Guest post: Kara's Dining Room Makeover

Today, Im giving the reigns over the wonderfully creative Kara of Made2Create. Her blog is bursting full of fabulously genius DIY projects so Im thrilled she was willing to guest blog! Take it away Kara...

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As an admirer of Mrs. Limestone . . .ok, let’s be honest- I’m insanely jealous of her life- living in NYC, having a BEAUTIFUL house, traveling the world- (insert sigh). Well at least I can live vicariously through her blog, which I am so excited to be guest posting on today!!!!

I decided that my FAVORITE posts to read are Before and After Makeovers, so that’s what I wanted to supply.

My husband (Tim) and I bought our first house 2 ½ years ago right out of college. We had a dream to flip a house, but it turns out this old cottage and all its quirks has wiggled its way into our hearts and has become our home. Instead of keeping things generic, which is the general rule of flipping, we have added our own unique and personal touches to EVERY room. Oops, I guess if we ever sell, we will have to adjust a few things. J

One spot that I really love is our dining room! Here is what it looked like when we bought the house.

BEFORE (it’s through the door)

We wanted to open things up, so we took out the wall (which we did all on our own I might add!!!) No extra MANpower needed!!! We also moved the kitchen, which you barely see in the picture.

AFTER

We wanted to have a focal point and the faux fireplace provides just that. Because it only sticks out about 6 inches from the wall, it doesn’t interfere with the walkway. We’re all about working on a budget over here at Made 2 Create, so we used pea gravel above the mantle for an inexpensive alternative to stone. I love the texture it adds. We also proudly display the mantra we live by on a piece of custom artwork made by yours truly. “DO WHAT YOU LOVE!!!!!”

For symbolism (of what we love) we display an architectural model and plans around the hearth.

As a fireplace “screen” of sorts, I used some metal wire and upholstery tacks. I love how it resembles a corset. And if you are wondering why you can see the cowhide rug in this picture, it’s because the fireplace inset is lined with a mirror.

On the opposite side of the room, we had an off-centered window to deal with. A wall of fabric fixed the problem and added softness to the space.

By adding some more DIY artwork (find instructions here and here we made sure this wall didn’t feel neglected.

The furniture filling the space ALL came from garage sales. Tim and I refinished the $7 dining table and added some glazing, made a $5 coffee table become bench seating, and reupholstered the two armchairs (that cost me $5 each). They used to look like this.

Finally we needed a light fixture that would really make a statement. Old canning jars were not only economical, they were perfect for the personality of our cozy 75 year old cottage.

A couple more pics. . .

TOTAL dough dished out: $485- Not to bad when you’re starting from scratch!

Thanks so much for taking time to read about our renovations. Feel free to visit my blog anytime!

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