A Small Diningroom

                 This diningroom is still in progress.  Check back for updates to see the final room when it's done.
                                                                      Scroll down  to see updated pictures!

Cost:
         $42.00 for 3 cans of paint
         $75.00 for a built in china cabinet
         $60.00 for wainscot
         $480.00 for custom wooden Arch
         $300.00 for Palladian Mirror
         $600.00 for installation of drywall and arch

Supplies:
         Paint (Sherwin-Williams Harmony; 1 gallon Dover White, 1 gallon Softer Tan and 1 quart Fiery Brown
         all in eg-shel finish)
         Picture Molding
         Finishing Nails
         Wood fill (for nail holes)
          Paintable Calking (to fill in the gaps between the chair rail and wall)
          Lumber & Sheetrock
          Arch kit
          Screws
          Molding

Tools:
         Paint tray, brushes and rollers (drop cloths if your messy)
         Power Drill (to drill holes in the picture molding)
         Hammer
         Table saw (to cut the chair rail and baseboards so the china cabinet will fit flush with the walls)    
         Miter Saw (to cut the molding for the wainscot)  

Action plan:
         Paint the upper walls Sherwin-Williams Harmony paint, color is Softer Tan.
         Paint the lower walls and chair rail Dover white
         Sand and paint the corner china cabinet (outside in Dover white inside in Sherwin-Williams Harmony Fiery Brown)
         Cut the molding and create frames for the look of wainscot and frame for the ceiling.  Paint inside the box on the
         ceiling the same color as the upper walls.

Still To Do:
         Install a header
         Install Arch kit
         Install Window Casing
         Install Crown Molding

Inspiration:
         My inspiration for this room didn't come from any pictures or homes I had seen.  Lack of space in that room
         was a factor for me.  Knowing I didn't have the room for a full size china cabinet I knew I needed a corner
         unit.  I prefer antiques as opposed to most new or modern pieces of furniture so with that I searched ebay
         and the craigslist until I found one that I was happy with.  I didn't want a cabinet to just put there I want the
         look of a real built in.  I figured if I couldn't find one I would build one, it was going to cost me around 200.00
         to build one, so when I found this one for 75.00 on the craigslist I snatched it up.  I carried the Softer Tan
         color into the diningroom from the livingroom, as there are no walls to break the two rooms apart (only the
         front door is between them).  I decided to leave the chair rail the previous owners put up, but I didn't like it in
         the natural wood (it looked too country to me) so I decided to paint it white, then I decided I wanted the room
         to look more formal.  Easy solution is to use wainscot.  My previous house had all wood wainscot, but wanting
         to keep my budget low I decided to take the cheaper road and just put up picture molding to mimic real wainscot.
         To continue the more formal look I want to achieve I will put a header in the doorway from the diningroom to the
         kitchen (currently the doorway is opened to the ceiling, you can see this in the first picture of the diningroom) and
         install the Arch Kit I purchased.  I wanted the space to feel larger so I purchased a 3 piece Palladian style mirror. 

Process:
        I started out by painting the top half of the walls then the chair rail.  I removed the chair rail and baseboards in the
        corner for the china cabinet to fit flush. 
        Cut the chair rail and baseboards to fit snugly up against the china cabinet, attach those, chalk, fill the nail holes
        then touch up the paint.  Cut the picture molding to make frames and attached those to the lower half of the walls. 
        Paint the lower walls in Dover white.  Installed my parents chandelier.  
        Install some 2 x 4's to make a frame for a header between the kitchen and diningroom doorway, cover that in sheetrock,
        tape it then sand and paint it.  Install the Arch Kit. 
        I used one of my graphics software to determine the amount of squares I wanted per wall I did that by using a photo of my
       dining room and drew on the wainscot from there I cut the molding and created the frames to make it look like wainscot
        nailed them onto the wall and filled the nail holes I still have to paint the lower half of the walls. 

        I painted the wainscot originally bright white, after giving it a day or two I decided I didn't like it bright white I wanted it to
        look more elegant so I repainted it in Sherwin Williams Dover White.  This white paint made a huge difference.
       Sometimes bright white paint isn't always the nicest choice!  See the updated photos below of the "box" on the ceiling
       I recently added in August 2008 and the new arch installed May of 2009