The dining room has become one of my favorite rooms in the house. The first time I saw it, I loved it because it had such a lovely view of the trees outside and of the deck, and was so light. However, the tile floor was kind of blah and not in the best shape, and I didn't like the rather clunky chandelier. The first thing I did was to get a burgundy area rug and table runner for the room, which improved it about 1000%. Next I found the Oriental oil painting that now hangs on the end wall. Then I found a fun chandelier and replaced the clunky one. Finally, I put up some burgundy valances that matched the ones I'd put in the master bedroom when I remodeled it, and found some fun switch plate covers to complete the look.

The Oriental painting came from a Starving Artist sale, frame done by the Great Frame-Up. The area rug is from Menards, an upper Midwest home store similar to Home Depot or Lowes. The chandelier is from Spectrum Home Furnishing. The valance is from Wal-Mart, and the table runner from Bed Bath & Beyond.

Before	After
Great potential, but kind of drab	Much better!
Other Dining Room Shots
See how light and open it is!	Good shot of picture, chandelier
Doorway into the kitchen from dining room	Note decorative switch plate :-)