Dining Room Tour – Fun Art & Five Vintage Collections!

Dining Room - love the mix of collections and furniture (and that art)!  kellyelko.com
As you can see from the before picture, the dining room needed a serious intervention.  Peeling wallpaper and extensive water damage didn’t hide the original oak floors that just needed a good sand and stain to bring them back to life.  New walls and moldings (that we matched as closely to the originals as we could) throughout the entire house remedied that problem.  All that was needed in this room was a few coats of paint, two over sized, glassless lanterns which add drama and of course, a few  vintage collections and fun art.

Before Dining Room

After Dining Room!

Dining Room - love the mix of collections and furniture (and that plate wall)!  kellyelko.com
Eclectic plate wall - you have to see this dining room!  kellyelko.com
Vintage demijohn collection - this house has the best collections!  kellyelko.com

I love using these invisible plate hangers too.


eclectic dining room
dining room furniture
vintage collections
french chairs
pine dining table
There were two empty walls staring at me and I needed to figure the best way to create impact.  An inexpensive solution was using a fun coloring book of animals with colorful overlays.  I was able to buy off the shelf frames at the craft store by having the mats custom cut (a cheaper alternative than custom framing).  They add a nice modern touch to the room.

There are also five vintage collections in this room (I know, I have collecting issues).  Glass demijohns (large, narrow-necked bottles made of glass or earthenware) are showcased on a table by the front window to let the light shine through.  Then there’s my collection of plates, some new but mostly vintage, that hang on another wall.  Bought from an interior designer who was downsizing, voila, instant collection!  I laid them on the floor until I found a pattern I liked, then hung by eyeballing them.  Milk glass is the third collection.  Pretty easy to find, I spotted these at different places and grew a collection quickly.  Massed together like this against the dark hutch, they really pop.  Collections are rounded out with mason jars with zinc lids, old white porcelain doorknobs that were in the house when we bought it and a variety of corkscrews in a silver bowl on the table.

The dining table was custom made.  It’s a solid piece and so heavy (no taking the legs off this thing!) and although it’s not an antique, it’s built like one with mortise and tenon joinery and no nails.  This thing will be with in the family forever and it didn’t cost much more than a catalog table.  The rug was an eBay score!  There was so much wood going on with the floor, table and hutch, I wanted to break it up with some color.

The black hand painted table under the plate collection is actually a tea table that I once had in my living room in place of a coffee table.  Although I love the table, I thought it made the living room much too formal (which I am definitely not).  Using it as a bar table in here works so much better.

Under the wall of art is an old bench on casters that I found at a store closing sale.  It was one of their display pieces and I loved it’s crusty charm.  It’s only been in the dining room a short time.  Before that, it was in my sun room and before that in the kitchen of my former house.  I love being able to move my things from room to room.

I hope you enjoyed the dining room and keep your eyes peeled for the next room (the kitchen!) of my House Tour (click My House  at the top of the page to see more) .

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51 Comments

  1. I adore your room! I am a big fan of color and this room has it in all the right places. Possibly my favorite section is the plate wall! love the color and mix of textures! How did you hang your plates???

    1. Hi Lori,
      Thanks so much for liking my dining room!
      I used Disc hangers to hang my plates. They are adhesive patches with rings on them that you attach to the back of the plate and use the ring for hanging. Check out Amazon – they sell them!
      Kelly

  2. What a great room! I love love love the plate wall; its so colorful and has such great movement. Love it. Thanks for linking up!

  3. Fabulous fabulous fabulous!

    I love how you have taken risks by adding colour. There are far too many bland rooms out there. You rocked it.

  4. I just saw your dining room on remodelaholic and I had to come on over! You’ve done such a beautiful job – I don’t know what I like best – the dining chairs, artwork, plate collection, sideboard…. the list goes on. Just amazing!

  5. OK, how did I miss this post. Oh well better late than never. I love the color and your plate wall is great. I couldn’t stop loo,in at it.

  6. First time tonight to find your blog. Love this dining room especially the rustic pieces, the lighting and the collection of large bottles.

  7. Sorry to get in late in the game, but aren’t those animals the Chinese zodiac signs? I can’t tell exactly but they look that way to me. Love them and the whole dining room, by the way!

  8. Am so in love with demijohns but find them a little steep in price for me. Do you have a source to recommend that sells these at a resonable price? Love your fishing floats too. I’d be dancing in the aisles if I found some in a thrift shop.

  9. Your house is gorgeous. I love the table and the plate collection. I’ve always wanted to restore or live in a restored home. We keep ending up in new builds though. While it is nice to know everything (should) work perfect, it’s lacking the charm that I love!

  10. Very nice room, can you tell me the name of green paint you used. would be perfect in my living room.

  11. I know this if off topic but I’m lookinjg into starting my own blog and was curious what all is required too
    get setup? I’massuming having a blog like yours woul cost a pretty penny?
    I’m not very internet smarrt so I’m not 100% positive.
    Any suggestions or advice would be greztly appreciated.
    Thank you

  12. I am getting so many ideas from you. My husband and I sold our home and currently are apartment dwellers. But…..in a couple months will move to our new home, which needs renovation and can’t wait to use some of your ideas!!!!

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