dining room final reveal

 I am so happy to say this...the dining room makeover is complete...oh my I'm lying I still have to finish the crazy amazing crown moulding but that is for the spring.
For now here is my new dining room...

 Nightime shot right after we moved the furniture and wine fridge in, it was fun to just sit back and enjoy all my hard work.

It's time to plan a dinner to christen this room, what do I make???

We really need to get some wine and soon no one wants an empty wine fridge, I drink Pinot Grigio and Sweet sparkling wine just in case you are wondering or want to donate.

 I put in a wood register I finished just like the floors, I need a whole lot more like this, it makes such a huge difference over the stark white plastic ones.

Here is the before, this is how it looked right before we moved in, plus some cheap carpet.

 Right after we moved in this room was our staging/storage area for months.

 This all has come a long way from when I dry fit our fridge...I am sure some people wondered how this all was going to turn out.

It was sad to see this pine floor go under a coat or two of stain but it was the right thing to do, it's so nice to see how one room flows into another seamlessly...I love my dark stained floors.

Thanks for joining me during this long journey...I am very glad it is over and I am happy so happy with how it turned out, even better than I had even dreamt it would, it was a whole lot of work and I want to say a thank you to all who followed on instagram for all my daily updates and encouraged me ever step of the way, it made the journey so much more enjoyable.

One more thing I want to mention, big congratulations to Mel of  Broadview Heights blog who won the Scentsicles giveaway...


Thanks for stopping by, cheers for now...Chris

Dining room built ins...are complete

I am so happy to say that the built in project and dining room project as far as the permanent changes are all complete...well there are a few minor paint touch ups but that is it...and I will admit I love it...it feels like Christmas morning and I couldn't be more thrilled.

The floors are all stained Kona and top coated three times...now we wait three dayd for the full cure to move furnture back in to the room. 

 Although I have to wait to move the table and chairs in I didn't have to wait to put my pretty things on the shelves...I thought I would have a lot of shopping to do to fill the shelves turns out I had more than enough that has been always hidden away that I can finally display and enjoy.

 I am going to have to buy a lot of wine for the wine fridge though...can I please put it in already, I am dying to see it in place.

I am trying to decide if the room can handle a 60" round , until I decide I will put our 48" table and four chairs in on Wednesday 3:00pm  

Let's just go back 7 weeks to the sad state this room was in...I am so happy to get my life back...this poor house needs a deep clean thanks to this renovation...gotta grab a new furnace filter...don't forget to change those after a big messy project.
I can't believe I get to enjoy this room never mind that I created it too....sometimes I amaze myself...

Week 6 dining room renovations & built-ins

I wanted to show in photos as many stages of my build that I could so that if you wanted to build something similar you can see how I built my project.
So I added the vertical pieces and then I added braces for the shelves attaching them to the studs and to the side panels with pocket holes.

I decided to make the thicker shelves out of 2 pieces of mdf simply glued together...I just clamped them and let them sit for 20 -30 min and then installed them using clamps to help me place and level
the shelves as I installed them. I screwed through from the outside of the side panels but in hind sight I would just drill pocket holes on the bottom of the shelves and attach them from the inside next time and use plugs to hide those holes.

the 

I then filled holes and added more 3/4" supports to the backs of the shelves so that I had something to nail the wood backing to.

  

I cut 5.5"planks from plywood for backing the shelves.I stained this plywood the same Kona color I love then top coated them with satin clear coat and rubbed them down with a fine steel wool to achieve a nice smooth surface. I used sureplay underlayment because I love the backside the way it looked when stained.

Priming and three coats of paint was much easier with out the face frames...

I cut off 3/4" off of a pices of 12" wide mdf to cover the upper part of the bookcase to hide the bones...

I am getting so anxious to get this project completed to get the wine cooler in place a to have this room furnished and ready for fun...
I am even surprised at how long this is all taking but every step seems to require a step then waiting another step then waiting....I just want it completed already because I am ready to get decorating for Christmas...

I am  hoping to get all the backing installed today and the face frames completed...hopefully things will go smoothly and I will have the built-ins completed today....then I can get to sanding the floors and a couple of days of snading.

5 weeks of dining room improvements

I can't believe I have been slowly plugging away at this dining room project for 5 weeks when last year it took me 2 weeks to complete a coffered ceiling and flooring install in my family room , spraining my ankles this summer has really changed how quickly I move...safety first.

 How can installing doors and knobs be the hardest part of a project like this....but it always is...turns out I was given not quite the right screws for the knobs, well that caused a lot of frustration...making a simple jig for the knobs prooved harder than it seemed resulting in the first door having the wrong holes being drilled so that mean a repair...and finding the correct screws to replace the ones that had been broken in my attempts to install the knobs resulted in a very long search for the correct screws...european hardware!!!! So I am relieved the doors are in and the knobs are on and centered...now I can move on to the floor.

 I am loving all this new storage.

Hopefully I will get to the uppers very soon because I can't wait to see how it looks. I am getting excited to get this room put back together, I think the ceiling will have to wait till after the new year...I need to focus on Christmas.

Dining room update day 5

 I got started last Friday...I got the basic boxes completed so that I could get the flooring started on another day as I did not want to waste flooring under the built-in which was a good call because I was only left with 2.5 extra boards.

I made sure to frame out the wine cooler opening...

I was happy to pick up y wine cooler of choice on sale this past Monday

 I know it doesn't look like a lot but it will look lovely I'm sure.

 I adjusted the origional plan to have the center lowered, it was feeling a bit high , I think it looks interesting also, I think the liquer bottles will look great there in the middle.

 I started the floors Monday by framing out the built-in, I think it will add a nice detail.

 Here is how far I got Monday...it was slow going but thins went well

 In case you want to try this layout this is how you start the corner of each run...pretty simple actually

 I could not have been more happy when I completed this install...until I realized I had cleaned up and then realized I had missed the part beside the built-in by the window...annoying, in total it took three days

I had a bit of left over material so I finally installed flooring in the closet...I thought the dining room was a tight space to work....

I am going to take tomorrow off to recuperate and take care of some personal business and to order some new chairs for the family room.....kinda excited for new chairs...thanks for stopping by....