Dining Room Archives - Kelley Astore Interiors

Refurbished & Renewed: Upcycling a Dining Room Cabinet

As we continue with our renovations, today we’re bringing you a dining room cabinet transformation! When remodeling a room, it can be tempting to simply get rid of all existing furniture and start fresh. Not only is that very expensive, but it’s also incredibly wasteful! According to the EPA, nearly 10 million tons of furniture and furnishings in America were sent to landfills in 2015, with that number accelerating each year. As interior designers, we have a duty to try and complete our work in a more sustainable manner. But what do you do when you’ve already have a piece of furniture but it doesn’t fit the new design? Upcycle it! It’s amazing what a few small changes can do to a piece of furniture, and this cabinet is no exception. Keep reading to learn more about the upcycling process and watch as we transform this dining room cabinet!

From Start to Finish

We started off with a large cherry cabinet that featured polished brass hardware. The piece and the wood were in great condition and it was clear that this was a well-crafted piece of furniture with a lot longer to live. It simply felt wrong getting rid of such a beautiful piece…not to mention expensive! However, we knew that we were planning on installing grasscloth wallpaper and the cherry-toned wood was not going to match the design. The dining room this piece was going to live in longed for a neutral-toned item in its place. That’s why we decided to refurbish it and paint it a taupe color.

In order to do this, we had to start by removing the original wood finish on the piece. We started the work by sanding the entire cabinet. Once that was done, we spackled any holes and then prepared to paint. Before we could actually paint with the taupe color, it was really important that we primed and prepped the cabinet properly. If you don’t go through all the necessary steps and if you don’t use the correct type of primers and paint, you’ll end up with an uneven paint job that will be chipped and scraped away in no time. And there’s no point putting in all this effort if we don’t do it correctly the first time around.

We made sure to get rid of all the dust from sanding, then we primed the wood. After it was primed and prepped, we began painting with a hardening lacquer paint. It’s important to use lacquer rather than ordinary wall-paint on wood to ensure a durable and hard surface. After we painted, we varnished with a polyethylene finish. This was to ensure a glossy smooth surface to the cabinet – great to look at and touch! It was definitely a lengthy multi-step painting process, which is why I’m so happy to have the best team by my side, helping me achieve all these transformations! Once the painting was complete, we added a few final touches. We replaced the polished brass hardware with antique brass, which we felt added lovely contrast to the modern taupe color. I think the finished cabinet turned out beautifully, and more importantly, my client agrees!

Tips for Upcycling Furniture

If you decide to upcycle a piece of furniture at home, be sure to do your research and take your time! Plan ahead and make sure you have all the correct materials and tools to correctly prep your piece before the creative work begins. This is key to ensuring a professional finish and a long-lasting life. Let your imagination run wild and allow yourself to get creative. Learning how to upcycle furniture is a fantastic way to save money (and be an eco-friendly designer!) Even if you are moving into an unfurnished house, you can peruse thrift stores and second-hand shops to find furniture for fantastic prices. You can then transform the pieces to fit your design needs.

Learn more…

If you’d like to learn more about upcycling and refurbished furniture, check out our blog on the benefits of bespoke upholstery!

Sisal Flooring Installation

I’ve been working with a client in the Great Falls, Virginia area to transform her dining room. It has truly come a long way! First, we installed a grasscloth wall-covering, which helped the room appear larger. Next, the window treatments were installed with beautiful blue and white draperies, and the chairs were reupholstered with a subtle blue and white pattern. It already looks like an entirely new dining room. However, there is just one more major change that I know will take this room to the next level. Keep reading to find out how we finished the dining room transformation with a sisal rug installation!

Why Sisal?

After a difficult year and a half, a lot of people have had the chance to reground and reevaluate what’s truly important to them. While society seemed to pause, nature and Earth around us kept on spinning. It’s no wonder then that a major design trend at the moment is bringing nature indoors. And that has been a massive inspiration for this particular dining room transformation, hence the grasscloth wallcovering. But I didn’t want to stop there. I wanted to find the balance of elegant and classy with natural and warm. That’s why I knew the finishing step of this transformation had to be sisal flooring.

What is Sisal?

Sisal, scientifically known as Agave sisalana, is a plant native to Southern Mexico. It harvests stiff fibers that have been traditionally used to make ropes, but is also used for hats, footwear, or in this case, carpeting! I love using Sisal rugs/carpeting both for practicality and aesthetics! Not only does it bring that hint of nature inside and look amazing, but it is extremely durable and sure to last a lifetime.

Installing Sisal

Sisal works best when it is cut to size and bound on site for installation. This gives the designer the most control over the end result, ensuring that the shape and installation of the sisal fit the space perfectly. My contractor glues the binding down and then topstitched it to make sure it doesn’t unravel and that it has clean edges. For this dining room, we laid down a rug pad for comfort and to protect the wooden flooring below the sisal. We paired this particular rug with a 2.5-inch sisal jute border, for a nice subtle contrast.

We also made sure to make the rug considerably larger than the dining room table being placed in the center of it. In fact, we left only a small border of the wooden flooring uncovered. If we were to make the rug fit perfectly underneath the table and chairs, with a lot of wooden floor still showing, the room would appear much smaller. And this entire transformation has been focused on making this room larger, as seen with the grasscloth wall covering.

I think the sisal matches the walls and brings a casual elegance to the design. It is similar tonally and thematically to the grasscloth walls. It opens up the space and pays homage to nature in the process!

Different Sisal Flooring

There are many more options for using sisal flooring other than with a rug. For a different client in the past, we’ve installed wall-to-wall sisal, which is fantastic for those areas of the house that get walked on a lot…nobody likes the look of a worn-down carpet! For the same reason, sisal makes fantastic stair runners. You want a stair runner to be practical as well as beautiful, and sisal gives really great traction. This is perfect for anyone who struggles to get up and down the stairs safely.

Whether we are installing a sisal rug, wall-to-wall flooring, or stair runners, we are also sure to install it over a jute pad for comfort and durability. We source all of our sisal from a fantastic company called DMI, who provide all different types of natural flooring and carpeting.

Nature is the best designer

Having been in the design industry for over 25 years, I can confidently say that nature has always been and will always be the best designer there is. I love how this dining room transformation turned out. It really goes to show that nature is transformative and fluid. There are endless ways to incorporate natural materials into a design while still looking elegant and timeless.

To spruce up your home with sisal, head to our services page to book your free consultation!

Dining Room Details: Draperies & Chairs

In my last blog article, I took you through the process of installing grasscloth wallpaper for one of my clients in The Great Falls. It really transformed the room! Once it was installed, the room appeared larger, more open, modern, and elegant. It’s now time to update other key features of this dining room for a full transformation!

Window Treatments

The first thing we had to address, of course, was the windows. My client needed some form of window covering. We went back and forth between a few different options. The original dining room was painted a sea-blue. And while it was over-powering and didn’t work for the space when it covered the walls, my client and I wanted to still incorporate that vibrancy into the new design. Because of that, we chose a beautiful blue and white fabric from Kravet, the same company we sourced the grasscloth from.

When deciding what type of window treatments to install, we had to think about the effect we wanted them to have in the room. I wanted to work on making the space appear taller. Because it was the dining room, rather than a home office for example, it wasn’t crucial that blackout shades were installed. It was a dining room and the treatment was not being used for privacy or necessary for room darkening. After weighing our choices, we went for floor-to-ceiling draperies, using the fabric from Kravet. The vertical lines that the drapery created was a lovely contrast to the horizontal paneling on the wall. The blue provided a lovely pop of color without taking over the room.

Dining Room Chairs

Of course one of the most important features of a dining room are the chairs for your family and guests to dine in! At Kelley Astore Interiors, we are always looking to upcycle and reupholster outdated furniture for a new modern look. This is not only more sustainable but also ensures that no one else has pieces quite like you! So that is exactly what we decided to do with the chairs in this dining room. The frame of the chairs was in good condition, but the cushioning and fabric was looking a bit worn down.

One rule of design to keep in mind is repetition. Repetition throughout a design gives way to a cohesive look that the eye is able to dance over. Keeping that in mind, I knew I needed to incorporate more blue in the design in order for the draperies to blend in. But again, I was wary of having blue overtake the entire room. Because of that, we chose another blue and white fabric to reupholster the dining room chairs in. I loved this fabric, sourced from Fabricut, because it offered that bit of color, while still maintaining a rather neutral look. Perfect for this dining room. The subtlety of the pattern and color of these chairs allowed the draperies to shine without sticking out. We upholstered both types of chairs in the same fabric, for cohesion.

Still more to be done…

With new walls, chairs, and drapery, the room is nearly complete! You may have noticed another significant difference in the before and after photos…be sure to come back next week for an article on the flooring!

To see more before and after images be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Pinterest. If you haven’t already caught it, check out the front entrance transformation we did for the same client in Great Falls. If you would like to work with me on transforming any or all parts of your home, head to the services page to book your free consultation!