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
Love the paint color that Max chose!
Looks so warm and inviting! Makes me want to paint all my white molding, trim and built-ins. I love it!!
Obsessed with this green! Absolutely stunning
It’s beautiful!
I would love to see a post about color drenching in rooms where you are restricted by materials. For example, you cannot paint standard Anderson windows because the casings and mullions are a polymer. So, what happens visually in spaces where you cannot drench every single surface?
There’s a One Room Challenge room from 2022 that used Bancha and left the windows white. You will likely need to leave the ceiling white and repeat the white/lighter color in your design but it still looks amazing. Search for Jeweled Interiors ORC Reveal 2022
Thought I had added “The dining room has white windows but a painted green ceiling. Great example of both options next to each other.”
Thank you so much for this! You can tell those windows are polymer and not metal/wood. The designer painted the trim but not the plastic parts. It looks totally fine and the white ceiling helps balance out that existence of white.
We just went through this in our family room. We did BM Vintage Vogue on ceilings, walls, and all trim but couldn’t paint the actual windows. During the day it fades into the window view, but is more noticeable at night. (we don’t have window treatments so if you did then that would cover the windows then) Overall I am super happy we did it and am glad I didn’t let the windows keep me from making a bold move!
In love!!! Wish there were a pic with the lights on!
I really love the vignette with the bar cabinet and red lamp. One tiny suggestion would be to move the artwork up about 2 inches or so so there’s more space to breathe. As an artist, I find a lot of people tend to hang art too high on average but to my eye, in this instance it’s a little low and feels squashed in there. That said, love the mix of colors and shapes in this corner!
Love…crazy it’s the same room. I really like the living room but I love this room. Very restful!
Perfection!
Beautiful!!
Where did the piano move? It’s such a treasure to have a piano in a home and luckily that one they had matches all the rooms we’ve seen so far…
That was the prior owner’s furnishings
This is lovely……so delightful…such amazing use of greens and blues
yum…
Would love if you share which way the windows/rooms face in photos like these, especially when you are talking paint. (And how the light is — AM, PM, etc). So helpful when referencing colors and determining if they could work in our own homes.
So fun AND coool and lux looking!
These posts are so fun, I LOVE the focus on decoration (vs. just renovation)!
Would love to know more about the art and window shade on the wall not included above:
Wow I love this house. Really amazing job. So warm and textured and colorful in such a welcoming way.
This room is a vibe!! I normally say not to expect your wall paint to do the heavy lifting when decorating, but here, with that rug, it really is. This whole house feels beautifully self assured and individual, yet totally welcoming and cozy. Wish they were my neighbor so I could drop in anytime!
It looks very cool.