A New Dining Room

The guys on the home improvement shows all said that the easiest, least expensive way to improve the appearance of a room was to paint it. Since we were all really tired of the builders white walls, my wife decided to take on the dining room as a weekend project. That was a few weekends ago.

1. Remove all the furniture that you can, move the remaining pieces away from the walls. I took the table apart and put the top in the garage for my refinishing project. She emptied the china cabinet of all the breakable stuff and moved it and the grandfathers clock to the middle of the room.
2. Prep the walls. Patch the screw holes and repair the dings and flaws.
3. Pick out colors. NOT trivial. There are an infinite number of shades, five kinds of finishes which must coordinate with the existing furniture, curtains and carpeting. This took at least a half dozen trips to the store and double that many cans of sample paint.
4. Paint: prime then paint the ceiling (2x), and two shades on the walls (2x) divided by a chair rail.
5. Buy moldings. Again, not trivial. Many styles and materials in at least five stores to choose from. (Also spent a significant amount of time on line.) Think about getting a 16ft piece of crown molding from the home improvement store to your house using a standard size SUV. I felt like I was ready for jousting.
6. Paint Moldings. We eliminated Picture Frame moldings because it just looked too busy in the small room. Still, all of the existing molding (shoe) had to be painted in addition to the jams, casing, chair rails, and crown moldings. (At least three coats.)
7. Install moldings. So, you already know that the corners are not square or plumb. Did you know that when you remove quarter round on the floor that there are gaps that will not be covered up by the new casing? Tip: when cutting crown molding, make very small cuts to get the proper fit. If you cut a piece too short you will have to go back to the home improvement store and joust your way home again....just saying. Caulk all around. Repaint.
   
8. Buy new chandelier. An infinite number of choices, but a very knowledgeable designer can really help with the decision process.
9. Install medallion and new light. You see, I thought the medallion was a solid piece, not so. It is merely a shell that has to fit flat against an uneven surface. It is held in place primarily by the canopy of the (heavy) chandelier. (My shoulders are still stiff.) Caulk and repaint.
   
10. Refinish dining room table. I used the belt sander to get the old finish and scratches out, then the orbital sander to get the smooth finish I wanted.
11. Reassemble and add accessories.

So, like they said on TV, just a quick weekend project.




*Weather Update: It's the middle of October. We're less than a month into fall, so dig out those hats, scarves, and … snow shovels?

The tri-state was walloped by its first nor'easter of the season on Thursday, and some parts of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut saw heavy snow showers fall throughout the day and night.