Dining Room Before & After

This home was purchased from a Belgian couple living in the United States as part of a work transfer. Despite their Belgian heritage (and the prevalent history of the Belgian design aesthetic), the couple chose to decorate the home in a hodgepodge of modern and antique styles. My vision was a more traditional version of Belgian/French meets seacoast style, as reflected in my previous post re: the formal and informal living rooms in the home.

Below is a BEFORE photo of the dining room, featuring an eclectic mix of mismatched furniture and lighting, as well as off-scale wall decor. The gothic chandelier was resin, of all things. That was the first thing to go! The long, rectangular table made the room feel small and awkward. I can't imagine the previous owners ever entertained in this room:

I replaced the resin chandelier with this European street lantern, which I fell in love with at a local antiques market. It is originally from Paris - I had it converted and re-electrified for use indoors. I chose a simple brown Belgian linen grommeted drape to offset the grisaille paint and the charcoal Matteo table linens:

More shots of my favorite lantern! I also added a round table (this is much better suited to the room's size, and doesn't interrupt the eye as did the former table) skirted in burlap and topped with a rectangular linen cloth. The accompanying armoire is from Provence, and features chickenwire doors and a whitewash finish. It provides much needed storage in the room, as the footprint doesn't allow for a large buffet:

The Louis XVI chairs are upholstered in flax linen and the frame has a rough, weathered wood finish. The textures are multi-layered, making the dining room feel very casual and elegant at the same time:

More to come!