I have such a fun Before & After for you today. Before Bonnie was a Teal & Lime contributor, she was a client. I had the honor of creating a custom mood board for Bonnie’s dining room and guest room. She recently revealed her finished dining room on her blog and agreed to let me share a before & after wrap up here. Yay!
What I love about Bonnie is although she is crafty, resourceful, and talented beyond belief, she realized a few areas in her home were stagnant and could use a fresh set of eyes. Hiring an interior decorator was a first for her. And, I think she was my first blogger as a client (although I don’t ask my client’s their blogging status).
When I create a mood board, my goal is always to give clients a visual representation of what their room can become. Not only is it a nice way to see all the product recommendations in one place, but it also serves as an action plan for the room. As you will see in Bonnie’s case, she was able to follow the mood board almost exactly to create her finished dining room.
Let’s look at the before:
There was nothing wrong with this room, but it lacked the personality and functionality Bonnie desired. Bonnie described the room as, “dark, dated, and messy.”
She had recently made some gorgeous changes in her living room and wanted help carrying that feeling into the dining room space. Here is a peek at her living room:
See how she made the extra long wall-to-wall curtain rod and a sturdier picture ledge.
Now, let’s look at the plan (aka mood board):
The inspiration for the pink and navy combo came from one of Bonnie’s favorite wedding week photos of her extended family. The coastal vibe was inspired from the changes in the adjacent living room and their lakeside home location.
When a Mood Board Comes to Life:
Bonnie and her hubby did all the heavy lifting to bring this room to life.
She studied up on paint colors to get just the perfect shade for her dining room. She painted the built-in white to freshen it up. I suggested she top the built-in with a pair of lamps to mimic a sofa table more than an awkward pass-through.
Bonnie got the recommended navy and cream striped rug, but Bonnie shortened the rug herself to fit the room best and avoid overhang into the walkway.
The room didn’t have enough space for any free standing furniture other than the table and chairs, but even with the built-in, I felt the room lacked some functional storage for the way Bonnie and her hubby live. Also, I needed an anchor piece on the far wall of the room.
The solution came in the form of an Ikea shoe cabinet as a “buffet”. It is super shallow, but gave the anchor we needed under the wedding photo. It also became the perfect easy access storage for the laptops, papers, and magazines, since the dining room spends a lot of time acting as an office.
And, for her first contributor post on Teal & Lime, Bonnie shared her genius reversible table runner!
A huge thanks to Bonnie for letting me share her dining room makeover today. Sharing client Before & Afters is a true joy for me, and not something I get to do nearly often enough.
Tell me, what is you favorite part of the room? I can’t possibly pick…I love it all, but the brass duck bookends win the cute-ness award.
If you are interested in a custom mood board (aka action plan) for your next room makeover, please visit Teal & Lime Interiors for all the details. I just “stocked the shelves” with a few more mood boards…you could have a makeover action plan by the end of March.
The whole room looks great but I really like the lamps and making the built in function/look like a sofa table.
It flows so nicely with the living room now. Beautiful.
So fresh and fun! Even the light fixture looks fresher with the updates.
I love the shapes of the vase on the table and the lamps and the coral table runner. The entire romm looks so much fresher! Good job, Jackie AND Bonnie. Perfect teamwork!