This post is sponsored by AllModern.
Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away! And if you’re thinking “MY DINING ROOM IS A DISASTER AND I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO GET MY LIFE TOGETHER!!” fear not. If I were with you, I would gently cup your face in my hands and tell you it’s going to be fine. First, because opening up your home to the people you love doesn’t require perfection, especially in 2020. Everyone is fine with scruffy hospitality and just wants to eat your food and see your face. And second, because 2-day shipping exists. We still have time.
Last week we shared with you our plan to update our clients’ dining room from just-moved-in to ready-for-turkey-day. In only about an hour we transformed their entire space and changed the room COMPLETELY. We selected everything from AllModern, it shipped in less than a week, and installed in less time than it takes to roast a turkey. YOU CAN DO THIS.
Let’s remind ourselves of the before, shall we?
And here’s what it looks like all pulled together:
So much better, right?!? It didn’t take much to get this room holiday-ready. Here’s how we made over this room using high impact changes with as few moves as possible.
The jumping off point for this room is a 15th century renaissance painting of St. John the Baptist. This is an ORIGINAL PIECE that survived a fire and was restored and 600 years later is still going strong. Incredible, right?! It needed to be in a prominent location, but wasn’t quite large enough to hold its own on the big wall over the piano, so we placed it between the windows (away from harsh direct light, which is important considering its age) and anchored it with a piece of their existing furniture.
Next we found a rug that complimented the art perfectly. The color palette is spot on, and it looks old and worn. Great for complementing 600 year old art, and equally great for hiding food spills under dining table. Win/win.
We still had the giant wall over the piano to contend with, which needed either one mega piece or a gallery wall situation to fill the space. Since we wanted something simple and easy to execute (remember, speed and ease are the name of this game), we went for a big abstract piece, pulling colors from the art, rug, and the rest of their house. This is where the old + new gets really fun and interesting (for more tips on that, check back to last week’s post!).
With all the major pieces in place, it’s down to accessories to bring it together. This is where people get really intimidated and aren’t sure what to do. Our advice is to bring in fewer, larger pieces, rather than a bunch of smaller items, for maximum impact.
On the piano we added a large vase with branches and a couple of smaller vases. On the other side a pair of chunky candleholders. Candles are always a good idea in a dining space! Here’s why this mix works:
Odd numbers are most appealing to the eye, especially groups of three, like we did with the vases. Then the set of candle holders brings us to 5.
The vase and branches on the left are similar in height and scale to the candleholders on the right, giving us asymmetrical balance.
Everything is in a tight color palette – white, blush, and wood/mustard tones. The light colors stand out against the dark art and piano.
Last up is the table. On Thanksgiving evening it will be full of food, but for day to day use we want something pretty to look at. We added a blush and gold tray to hold a mustard colored vase with wheat stalks (so seasonal…and so not actually wheat! I took them from the median in the road on the way to the shoot). A blush pitcher, glasses, and napkins say “I’m an amazing host and I am ready to care for your beverage and snacking needs”.
And that’s it! Just a few key pieces and the room looks totally put together and ready for guests. More than that, though, our homeowners now have a room in their house that is finished. There are few things that quite match the feeling of being able to check off a room on your list and have it DONE.
When our client got home from work he audibly sighed and said “I feel so much calmer just looking at this.”
This goes to show you that you can still make a huge impact on a smaller budget and get yourself an incredible space that will serve you well with minimal effort. We selected these pieces, ordered them, and installed them in about a week. Think about it…you could have a whole new space in time for Thanksgiving!
To shop this look please head on over to our preview post of this holiday dining refresh!
Also, I couldn’t resist sharing a little sneak peek of what the room looks like all set for Thanksgiving! Check back next week for the full details!
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