Our Dining Room Design Concept
Hi Friends,
I’m back again with week two of the One Room Challenge. This week I’m excited to finally share my design plans for our Dining Room.
If you’re stopping by for the first time, welcome! I’m Lauren Servati, an Interior Designer & Textile Designer. My husband and I purchased our dream home last year, an 1863 Queen Anne Victorian house, and we’ve been working room-by-room to restore and renovate our home, sharing our process along the way. I’m so glad that you’re here, and hope that you’ll join in the conversation.
Paint colors for our Dining Room
Now let’s talk about why we’re all here…interior design! If you’ll remember from last year, I’ve tossed around a few different ideas for our Dining Room design. I thought about going with blue on the walls. It’s definitely my fall back color. I even considered going with a neon citrus color in this space. Ultimately I landed on a color I’ve had in my mind since the day my husband and I were married. I planned to paint the bedroom of our New York City apartment an icy grey-purple tone, and never did. So now I’m going for it! I’ve selected Benjamin Moore’s 1409 Violet Dusk for our walls and Benjamin Moore’s OC-17 White Dove for all of our trim work, as well as our beadboard ceilings. I’m so thrilled with the color palette for this room.
After the last space we completed, I vowed to never again paint over 150 years of old paint. So I’m in the process of taking ALL of our wood trim, doors, and windows, back to the original wood so that I can start fresh (more on that next week). I’ll leave our doors natural which will add a rich wood tone to balance the lighter wall color.
Paint colors: BM 1409 Violet Dusk, BM OC-17 White Dove // Rug // Cabinet hardware // Chandelier // Wall Sconces
furniture & Decor
I mentioned last week that my husband is planning to build a trestle style dining table for us. We went by a local wood shop this past week and picked out some gorgeous kiln dried oak that we’ll use for the piece. I found our dining chairs at a favorite antique shop last fall, and plan to restore the wood frame, and then reupholster the seat in a textile from my new Bohemia collection which I’ll be releasing soon (once I get through this reno!).
You might have seen in my Instagram stories last week, that I managed to score a French Empire style chest off of Facebook Marketplace. I can hardly believe it! It’s a piece I’ve wanted for years and I was sure I’d have to fly to France to source it one day. The piece will require some restoration, and I’m debating whether I’ll use it in our Dining Room as a server or in our Entry. To be continued…
Finally, I’ve selected the most gorgeous rug for our Dining Room. It’s the Calvin Klein Mesa MSA01 from Nourison, in Barite. I absolutely love the elegant and understated design of this rug, as well as the subtle sheen, and think it will ground the space perfectly.
Lighting
I am so thrilled for the lighting we’re planning to install in our Dining Room. The chandelier I’ve chosen is the Broche 8 light in Silver from Crystorama, a fixture I’ve admired and looked forward to using on a project for years. I’ll also install a pair of Quincy wall sconces from Crystorama, which will add the perfect element of modern glamour to our Dining Space.
Window Treatments & Artwork
I’m still working out the details for our Dining room window treatments, but I’m leaning towards soft white linen drapery panels in a ripplefold or Parisian pleat style. I’ve selected some gorgeous drapery hardware in a polished nickel finish with modern glass end cap finials.
For the artwork in our dining room, I’m picking up my paint brushes again, this time for an abstract painting on canvas. I’ve been working on it little by little over the past few weeks, and have shown where it’s at today on my mood boards.
Other Neat Old Details
I have a few other tricks up my sleeve this round, including incorporating neat old details that are true to the era of our home, but with a modern sensibility. First off, my husband and I have considered installing push-button light switches, and this may well be the room where we take the plunge. I love the old world feel in an object that we’ll touch every day. If you’ve installed these before, I’d love to hear about it.
A second idea I’ve had is to do a hand-painted frieze in the area above our picture molding. I’ll have to design (and of course hand-paint!) the frieze. But I think it could be a neat way to incorporate some pattern into the room, as well as a reference to the way that this room might have originally been decorated.
I also have some exciting plans for our original built-in which I’ll share with you in a future post, but hint hint, it may involve these gorgeous limited edition kiln fired glass pulls from Emtek.
Location for our painted frieze
Painted frieze in Architectural Digest, Design by Victoria Hagan
Our original Dining Room built-in
I want to take a minute to give a special thank you to the wonderful brands I’ve had the privilege of partnering with. Thank you so much for your generosity, and your willingness to work together on this project. I couldn’t do this without you!
And thank YOU for stopping by today. I hope that you’ll join me next week as I share my progress in our Dining Room. As always, you can follow along with me on Instagram. I’ll be sharing plenty of behind the scenes photos throughout the week.
See you same time next week!
P.S. Make sure to check out all of the other amazing participants in this fall. There are some truly inspiring spaces in the works, and plenty of behind-the-scenes and DIY goodness you won’t want to miss.