This is my dining room. I am calling it “whimsical” since I am not sure what else to call it. It took longer to reveal it here than some of my other rooms since I had to wait for the mantel installation. It took the installers only 40 minutes but I had to wait 5 months. I am glad that the mantel is now in it’s proper place and not on the floor. I think the people in my life are happy to no longer hear me complain about the mantel. Installation day was exciting! The photos here show my summer decorating. I expect the decorations to change with the seasons / holidays. I also expect this room to frequently be featured here as the backdrop for meals.

Paint: For the wall opposite the wallpaper, I went to Sherwin Williams and color matched one of the leaves in the wallpaper.

Fireplace: I painted the brick white. It took many coats even the top which already was painted. I primed it with masonry paint and then painted with white paint. I also painted the wall adjacent to the fireplace white.

Mantel: I didn’t know what I was looking for but I knew I wanted a mantel on my fireplace. A fireplace store helped me figure out the design to suit the existing fireplace. I ordered from them. It is a cast stone shelf – 6′ tall x 66″ long x 6″ deep.

Wallpaper: Whimsy Fauna. I bought it online from Home Depot in the green colorway. A different colorway is sold by Anthropologie. It took me a long time to find wallpaper I liked for this room. I am very happy with my selection. My wonderful parents installed the wallpaper.

Floor: The room had carpet when I bought the house. My parents and I removed the carpet and my Mom cleaned and took off paint splatters that were all over the floor. I am happy with the historical hardwood floor.

Ceiling Light: There was no overhead light in this room when I bought this house. An electrician did a wonderful job adding it. I struggled with finding the right light for the room. I finally went to Tuthill Lighting in Brighton, NY. Bruce was a dream and helped me find the perfect light for me! I love it!

Outlet Plates: I painted the ones on the green and white walls. My Dad covered the remaining plates with wallpaper to blend into that wall.

Switch Plate: I bought this as part of my quest to change out all the boring outlet and switch plates in this house.

Storage Cabinets: I bought two of these on Amazon. Originally I wanted build-in cabinets in the dining room. I am still waiting for the build-in shelves in my library so I am glad I quickly bought these cabinets. Maybe someday I will change it to something else but most likely they will remain in the room.

Buffet: This is a historical family piece. I think my house is it’s 3rd family home. It looked different every time. I don’t remember it in my maternal Grandparents home since it was before my time but I remember it in my Aunt and Uncle’s home. It happened to be in storage at my family Lake House. I had trouble finding a buffet so my Mom offered this to me. My parents restored it since time had wounded it a little. My Mom painted it a green I picked out to complement the wallpaper and she cleaned up tarnish from the handles. I am delighted that the sunflower pattern happened to match the sunflowers on my wallpaper.

Mirror: I purchased from At Home.

Table: When looking for a table, I knew that I wanted one with a self-storing butterfly leaf. I bought this Braxton Solid Wood Dining Table.

Chairs: I struggled finding soft chairs for the dining room table. I didn’t want to buy online since I wanted to try them out. I went to many stores to sit on chairs. I ended up buying these at Arhaus. I got a deal on the store models.

Peony Topiaries: I found these directions. I followed them for everything except for the stem. I painted a dowel. Also I added some stones to the pot at my Mom’s suggestion. I think that these look fantastic. I bought the pots from At Home. The artificial peonies are 3 bunches from Michaels.

Hello Sign: I made this sign from letters from Michaels. I painted them a green and hot glued to string I had in my craft room.

Summer Wreath: I bought this at Michaels.

Candles: I bought this at Target online and used 2 different sized candles.

Cart: I bought this. My friend Dennis assembled it for me.

“Before” photo.

“Before” photo.