it needs a cohesive look. Lynch paints the wall above the plate rail a soft purple and the walls below the plate rail are treated with a tape-free striping technique. A 2" x 4" board is taped to a level to create the spaces between the stripes. The stripes are painted on with a mixture of one part paint, five parts glaze and one part water. The windows are dressed with double-layered straight panels that can either be buttoned back or left to hang straight. Dragonfly garden stakes and a dowel rod act as a window rod; small hooks in the molding provide the support for the "rod." An area rug is made of floral fabric with a purple chenille border. The dining chairs are treated with a white crackle finish over the existing black paint. Fabric-covered seat and back covers provide extra comfort. Additional seating is created with a bed-frame bench. The radiator is hidden behind a picket fence and fence post structure made from 1" x 4" pickets, plywood (for the top) and chain link fence materials. A matching wine rack is placed in the other corner. Floral accessories in the form of framed calendar pages, daisy shadow boxes and custom floral sconces adorn the walls.
Project: Padded Seat Back
- Cut desired shape from 1/8" plywood.
- Wrap with batting and fabric; secure with staple gun.
- Cut a smaller piece of plywood to cover the rough edges on the back side; cover with fabric and attach to back.
- Attach padded seat back to chair with screws.
Project: Bed Frame Bench
- Cut the footboard in half and attach the pieces to each end of the headboard.
- Stabilize the inside of the bench seat with a 1" x 4" box frame.
- Cover a piece of plywood with batting and fabric for the seat and attach to box frame.
Itemized Design Elements
$69.47 - paint, glaze (Behr - Kodiak Grey [taupe used below chair rail], Reverie [lavender used above chair rail], Grey Moire [stripes], Faux Glaze)
$78.25 - window treatments (The Home Depot - dragonfly garden stakes; fabric outlet - fabric)
$69.14 - custom area rug (Hancock Fabrics - main fabric; fabric outlet - chenille border)
$63.00 - dining room set (Michaels - chair back paints, Plaid Decorator Glaze, Deep Purple, Sage Green, Italian Sage)
$55.00 - radiator cover
$50 - wine rack
$7 - paint for lamps (The Home Depot - Antique Pewter for lamp base, Rust-Oleum American Accents)
$7.50 - floral sconces (floral supply - cones; Michaels - silk flowers, #732811-445113)
$24 - floral boxes (discontinued: Pier 1 - #1850203, #1850194, #1850348)
$49.16 - floral displays
$12 - centerpiece (discontinued - T.J. Maxx)
$484.52 - Total Cost
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