Dark Craftsman Dining Room Facelift (Without Painting the Woodwork)

Marisol and Nick recently moved to Minneapolis from Miami. They love the rich Craftsman style of their new rental home, but their coastal-style furniture and kitschy collections don’t jive well in the library-like dining room. The space is filled with built-ins, including bookcases, a stately bar and a window seat, as well as heavy molding around windows and walls. The couple wanted to brighten the space without harming the wood, and thankfully, their landlord agreed to let Patti paint the walls.

Before, the dining room had so much character, but the tan walls didn’t allow the woodwork to shine. The light fixture over the dining table felt dated, and Marisol and Nick’s dining set looked out of place.

With the walls painted white, the woodwork became the star of this space — as it was always meant to be. The room feels so much brighter, thanks also to the new brass-finish light fixture over the dining table. With bulbs pointing toward the ceiling, light can bounce up and around the room, rather than just pointing straight down as the previous one did.

Patti focused a lot of effort on styling the copious bookshelves in the dining room. She chose light-colored books, vases and accent pieces to pop against the wood. She also convinced Nick that he only needed to display one piece from his collection of football helmets, not all of them.

While she loves kids’ toys, Patti feels like the bright colors often compete with a design, so she chose to store the couple’s toddler’s toys in natural-fiber baskets and bins to help them blend in.

Above the built-in shelves, Patti placed framed photos of the beach to remind the couple of their former home in Florida. Patti left some shelves open, proving that it’s not always necessary to fill every slot with stuff — sometimes, breathing room is just what a space needs.

Patti felt like the couple’s original dining table and chairs had too ardent a coastal vibe that didn’t fit with their new home in Minneapolis.

She replaced the old table with a midcentury modern tripod pedestal table that she found at an antique store, plus dining chairs. She added felt feet to the dining chairs so they won’t scratch the beautiful original wood floors — a good tip for any homeowner, but especially renters.

The stunning built-in bar needed minimal styling — just a copper wine rack with a graphic hexagonal design, a few beautiful bottles and some classic, cut-crystal bar glasses.

Being so close in tone to the color of the woodwork, the tan wall color really brought the space down before.