$100 Dining Room Makeover: Week 2

I’m back for week 2 of the $100 Room Makeover Challenge and I’ve made some progress on the dining room/space. You can read my week 1 post here, which is a good starting point so you can get familiar with the space and the design plan.

Onward we go!

This weekend, I watched about 179 episodes of Tiny House shows, and while I was doing that I also knocked out two major parts of the makeover—getting the rug laid out and putting up my oh so gorgeous (seriously, I stare at it and caress it daily, like a creep) temporary wallpaper up.

The rug looks AHHHHHH-mazing. It’s the perfect size for the space and defines the area nicely. Plus, crumbs virtually disappear!

Putting up the temporary wallpaper was truly a breeze. HOWEVER, if you’re using a linear or geometric pattern, definitely make sure it’s plumb/straight/level. The gap at the bottom was filled in later. I’m using remnants/leftovers from another project to get this wall done.

Once I put up the first panel, it all fell into place easily and I was done in under an hour-ish with my 9×8 foot wall. I smoothed out the wallpaper and to cut the excess at the baseboards I used a box cutter.

Unlike traditional wallpaper, the temp wallpaper is very forgiving and repositionable, and it comes off the wall super easy and doesn’t mess up the paint (side note: we got our deposit back after this all came down and you wouldn’t even have known it was up). It really is freakin’ fabulous.

For the areas around electrical outlets, remove the faceplate, put the wallpaper over the area, cut an X in the center, and cut away the triangles from there. Once you put the faceplate back on, it’ll look fab. This works for any wallpaper, temporary or not.

I lucked out that the part I had to trim away from the left side of the door frame fit perfectly on the right side of the door frame, so I just used that strip and called it a day.

I don’t want to give it all away before week 4, but here’s a sneak peek. I AM IN LOVE.

And while I had all the furniture out of the area I gave the bench a quick facelift using some of my metallic craft tape.

I put a stripe of silver and gold on the bottom of each leg for a little metallic accent. Nothing major, but looks like real metal and took me less than 10 minutes.

So, what’s left to do? Well, this weekend I’ll work on the artwork for the wall, and maybe find some baskets that’ll fit under the bench that aren’t an eyesore. I’ll also DIY a Kate Spade inspired vase for the dining table with fresh florals for the big reveal.

Week 4 will be all about showing off my new space, obviously. YAY.

The total I’ve spent so far is $0! I’ve had everything on hand. I’ll likely spend money on baskets, maybe a few new bold dinner plates or fun glassware, and of course, fresh florals for the centerpiece. I’d really love to spend under $30 because right now I’m vehemently saving for the new house this fall.

Which brings me to the question I posed to you all last week…curtains or no curtains? Well, I can’t find any I absolutely love that are a bargain (I need 96”, ideally 108” curtains), and a reader comment made me have an epiphany:

She’s totally right. I’ll save my money and leave the patio doors as is since there’s so much going on in the space. See, this is why I ask you all for help. #keepmeinline

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