French Inspired Dining Room Update

It’s been a while since I’ve updated the progress of the dining room, so I thought I’d post a follow up. Admittedly , this project has been on the back burner for months as we have had so many other projects going on simultaneously. I’ll be posting more about those very soon and if you are interested in our kitchen renovation you can also find that HERE.

As a recap from previously, here is my dining room inspiration board from last year.

While a few ideas have changed from my style board, the basic concept indeed has come into fruition, and I love it! The wallpaper we used was as in my original plan, Laura Ashley Elderwood in Duck Egg Blue. The color is actually more green, than blue as the name suggests, but this ended up being just fine and one of my favorite aspects of the whole project. It’s really lovely with a “toile” style that coordinates well with the other French inspired elements of the room.

I should also mention the paint color of the lower walls, Trim work, and ceiling are all Benjamin Moore, Chantilly Lace. I ended up choosing this color instead simply white (as on the inspiration board) because it worked better at matching our kitchen walls and cabinet color in the adjacent room (the cabinets are Medallion Cabinetry in “Sea Salt”). For reference, Chantilly Lace is similar to Simply White with its warm undertones, but is a bit lighter and brighter and just what was needed.

My hope for a table was to find an antique French harvest table, as you can see from my style board. The search took several months of both online and local shops to find the perfect piece in my budget. Luckily, I found a great source online called Kenny ball Antiques who specializes in French, English, and Italian antiques.

Just what I was looking for…

Here is the table as it was advertised on the Kenny ball Antiques website. The measurements and style were exactly what I had hoped to find.

This was an exciting experience and I would highly recommend working with this company (and I am certain will will again). Shipping the table from Virginia to Connecticut, worked out perfectly.

While waiting for the table to arrive, we got to work with the new paint color and wallpaper. As I evaluated the Elderwood wallpaper with a swatch taped to the wall, I could see right away this was the perfect choice for this room; especially because it worked so well with the decor in our kitchen.

Ahhh much better!

There is something truly magical about a newly painted and wallpapered space. It’s something I could soak in for hours on end if given the opportunity. Exhale… We finished just in time for table’s arrival. Seeing it placed in the dining room was so exciting!

To finish off the project we chose cane back dining chairs from a company called Green Row (a division of William Sonoma) and the gorgeous chandelier is a French antique replica from Quorum. Initially I had a wide armed brass chandelier in mind (see my style board above) for the dining room, but after giving it more thought settled upon a French antique style. This seemed a better fit for the overall aesthetic.

For much needed storage, I found an antique French style china cabinet on facebook marketplace for under $100. From the listing photo (below) it looked like it needed some work, and I purchased it assuming it would require a bit of fixing along with either refinish or paint. But to my surprise it was fine and polished up beautifully! Thank goodness for my trusty Old English furniture polish. It never fails… It brings out the beauty of wood, along with gently covering scratches. Take a look at how it turned out.