dining room makeover | painted wainscoting

by | Oct 23, 2024 | 1970 home renovation, All Things Home, Dining Room, My House, Room Makeovers | 25 comments

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I have finally finished all of the trim and painting in the dining room that needed to be done before I started on the mural.  After having only primer on the walls for over a year, this feels like a huge accomplishment.  I don’t know why painting the ceiling and installing trim made me procrastinate for so long, but it’s done and now I can get to the fun part.

This is how the dining room wainscoting looked after it was installed and caulked.  At this point, it looked pretty sharp and I was considering painting it white.

dining room makeover | painted wainscoting | oval room blue | farrow and ball | miss mustard seed

I don’t know if I can explain why, but this house seems to like colored trim and doors, so I decided to follow my gut and move forward with my plan for painting it Oval Room Blue.

dining room makeover | painted wainscoting | oval room blue | farrow and ball | miss mustard seed

As I expected, it took two coats and I used the Estate Eggshell finish.  It’s more of a satin than an eggshell, but it’s a nice, durable finish for trim and woodwork.  It has a bit of a sheen, but it’s not too shiny, which is good since my walls aren’t perfectly smooth after having wallpaper and glue removed.

dining room makeover | painted wainscoting | oval room blue | farrow and ball | miss mustard seed

This color is a little tricky to photograph, especially with the top half of the wall being white at this point, but here’s how the wainscoting looks painted…

dining room makeover | painted wainscoting | oval room blue | farrow and ball | miss mustard seed

I really love how it speaks to the Card Room Green in the kitchen.  They are almost the exact same value, so they seem to flow well together even though one is green and the other is blue.  It also gives the wainscoting more presence and adds an elegance to the dining room.

dining room makeover | painted wainscoting | oval room blue | farrow and ball | miss mustard seed

The cutting in along the chair rail isn’t the neatest since I’ll be adding the mural next,  I’ll tape off the trim and ceiling when I start on that to make the edges crisp.

dining room makeover | painted wainscoting | oval room blue | farrow and ball | miss mustard seed

I made the decision to paint the window trim white instead of Oval Room Blue since the windows are white.  They are brand new vinyl windows and it didn’t make sense to paint each of them to match the trim in each room.  They will all stay white and, in the other rooms where I’ve made that decision, it doesn’t look odd once it’s all finished.  I think it looks a little out of place at the moment since the upper part of the walls is still wearing white primer.

The most exciting part of painting the trim was getting to put the hardware on the dining room side of the doors.  They have been handle-less for over a year so you couldn’t open them from this side. It’s a little thing, but I was so happy I finally got to put them on.

dining room makeover | painted wainscoting | oval room blue | farrow and ball | miss mustard seed

dining room makeover | painted wainscoting | oval room blue | farrow and ball | miss mustard seed

With the sun reflecting off the wood floors, the color looks more green-blue in certain places, but Oval Room Blue is a very classic, rich blue that definitely gives off a historic vibe.

dining room makeover | painted wainscoting | oval room blue | farrow and ball | miss mustard seed

I can’t wait to get started on the mural.  I might start doing some initial sketches this week, but I plan on getting it done over the first couple of weeks of November.

As a reminder, here is the inspiration and color palette for the mural…

dining room mural inspiration and palette | miss mustard seed

And a couple of rough sketches…

dining room mural sketches | miss mustard seed

And, the custom curtains are waiting to be hung!  You can read about the fabric options I was considering HERE.  I ordered them from Neutral Curtains as a part of a sponsorship and they arrived about a week after I ordered them, which was a surprise.  I thought they would take much longer, so that was a pleasant surprise. I will, of course, share all about them once they are hung, but they look beautiful even in the box.

dining room makeover | neutral curtains | miss mustard seed

You can find more posts about this dining room makeover here…

installing picture frame molding

the antique empire buffet

painting the dining room ceiling

landscape mural design & colors

dining room curtain options

dining room inspiration & plans

PS – I’ve contacted them through e-mail, but the winners of the Feels Like Home giveaway are Naomi B, Gail J, and Judi Y.  Congrats, and thanks to all who entered and celebrated this book birthday with me!  Feels Like Home is still $11.99 on Amazon if you want some extra inspiration for making your house feel more like your home.

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    25 Comments

    1. Cheryl

      Wow! Amazing! The mural part sounds daunting to me, it will be exciting to see the final outcome. I think the drapes will definitely be the cherry on top.

      Reply
    2. beverlee

      It is going to be fabulous. I am really excited to see the velvet drapes. I had them in another home, and they always made me happy. The mural is something I think we all waited on…..thank you for taking us along.

      Reply
    3. Monica

      It’s going to be beautiful. Maybe it’s my 63-year-old eyes, but the dining room wainscoting looks green to me. Maybe it’s more blue in person, lol. I know this mural will be even more beautiful than the one you did in MN and it was spectacular!

      Reply
      • Marian Parsons

        Yes, it is more blue in person, but it’s a gentle blue. Since we have warm wood floors, the warmth does reflect off the paint making it look greener than it is.

        Reply
    4. Mae

      I think it’s going to be amazing!
      I love the wainscoting! The color really sets off beauty of the trim. I can’t wait to see the mural. Please post as you paint each step. 😊

      Reply
      • Marian Parsons

        Yep, I will!

        Reply
    5. Laurie

      Thank you ever so much for sharing your creative journeys with us – looking forward to seeing this room once you’ve worked all your magic (though we know that no room is ever really finished!)

      Reply
    6. Connie

      Love the wainscoting & the color; this is going to be such a beautiful, enjoyable space! My sister had flat doors like yours & while having the interiors painted, they had the painter add moulding trim to the doors to make them look like 3 panel doors. It was a small change that made a big impact! But I don’t think anyone will even notice the doors or white windows & trim once the mural is painted!

      Reply
    7. DWF

      If you don’t ever close the doors then ignore. If you do then I’d put some trim on those too. They look very flat otherwise.

      Reply
      • Marian Parsons

        Yeah, I have considered that because they don’t just look very flat, they are very flat! I want to wait until I get the mural painted, though, to see if that would add to the overall look or not.

        Reply
        • Jo

          The very flat panel doors with the beautiful tassel give a lovely vintage vibe.

          Reply
    8. Nan, Odessa, DE

      Weighting to see the finished product.
      You are making me rigorous of that pic of the myrtes!
      Still wantingone!

      Reply
    9. Dianeh

      I lked the dining room white, but I like it even better painted. May I have some offer my observation?
      I think the color of the hardwood floors , entry tile or slate, and antique furniture like the paint colors you have chosen.
      When we are ready to repaint the interior of our house I will definitely go back and review your color choices and get some samples. Old wood seems to like green and blue.
      It looks fantastic 🥰

      Reply
    10. Fran Harris

      Looks great, and I’m sure the mural will make it spectacular. However, Oval Room Blue reads green, green, green!

      Reply
    11. Diane E Ruebel

      MMS,
      Your prep work and painting is extraordinary. It is also a testimony to doing things in their own time while anticipating the finishing touches.

      May you find joy as you paint your original landscape and hang your gorgeous drapes.

      Hugs from Mercer Island,
      Diney

      Reply
    12. noreen

      The room looks beautiful already. Have you thought of putting moulding in the doors so they fit better with the paneling?

      Reply
    13. Michele M.

      I love that you actually think you procrastinated something. You are entirely too hard on yourself. NO ONE is less a procrastinator than you are, Marian. And I was of the “team white wainscoting” thought process – but seeing it – definitely you. It looks luscious and right. Well done.

      Reply
    14. Elena M.

      This is going to sound like “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”, but I noticed that your dining room in MN with the mural had white crown molding. It gave such a lovely finish to the mural, so it didn’t just end at the ceiling – you know what I mean? Like a picture frame. Anyway, if you get out the tools to add molding to the doors, you may just want to think about crown molding, too. Just another little project to add to your ginormous list. Ha Ha.

      Reply
      • Marian Parsons

        You know, I would love to add crown molding to this house. We’ve done that in all of our previous homes and it adds so much. These ceilings are not going to be crown-friendly, though. We learned that when we had our kitchen cabinets installed all the way to the ceiling. There were large gaps and the ceilings and walls were uneven. It looked terrible, so we had to layer on some smaller trim pieces to hide the gaps (that were too large to caulk.) I’m afraid we would get into a mess trying to install crown, so I’m just leaving it alone at this point.

        Reply
    15. Robin

      Marian, this is simply stunning! What a rich color. Have to admit, I would probably have gone “safe” and left it white. But that’s why no one is knocking on my doors for photo opts. One question: how do you keep everything so uniform? Doesn’t look like there is a brushstroke anywhere. Was in a beautifully decorated home recently where the homeowner had added wainscoting, but what a hot mess the paint job was. Maybe she let her six-year-old help.

      Reply
      • Marian Parsons

        Well, I have thousands of hours behind a paintbrush, so I am pretty good at it! I think the key is using quality paint so that it applies and levels well, a quality brush that will deliver the paint in a uniform, even manner, and the right roller cover for the job. Since I wanted it to be smooth, I used a microfiber roller made for trim/doors/cabinets. I also work to keep a wet edge so that I can smooth over the edges. It just takes practice. 🙂

        Reply
    16. Addie

      Oh!!!…. The anticipation for the mural!!!! I know it will be GREAT!!!
      I really like the old flat doors. It gives your eyes a rest. With the beautiful brass knob and tassel, it shows that it was not forgotten but has a cohesive design element for the room. With all of your beautiful furniture, ironstone, oil paintings AND the mural I don’t think the door needs to compete. It also shows the original style quality and quirkiness of the home. Also that door leads to all the “eye candy” of beauty to the kitchen. Just my opinion…I am sure you will nail it!!!

      Reply
      • beverlee

        I agree with you. Sometimes a flat space is needed so everything else can shine.

        Reply
    17. Lou

      Your home and style is looking so English to me nowadays. The interior could be straight out of an Agatha Christie novel. The house of a nice lady in the village who happened to see something, not the home of a murderer! Being English myself I am loving it.

      Reply
    18. Tineke

      I love it, together with the trimming it is stunning.

      Reply

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    Marian Parsons - Miss Mustard Seed

    I’m Marian, aka Miss Mustard Seed, a wife, mother, paint enthusiast, lover of all things home and an entrepreneur, author, artist, designer, freelance writer & photographer.  READ MORE to learn more about me, my blog and my business…

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