School of Decorating

Decorate with Confidence and Create a Home You Love

  • Free Class
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • How to Decorate
    • Simple DIY Projects
    • Life Tips
    • Success Stories
    • Our Home Tour
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact

Before & After: Bonnie’s Casual Lakeside Dining Room

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, on purchases made after following an affiliate link. See my full disclosure here.

February 12, 2014 By Jackie

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!

Mood Board Before & After by interiors.tealandlime.com

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.”

Dining room from stairs

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:

Current Home Living Room (3)

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):

Casual Lakeside Dining Room Mood Board | tealandlime.com

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.

IMG_8108

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.

IMG_8103

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.

how to shorten a rug-2

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.

IMG_8113

And, for her first contributor post on Teal & Lime, Bonnie shared her genius reversible table runner!

How to Make a Reversible Table Runner | BonnieProjects for tealandlime.com

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.

Previous Post
Plan Your Weekly Dinner Menu in Under 30 Minutes (Plus a Free Printable)
Next Post
How to Make a Faux Drawer Paper Tray

Comments

  1. Diana says

    February 12, 2014 at 11:31 am

    The whole room looks great but I really like the lamps and making the built in function/look like a sofa table.

  2. Amy says

    February 12, 2014 at 12:54 pm

    It flows so nicely with the living room now. Beautiful.

  3. Joy says

    February 12, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    So fresh and fun! Even the light fixture looks fresher with the updates.

  4. Jule {inside9B} says

    February 15, 2014 at 11:10 am

    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!

Hi, I'm Jackie. I believe you are the best person to decorate your home and I'm here to help.

I teach online decorating classes to help you create your dream home. Click on the images below to learn more about each class.

Take an Online Decorating Class

Best for beginners!

12 Class Bundle!

Get a free copy of my book
Free Decorating


Start reading now...

Follow Me Here

Categories

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour
I believe you are the best person to decorate your home. You just need a dash of courage and a dose of decorating know-how. That's why I created School of Decorating.

I know how frustrating it is to feel like failure at home. I also know how amazing it feels when decorating finally makes sense and your home reflects you. I want to share what I've learned so you can create a home you love without years of trial and error.

Get a free copy of my best-selling book Free Decorating

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour

© 2018 School of Decorating
 · Terms of Use 
· Privacy Policy
 · Disclaimer




This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.