This is a real pleasure to introduce you to an eclectic cool dining room I helped design for one of my best friends. If you haven’t seen their living room, dining nook, or basement go check those out afterward, but what you’ll see is a continuation of this “traditional with a big edge” style, employing some classic elements along with a few contemporary twists. I LOVE how it turned out so much.
When they bought the house everything was neutral and pretty tame, so they amped it up pretty quickly with this green paint color (Bancha from Farrow & Ball chosen with Max Humphrey) then I came in and furnished it all (spending other people’s money on Saturday mornings is really my favorite hobby and satisfies my shopping addiction without the personal damage!).
Wallpaper | Trim Color | Art (vintage) | Lamp | Dresser (old) | Bowl | White Chair (vintage) | Lumbar Pillow | Blue Sofa | Striped Velvet Pillow | Loveseat | Coffee Table | Rug | Flush Mount | Spotlight
As you can see the dining room can be viewed from the living room so the colors really had to work together (and dare I say, they do). The green really pulls you in and then the colors once you are inside speak to the living room so clearly. I feel like it’s impossible to not feel happy looking at this photo.
Green Paint | Ceiling Light | Dining Table | Dining Chairs | Velvet Captain Chair | Rug
The rug was game-changing – the colors and pattern are perfect in here and really livened up the room. I had been eyeing it for a long time so I was so happy when I finally got to use it somewhere. The dining table is a really pretty walnut oval, with awesome curves (and I love how the curves talk to the light fixture). I opted for two captain’s chairs in a soft green velvet, then punched up the side chairs with these from Soho Home (the multi-color upholstery is so pretty, especially on the more classically shaped chair).
Marble Footed Bowls | Gold Candlestick Holders (similar) | Little Pedastal Bowl (similar)
FYI, they normally don’t leave a beautiful book open on their dining table when not being used:)
Bar Cabinet | Lamp | Art (unavailable)
This room is used as a home office at times (especially with all the shelving) so we added this cabinet (more oval shapes offsetting all the grid of the window and the stripe of the rug). And that punch of red in there with the lamp keeps it feeling moody and unexpected.
The colors really did all work so beautifully together – the greens, blues and warmer red tones create such a cozy and yet totally modern palette. It was also such a refreshing room to design – so different than my light/bright Scandi vibe. That green paint color has a lot of yellow which I typically don’t choose (not sure why) but I really LOVE it in here (but be careful in a really bright room it might be really bold/jarring).
For the shelves, I mostly just styled with what they already owned. I edited it and curated it a bit, only bringing a few things from my prop closet that I was wiling to part with.
I do love a before and after and this one really shows how layered and warm this room became:
Outfit: Denim Shirt | Long Skirt | Clogs
So again, if you haven’t seen their living room, dining nook, or basement go check those out. I just love how this house turned out so much and hanging out in here in person is even better. Cheers to friends who give me free rein to do cool stuff (and who have fantastic taste in making the project so seamless). xx
*Decorated by Emily Henderson (me!)
**Photos by Kaitlin Green
