Final touches for a budget dining room makeover

It makes me happy to freshen things up around the house.  Especially when I can update rooms inexpensively for a great new look.  For my budget dining room makeover, I installed board and batten and wallpaper for less than $150.

After that, the dining room needed just a few finishing touches.

First up: new curtains.  I hadn’t actually planned for new curtains.  But as I worked on the walls, I decided I really wanted a whole new look in the room, and that included the window treatments.

I never imagined how hard it actually would be to find just the right curtains to complement the new dining room style.  It turned into the curtain quest of 2016.

My daughter insists that she’s never been to so many stores in one day in her (short) life.   But I was glad for her company while we shopped!  After searching every local store I could think to visit, we went home to search online for curtain panels for the dining room.

Finally I found coordinating window treatments for a very reasonable price on sale at Kohls.com (affiliate link).  Between the sale and a $10 off special offer, my total curtain cost was $20 for two panels (regular price was $45 each).  Not a bad deal, right?!

The light, sheer curtain panels freshened up the look of the dining room windows for summer.  The white-on-white pattern reinforces the lattice/trellis look of the wallpaper, but it’s subtle enough that it doesn’t compete.

board and batten accessorized

Next I found the perfect miniature lampshades for updating the look of the dining room light fixture.  As you can see in the pictures, it’s a shiny brass chandelier straight from the 1960s.

Since buying our fixer-upper house, I’ve thought many times about putting a new, more modern light fixture in the dining room.  For now, though, I’m keeping the budget in check and just making the old brass fixture work.

The white and gold design on the new mini lampshades accentuate the gold tone of the brass, putting it proudly on display.

In recent years some say brass is back in style and others say it’s not.  In my case, I’m making the brass chandelier as stylish as possible while it adorns my dining room.

board and batten chandelier

I think the mini lampshades are a fun addition to the old chandelier.  At just $3.50 each for 10 on sale at Hobby Lobby, they were an inexpensive way to update the look of the dated fixture.  They’re the final touch for my budget dining room makeover.

The gold trellis design on the lampshades complements the wallpaper and curtains.  With all three trellis elements in a light, neutral palette, the pattern coordinates without being overpowering.

Overall, it doesn’t matter that this was a budget dining room makeover.  The new dining room design makes our family happy to be in there, and that’s what it was all about!

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