Refresh Your Dining Room with Boho Farmhouse Design Inspiration!
Julie Sanfilippo
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THE GREAT ROOM SWAP
A little history here….since this is not only a re-design, this room used to be our family room. Awhile back, I decided to swap some of the rooms in my house. This decision first came about because my fireplace (a wood burning stove at the time) was in my dining room, the historic kitchen of my historic farmhouse.
I wanted to be able to sit and read a book or just curl up and chat with friends by the cozy fire. The room was much smaller than our current TV room, but when I really sat down to think through how to make it all work, I came up with a 3 room swap.
Our family room/TV room moved to the front of the house which was the formal living room, the formal living room moved to where the dining room was to incorporate the fireplace and the dining room moved to where our family room was, which is still off the kitchen. Even though this started because of the fireplace it ended up having a lot of other benefits too. Today we’re going to talk about the dining room!
My old dining room had a distinctive farmhouse style, but I have been transitioning my home from a to be more boho-farmhouse. My overall goals were to have a brighter, lighter space that still fits with the older style of my home. The house is a 1874 farmhouse that has had a couple of thoughtfully added additions put on during its 140+ years.
I also wanted some additional storage space, a wine fridge, and I wanted a larger table that could comfortably seat 8-10. Erika and I love mixing old and new pieces as well as different styles to create a curated and functional to a space and we took the same approach here.
SPACE PLANNING & SCOPE
While my former dining room was fine for our everyday needs, the room was small, so when we had friends and family over it often was overcrowded. I even built my dining table to be narrow because of the small room. Moving the dining room allowed for a much larger table, which I was excited for! I mean, it’s kind of the star of the dining room, right?
To add the additional storage space I was looking for, we took over an existing nook with a dry bar. When we bought the house this nook had a giant 80’s style corner TV cabinet, which I hated from day one, but we lived with it for awhile because removing it required patching and refinishing the floors. When we redid our kitchen and needed to patch those floors I took advantage of ditching the cabinet too!
Then I built a desk into that nook, which served us well for a number of years. Now that it was becoming a dining room, I wanted this space to serve as additional kitchen storage and serving space. It was also the perfect spot to put a wine fridge.
For the last part of the planning stage, we decided to replace the back door (because it was in serious need) and add a slider that goes out to our pool. Because we are in and out of the pool area so much during the summer this added a great deal of convenience and brings a ton of light into the room as well. Once the layout was set and the total plan outlined we started design selections and sourcing.
DESIGN & SELECTIONS
So, as I mentioned overall I wanted to lighten up the overall look. I also wanted to incorporate some pops of color and texture. This is where most people enter our house and I wanted it to feel beautiful, but also relaxed and inviting.
Let’s start with the dry-bar. This area sits right off of my kitchen and while it was an extension of the kitchen, I wanted it to tie together, but not be exactly the same. I chose the same style cabinets, but in a lighter color that complements my darker kitchen cabinets. I went with the same countertop to help tie the spaces together and had some fun with the backsplash to bring in some color and texture. The hardware is also different, but the shape of the pull ties back to the shape of the knobs.
While I installed the cabinets myself, Douglas Lumber installed the countertop, our electrician handled the under cabinet lights and outlets, and I had our contractor finish the crown and install the backsplash. I love a good DIY project but I know my limits and appreciate the expertise of craftsman.
Dry Bar cabinets, countertop & hardware ordered through Douglas Lumbar
Cabinets: Schrock, Ingalis Shaker w/ 5 piece drawers in Egret
Countertop: Pental Quartz Misterio
Hardware: Atlas Pulls, brass
Dry Bar Backsplash: Alexander James RT Penny Silver Sage (use code Pickle+Board15 for 15% off any purchase from their amazing tile!)
The Wine Fridge is a dual zone drawer system. The top drawer has pull out wood shelves for red wine and the bottom is a beverage drawer for cans, bottles, etc.
My goal for the dining table was to find something larger, but also go with a lighter tone to make the space feel brighter. I wanted a natural wood tone to add warmth. I new I could refinish something so I turned my search to Facebook Marketplace. Erika and I were both on the hunt and with some patience we finally came across this beauty (in pics above and below). It wasn’t light and bright, the legs were black and the top a dark brown when I got it. But look at those legs! Refinishing it was a whole other story but it finally got done and I love the end result. The wood is finished with a natural danish oil.
I decided to keep my dining chairs as I really love the size and shape. I purchased them at an antique store here in Rhode Island. For the new dining space I decided to refresh them with a new color, Isle of Pines from Sherwin Williams. I love the pop of green and it ties in so well with the backsplash. I did purchase 2 extra chairs for when we extend the table. Instead of hunting for additional antique chairs, I went with these new chairs and sprayed them in the same color.
This space definitely needed a rug to ground it. One of Erika’s favorite things to do is shop for rugs, so I didn’t even bother looking, I just let her do her thing :). My only limitation was something budget friendly & enough pattern to hide some possible stains, because I have two kids and a dog and we eat all our meals here. As always she delivered with this beauty from Lowes.
It took me awhile to pick a light fixture for this room, we kicked around a lot of options, but I’m glad I took the time. This Capiz Chandelier from West Elm brings so much texture and really makes the space feel special. One thing to note here is that we actually had to move this light fixture over about 2’. This is often the case when you change a room or sometimes even when a new space is being built, your lighting should be placed based on where your furniture will be placed, not just centered on the room. We had an electrician come in to do the move and my hubby did the patch job – so proud of his handy work here because you would probably never know!
Window treatments truly make a space! We went with oil rubbed bronze hardware because that tone ties to the rest of my house and these lovely shears add a softness to the room, the crushed look adds more texture as well.
There isn’t a ton of wall space left for artwork now that we added the door, but Erika got me this macrame wall hanging from @knottedroseboutique, which I absolutely love! Check out her work!
Wall Color: Sherwin Williams, Drift of Mist.
I think that’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed this boho-farmhouse dining room design. I will be off enjoying my new space for a bit and we’ll be back soon with more inspiration and ways to bring joy to your home. In the meantime, you can follow along with our projects on Instagram. And here’s a few more pics!
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