See the evolution of our dining room and how it’s changed over the years as my decorating style has grown and evolved with time.

Just like a few other rooms in our house, our dining room has seen its fair share of style changes. Looking back at pictures, I can see how much I was really trying to find exactly what my “style” was. I was switching things up, exploring new design choices, and taking bold risks. Through the trial and error of it all, I’ve been able to really “hone” in on my style. I know what I like, what I don’t, what colors work for me, and the ones that don’t. Each step has lead me to where I finally feel like home.

Today, I thought I’d focus on the evolution of our dining room. (You can see the evolution of our breakfast nook here.) It’s changed so much since we built the house, and it’s easy to see the different stages I went through, each one bringing me closer to where I am today.

(Let’s pardon the horrific pictures. Several of these were taken with my simple point and shoot camera I used at the very beginning of the blog! Gasp!)

The Evolution Of Our Dining Room

When we first built the house, and moved in, I chose to paint the dining room Tranquility by Benjamin Moore. I loved the soft, gray/green/blue color, and I was just starting to explore color.

I also decided to place the dining room table vertically in the room. I thought it would fit better if the length of the table was going the same way as the length of the room. The table fit better that direction, but it also didn’t feel quite right. So on a whim, I decided to turn the table horizontally in the room…

Almost instantly, the entire room felt larger. It’s amazing what furniture, and the proper placement, can do for a room. I also bought a rug, which is still what we have under the table.

Once I moved the table, I had a much better understanding of the room, and the available space. I kept it like this for a little while, and I enjoyed the modern dresser- turned- buffet…

But… I decided to repaint the walls to something more natural, which also made the room feel much bigger.

The new paint color, Halo by Benjamin Moore, helped to really brighten up the room. It suddenly felt really fresh and light…. something I was craving for the house.

Once the walls were painted, I was ready to add some add character back into the room. We installed our open wall shelving, and I haven’t looked back.

The shelving has been huge for our dining room. It not only created it’s own room, but it also added an element of depth. Installing the shelving was one of the best decision we’ve made in the house. Not only was the shelving a huge addition to the room, but also to our home. You can basically see the dining room from any room in the house, and I’m amazed at how much the shelves have added to our home.  Here’s what they looked like right after I styled them for the first time…

I quickly realized though, that our existing chandelier didn’t quite fit with the shelves…

So, I swapped it out for this one…

The room was instantly refreshed.

Never under estimate the importance of lighting. It’s crucial.

Once the light was switched out, I let the room sit and fully absorb the new style changes. I found myself switching things up on the shelves…

And then I decided the two end chairs needed to be swapped out. I’d been looking for something different, but hadn’t had any luck finding something…

The new chairs changed the whole feeling in the room…

And that’s basically what we have today. Even though we’ve already made a bunch of changes to the room, I can honestly say we have several more to make. I’ve already switched the curtains, and we most definitely need a new rug. Once step at a time…

So if you’re ever feeling like you’re stuck in your home, just know we all go through decorating stages. We’ll have times of great growth, and times of quiet thought… it’s all necessary in order to get it right in the long run…

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again… don’t ever feel like YOU or YOUR HOME isn’t good enough. It is. You are.