Transforming the dining room to a moody study with built-ins

This is my favorite room in the house, so far. From the first visit to this moment as I type these words, I loved this room and it’s large bay window with a gorgeous view out to our pond. I love the natural light, especially as our house gets so little of it.

This room works hard for us. Our computer station for the family is here, we do most of our homeschool work in this room, and it is our library - thanks to the built in bookshelves Brandon added in the nook space we created when we remodeled our home. We use this space constantly and while there’s still some work to be done - adding in some more art, forever tweaking the bookshelves, replacing the baseboards, etc. - we are proud of how far we’ve come.

Now let’s get down to the details.

Here is a before shot of this room which the previous owners used as a dining room.

The one thing the room had going for it - in my opinion - is how bright it was. Immediately I knew that this was the perfect room to go dark, and go dark we did. Often it is recommended that choosing a paint color LAST is best for a room; however, the more spaces I create the more I realize I cannot visualize the room without considering the color first. Color impacts us all differently, and thus our value of it may differ, and that is OK. For me, knowing which color would dominate this - and any other space I work on - is vital to the rest of the design. So, I started there.

To me, a light and bright room means it can handle a dark and moody color that would be soothing and intriguing. I love Farrow & Ball paint, however, it cost more than I could afford, so we decided to color match Farrow & Ball’s Downpipe at Sherwin Williams. I love the results, and also recognize that if we used Farrow & Ball, the finish would be different (and in my opinion better. Farrow & Ball makes an incredible paint finish) but I’m more than thankful for what we do have. I considered painting the ceiling but decided against it as I think it would have overpowered the room a bit too much. I did paint the ceiling of the bay window as leaving it white felt disjointed, but painting it feels much more cohesive.

Brandon built all the cabinetry you see here. This was his first time building cabinets and he did a phenomenal job (as he seems to do with every project I throw his way). We went with a Shaker style cabinet to match the green shaker cabinets we have in the kitchen. I searched for quite some time to get the right hardware that matched the style I wanted, was proportionally correct and would patina over time. I ended up choosing the 12” Large Massey Drawer Pull for the middle section cabinet doors and the 1 1/4” Round Massey Cabinet Knobs for all the other doors, both are unlacquered brass. The cabinet has a lot of lines to it, so I loved the round edges of the drawer pull and rounded knob to soften it up a bit. I personally love large hardware, so if I could have, I would have an even larger cabinet knob (like on my kitchen cabinet doors), but after all the hours I spent trying to decide (and believe me, there were many. It took me weeks to finally make a decision), I decided these knobs would be good enough and they are. I positioned them on the cabinet door the same way I did in the kitchen, again for continuity since the paces are so close to each other.

The wood table and upholstered cane chairs were a Facebook Marketplace find and I love how they look against the paint and also work well with the original wood trim around the windows. I found the purple armchair on Facebook Marketplace as well. The room was lacking pattern, so I went with the Humphrey rug from the ChrislovesJulia line and it was worth the money. I like that the pattern adds a bit of playfulness since this room is the primary play area for the kids inside the house. It also is very, very soft, which again, is great for all the play that happens in here.

When we remodeled the house we added this little nook so we could build in bookshelves and have some seating for relaxing and reading. I share a lot about the value of books and my passion for having them front and center to encourage reading but also simply because I love browsing bookshelves at other people’s homes, it tells me so much about them and their interests and is a great way to build connection. So for me, a large bookshelf was a requirement, and I love that throughout the years of living here we will get to see it transform as we add in new books reflecting our own change, growth and interests.

I found this little side table/cabinet on Facebook Marketplace. It was originally made in Mexico and brought to the United States by a Mexican woman who sells furniture. A big value of mine is to have at least one piece that represents another nation and/or people group in each room of our home. This room technically has two: the little cabinet and also an Afghani Tribal bowl I purchased from a collector of these types of items back when I lived in Portland, Oregon. I love how these small reminders help us to remember the large world we live in and the many people around the world who are our global neighbors.

I have many little things I hope to do in this room - like adding in more art reflective of the kids and their passions; but for now, I’m just thankful for how far we have come. And it’s a joy to share it with you.

Until next time,

Alexa