Dining Room Mini Makeover with a New Buffet and Paint

Hello again! It’s Jillian, and I have another home change to share with you today. This time we are talking dining room paint colors and choosing a sideboard or buffet. I have had my dining room painted red for the six years we have lived here, and I was ready for a change. I love color and don’t necessarily want my house to become all gray, but I was looking to tone down the color. The dining room is open to the kitchen through two entryways, and while I loved the red, I wanted a more cohesive color flow between rooms. I also have been on the prowl for a new buffet for this room, so I will share with you some of my top choices for that search as well. Here is a look at the red dining room before.

  

Okay, so I guess future Valentine’s day photos will need a new location with a red background #bloggerproblems!

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I was looking to paint this room a gray with more depth and some interesting undertones. I sampled Benjamin Moore’s Stonington Gray (which I love, but have yet to use in my home), Boothbay Gray and Brewster Gray before I ultimately settled on Steely Gray by Sherwin Williams. It is more blue-gray than I was originally going for, but I really like it in this room. The floor pattern is painted with Narragansett Green (see this post for more on the floor), and the blue-gray walls bring out the green in the floor. I also like that this color looks different in different lighting and has some interesting depth and enough drama for this formal space. So without further chitchat, here is a look at the dining room now.

 

Now let’s chat about buffets or sideboards or whatever you want to call them. I have tried out a few different furniture pieces in this room, but nothing quite fit the bill. I was looking for a dedicated buffet that also had some storage, with clean, modern lines that wouldn’t interfere with the floor pattern. I will eventually replace the dining room table and chairs too, so I wanted a buffet that would go with the current dining set, as well as with a more contemporary future set.

Here are a few of my favorites I came across during my search. I decided against Option 1, as I envisioned it constantly covered to with fingerprints like my glass doors are. I think the reflective quality would have been pretty, but ultimately thought it was a little too fussy for the space. Option 2 was a little closer to what I wanted–gray and simple with some texture–but the chevron pattern wasn’t quite right for this room. This sideboard below is what I ended up choosing for the simple shape and the color, with an embossed leather shagreen texture. I’m so happy with how it looks in the space!

 

That’s all for now, folks! Sign up to get our posts delivered to your inbox by adding your email to the subscribe box below. I know everyone is in super busy summer mode, so enjoy the rest of this short season!