Dining Room Progress

If you’ve been following us on Instagram @cafedesignhome, our account dedicated entirely to the renovation of our little New England Cape, you might have noticed that we recently completed some construction work at our house. Big changes have happened that I’m very excited about and thought I’d share them with you. Over the last couple of months my husband and I have been working at warp-speed, in between Zoom meetings and home-schooling efforts with our second-grader, tackling little projects here and there and checking things off of our humongous, ever-expanding to-dos list. Keeping our minds and hands busy has been the only way to retain sanity and a sense of normalcy during these difficult times… 

The dining room, the day of our move last summer

Many of the major upgrades (like new kitchen cabinets and new bathrooms) will have to wait for a good while but there were a few cosmetic changes that I’ve been itching to implement. One of them was removing the popcorn ceiling in the dining room and re-plastering the walls, the other was adding beams to the living room ceiling. Not necessarily in that order, but let’s start with the dining room.

The dining room, the day of our move last summer

At approximately 11’x11’, the dining room is cute and cozy (i.e. small) but it also came with yellowing popcorn ceilings and peeling plaster.  Layers of paint jobs on top of wallpaper made the old plaster warp and crack, especially around the heating boards.

We entertained quite a lot soon after we moved in. No rug? No problem!

Soon after we moved in we started priming one of the dining room walls and immediately realized that we didn’t want to throw good money after bad. No amount of paint could change the fact that the walls had to be re-plastered, and the popcorn ceiling removed before investing any more in the room. We didn’t like the expense, but it had to be done. (While we are quite good with the paint brush or roller, plastering and removing popcorn ceilings are a different animal. These are messy jobs that produce a ton of toxic dust and require specialized knowledge which we totally lack. So we called (and waited for) a professional. ) Once here, our contractor worked alone, was very efficient and we took all the necessary precautions – we moved upstairs for the entire length of the project, kept at least a 6-foot distance at all times and used Clorox wipes on everything. 

He removed the popcorn texture off of the ceilings first. It was difficult and it took a lot of scraping before re-plastering but it is now smooth and clean, and painted a pretty, warm off-white. The walls were in really bad shape, particularly around the heating, so re-plastering followed, which took about two more days. We used a special drywall primer, had the walls primed and ready for paint. Like with all renovations, one thing led to another during this time and we also had the old chair rail removed and the old baseboards and window trim replaced with simple, clean-lined poplar boards from Home Depot. I wanted a wider window sill because I love the look and the added extra bit of space for a potted herb or vase.  

We used 1x4s for the door and window trims and 1x6s for the baseboards

Below is a glimpse of how the room looks like right now. I primed and painted the window trim and baseboards last week, just in time for Easter, and am now working on designing the rest of the room. We will have some sort of wall paneling, definitely a bigger round table for when we’ll hopefully entertain again, and six/eight chairs. I have a set in the garage, a local antiques shop find from last fall and they are patiently waiting for warmer weather, and my attention.

Our super simple Easter table this year

The problematic corner around the heating boards is now smooth and re-plastered and I couldn’t love it more, while the chandelier is a relatively new addition to the room. We lived through Christmas with the old one but recently switched to a candelabra style and gave the old brass one a good home. I ordered six burlap clip-on shades from Amazon and they instantly changed the room, adding texture and warmth. And although there’s still so much to be done in the room, in the whole house really, it’s the progress no matter how big or small, that keeps me motivated to continue.

That’s about it for today’s progress updates… I hope I didn’t bore you with too many construction site pics. I’m off for the day but I’ll be back next week to talk about the living room beams – the good, the bad and the ugly! Wishing you all a peaceful weekend at home… Take care!! 

P.S: There’s a winter weather advisory on for tonight for Western Mass with an expected 5” of snow so I need to cover our flower beds asap. After surviving numerous squirrel scavenger hunts this spring, no way my tulips will make it through another snow storm. Fingers crossed…

21 Comments

  1. Lauren H
    April 17, 2020 / 8:50 am

    The new chandelier and trim are beautiful! Your house is coming along so well. 🙂

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 17, 2020 / 8:56 am

      Aww, thank you so much Lauren!! xoxo

  2. Juliet
    April 17, 2020 / 9:44 am

    I love the way it’s looking … can’t wait to see more! xo

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 7:05 am

      Thank you so much, Juliet!! I’ll be sure to post more as we progress… xo

  3. Discerning Shopper
    April 17, 2020 / 10:07 am

    I love the paint color you chose for the dining room! Would you mind sharing the name of the color and the manufacturer? Also, what sheen did you use? Thanks! 🙂

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 7:12 am

      Thank you so much for your interest, Discerning Shopper! The ceiling is Simply White in satin, the trim is Linen White semi-gloss and the walls are White Dove in matte finish, all Benjamin Moore colors mixed in Behr’s Marquee base at Home Depot. I hope this helps! xo, Eva

      • Discerning Shopper
        April 20, 2020 / 10:37 am

        Thanks for taking the time to get back to me!! You are doing a great job with your home.

  4. Linda
    April 17, 2020 / 11:19 am

    It’s so exciting to see this progress, Eva – and I love that we’re going through it at the same time! It’s a little unsettling to have home projects during this crazy time — it’s nice to have a home that is just a perfect little sanctuary. But at the same time, it’s nice to have these projects and to have that sense of gratification when they are completed.
    Your home is looking wonderful — and very warm and welcoming, too.
    Linda

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 7:15 am

      Thank you, Linda!! Yes, it is so exciting to create a home and I love all that you’ve accomplished so far with the new house!!! It is a challenge but also a respite from all the worry and uncertainty of these times. I think of it as therapy… xo, Eva

  5. Diana M. Bier
    April 17, 2020 / 1:49 pm

    Looks great, Eva! Amazing what a fresh coat of paint and new trim can do for a room. I love your chandelier too!

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 7:15 am

      Thank you so much, Diana!! I appreciate it!! xo, Eva

  6. April 17, 2020 / 5:54 pm

    Eva, your dining room looks wonderful! And don’t worry, I will never get tired of looking at your homes updates. I enjoy seeing what other ladies are doing.

    Good luck with your tulips! 🌷

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 7:16 am

      Aww, thank you so much Catherine!! xo, Eva

  7. Maureen
    April 17, 2020 / 6:55 pm

    Love following along on your journey. The final result is going to be beautiful.

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 7:16 am

      Thank you so much for the vote of confidence, Maureen!! xo, Eva

  8. Cindy
    April 18, 2020 / 5:13 pm

    Perfect chandelier!

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 7:16 am

      Thank you, Cindy!! xo, Eva

  9. Melkorka
    April 20, 2020 / 5:52 am

    WOW. It looks so great, you are doing such strategic improvements and a lot of progress in such a short time (esp for living in the space as well). Congratulations on all you efforts it really looks lovely.

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 7:17 am

      Thank you so much, glad you like the progress so far!! xo, Eva

  10. April 21, 2020 / 4:53 am

    This is nice, i like the progress.

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      April 21, 2020 / 5:58 am

      Thank you, Joseph!