I love it. It’s exactly what I’ve wanted since we first decided to buy this house, and I even chose one of the wallpapers I was originally considering.
Here’s a completely empty ‘before’ shot:
And a nice ‘after’ to compare it to:
Wallpapering a house that’s almost 100 years old (while being five months pregnant) wasn’t exactly the easiest project we’ve done. I wouldn’t say that it was hard, just very time-consuming. It probably took us about 15 hours, but we’re so proud of the job we’ve done.
I had ordered 4 yards of pink upholstery fabric on eBay for $10, so I used that on the chairs and along the back of the built-in hutch.
I love the way the living and dining rooms work together.
So happy!
your mother
December 7, 2008 at 11:15 pmOh, Nicole. It’s beautiful!
Making it Lovely
December 7, 2008 at 11:18 pmThanks, mom!
Kealoha
December 7, 2008 at 11:36 pmWow, that’s lovely- congratulations on a fantastic job finished in time to enjoy over the holidays! How I wish I weren’t renting….sigh.
N.
December 7, 2008 at 11:39 pmIt looks beautiful. You have wonderful taste.
Caitlin
December 7, 2008 at 11:52 pmNicole it looks gorgeous! You’re whole house is such an inspiration and I can’t wait to start decorating mine!
Paula
December 8, 2008 at 12:18 amIt’s just lovely. You have such an eye for these things; the wallpaper is gorgeous and the pink is the perfect color with it. Congrats on finishing your dining room!
dana
December 8, 2008 at 1:34 amdrooling all down my chin, dear! and feeling inspired… thank you so much!
xo
dana in bc
Jenny
December 8, 2008 at 1:57 amWow! I agree with you. The flow from your living room to dining room is just beautiful!
I am crazy over your whole house. You have amazing taste and a great talent for pulling things together!
Thanks for sharing with us!
Swiss Miss
December 8, 2008 at 3:17 amWOW! You have created every (creative) woman’s dream dining room!
I am personally a fan of white woodwork, but I’m really impressed that you have resisted painting the woodwork and are keeping everything original. You have such an amazing eye, but manage to preserve the integrity of your house. Are you available hire?! LOL.
ruby
December 8, 2008 at 3:26 amjust adore these rooms! the pink is just… perfect. soft, dusky pinks are probably my favourite at the moment.
*sigh* oh to have a house to decorate :)
Caroline
December 8, 2008 at 3:54 amJust fabulous.
Julie Anne
December 8, 2008 at 5:20 amYou should be proud. The finished effect is fabulous!
jayne
December 8, 2008 at 7:20 amI LOVE your house! The wallpaper is great, and the living room does go together with the dining room really nicely. At first, I wondered how you got the paint on the back of the hutch to exactly match the chair upholstery, then when I read further I learned your backed the hutch with the same fabric. What a good idea.
molly
December 8, 2008 at 8:01 amIt’s beautiful Nicole! The wallpaper is the perfect choice!
koehmstedt
December 8, 2008 at 8:07 amWow! That is so beautiful. I love the dark divider you have along the walls up towards the ceilings, it makes the rooms look even taller.
Cait e A
December 8, 2008 at 8:35 amgosh! golly! you’re house is just too beautiful! i love all the little touches you put to it. the dining room turned out just lovely. congrats!
j
December 8, 2008 at 9:03 amIt looks great! I love how you use pink in your rooms…it works so well without being too overwhelmingly girly or juvenile.
Kerri
December 8, 2008 at 9:06 amGorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!! I adore it and you’ve made me fall in love with wallpaper – something I’ve always run from.
lori
December 8, 2008 at 9:13 amvery, very cool. love it. wish i had the patience to wallpaper. i don’t know if i have it in me.
Sarah S
December 8, 2008 at 9:31 amI love it! Question for you – how do you get your husband to go for so much pink in the house? I think mine would have issues…
luuve
December 8, 2008 at 9:58 amsuper cute! and it doesn’t even look TOO girly…its just a really nice display of colors and accessories! really good…
congrats!
megan
December 8, 2008 at 10:04 amOh my, I absolutely love your space! Those colors really do blend together flawlessly-and I love that armchair! I need you to come over and makeover my apartment!
Catherine
December 8, 2008 at 10:04 amIt looks awesome!! I can’t believe you did all that work and while 5 months pregnant! Congrats on the wonderful success of your efforts :) Do you still have the black and white rug that was in the dining room? I think it would look stellar with the new wallpaper. Or this one is awfully fun ;)
http://www.rugstudio.com/index.asp?pageaction=viewprod&ProdID=28266&dc=frg
Elissa
December 8, 2008 at 10:33 amIt looks beautiful! I love the balance of pattern and solids. I have a couple of questions. did you strip the paint off of the picture rail, if so, how hard was it to do? Also, I love the way you have hung your art with just a single vertical wire instead of having a “triangle” where the wire goes from a corner of the frame over the hook to the other corner. How did you attach it to look this way?
Making it Lovely
December 8, 2008 at 10:45 amThanks, everyone!
Elissa, I just painted the picture rail to match the woodwork. It’s so thin and up so high, you just see it as matching the rest of the woodwork and assume it’s stained rather than painted – much easier. And I attached the cord for each of the pictures to the wire along the back of the pictures that stretches from end to end (kind of like an upside-down ‘T’ shape if you flip them over and look at the backs).
Cindy
December 8, 2008 at 11:11 amCongrats on finishing the wallpaper. I really love this paper. The whole finished project, looks great!!
Sarah
December 8, 2008 at 11:28 am*swoooon*
Erin
December 8, 2008 at 11:41 amThis turned out SO AMAZING! I really like the paper on the wall and it works so well with the colors in your dining room. The recovered chairs look really nice as well.
Elissa
December 8, 2008 at 11:46 amThanks! I’ll have to try it for my own picture rails. We’ve been in our house for over two months and still don’t have a single picture on the walls. Did you just tie the cord to the hook at the top?
Still loving that wallpaper…
Making it Lovely
December 8, 2008 at 11:51 amThe cord that I use has wire in it, so it’s easy to loop it over the hook and then wrap it around itself a few times so it stays.
Carol
December 8, 2008 at 11:52 amWell done!
Brandi H.
December 8, 2008 at 12:47 pmThis room looks gorgeous! Congrats. It does coordinate with the living room great. Could I ask you a question…. I am in the process of recovering my dining room chairs. First time I have ever done it. I noticed that you did yours, and mine really look very similar. I have done two already, there are six. They just aren’t turning out smooth… like yours look. I tend to have “bunched up” fabric that I can’t get to look straight and smooth. Is there any tips or pointers you could throw my way to help?? Maybe the length of fabric I am leaving to staple, the way I am doing corners may be wrong. Not sure. Thank you.
Making it Lovely
December 8, 2008 at 12:53 pmThis is pretty much how I did my chairs (though I skipped the extra batting): The Lazy Upholsterer’s Guide.
Brandi H.
December 8, 2008 at 1:09 pmThank you… I looked at the instructions; however, my chairs have a curve, more than a straight corner. I think that is a little harder. I will try and find something by googling it. Thanks for your help however.
marlene
December 8, 2008 at 1:20 pmi just got back from a road trip with limited internet and your site is the first i wanted to catch up on now that i am back in the real world. congrats on having a girl and finishing the wallpaper. woohoo!!!
georgia
December 8, 2008 at 1:21 pmWow, it looks sooo beautiful! I particularly enjoy the coherence of styles from the living room to the dining room.
Hope your little amazon, inherits your talents :)
b.t.w. Your hair is VERY nice like that!
blair
December 8, 2008 at 1:43 pmThis is my first visit to your blog and it is truly lovely. Your home is beautiful and that wallpaper is stunning!
Costume Diva
December 8, 2008 at 2:13 pmLove it! I am so jealous of that built in hutch, too.
Kylie
December 8, 2008 at 2:44 pmOh gosh, now I desperately want that wallpaper even more than I did before! You guys have both done an amazing job, I love it all. And the flow from room to room works so well. :)
melissa
December 8, 2008 at 3:01 pmit’s adorable but your husband doesn’t mind all the pink?
Making it Lovely
December 8, 2008 at 3:05 pmBrandon’s fine with pink. :)
Joanna
December 8, 2008 at 3:11 pmI LOVE this wallpaper! Great job!
Kathryn Wohlfeil
December 8, 2008 at 3:46 pmNicole, your house is beautiful and amazing, just like you! Can I come live there? Or can you come here and give me some design tips? My gosh, my house is like a blank slate…you have done wonders with your home.
Love ya.
Making it Lovely
December 8, 2008 at 3:50 pmKathryn, thanks! Love ya too.
(Kathryn’s my cousin!)
Susan
December 8, 2008 at 3:53 pmIt looks beautiful! The living room/dining room looks so cozy and inviting.
Lisa
December 8, 2008 at 4:38 pmWow I knew all your hard work would pay off. the place looks fantastic!
Great Job
Take care,
Lisa
Sara
December 8, 2008 at 6:14 pmOh, your wallpaper is gorgeous. It DOES flow perfectly into your other rooms. Great work!
amy purple
December 8, 2008 at 7:21 pmIt looks so nice! I love the wallpaper you picked out.
emma
December 8, 2008 at 7:54 pmThis is a dream! Love, love, love the wall paper and the pink! I have recently realized my true love for pink and now you have inspired me.
calipdia
December 8, 2008 at 8:15 pmi cant resist… i have to comment and say its really really amazing.. so nice! so great! i envy :) love it love it love it… :)
Jessica
December 9, 2008 at 1:12 amHi! I just recently discovered your blog and awesome style! The wallpaper is gorgeous and I can’t wait to see the rest of your nursery!
joyce
December 9, 2008 at 1:46 amIt looks so pretty! I think the pink fabric really makes the whole thing sing.
Lynne
December 9, 2008 at 11:24 amI love that red chair – what a great fabric.
Nadine
December 9, 2008 at 11:30 amMaking it Lovely, indeed!
I love your dining room. So much. That wallpaper is just pure joy plastered on the walls.
kay*
December 9, 2008 at 12:22 pmwhat a fantastic job – everything is lined up so nicely – a total professional job!
Flyleaf Books
December 9, 2008 at 1:26 pmI love it, too! Nicely done!
Cheryl
December 9, 2008 at 2:37 pmthis is absolutely GORGEOUS. let me know when you start designing other peoples homes!!
teresa
December 9, 2008 at 4:16 pmSo pretty!!! I just love how your home has so much personality and individuality.
Collette
December 9, 2008 at 5:24 pmYour dining room looks fantastic! I absolutely love it!
JLC
December 9, 2008 at 6:22 pmLove!
Sade
December 10, 2008 at 6:48 amI just love the wallpaper’s print!
coral
December 10, 2008 at 12:26 pmthis turned out just perfect. With all the swoops and whorls it reminds of the old-fashioned grandma style wallpaper you find in older homes, only brought way up in scale and modernized with less detail, new colors.
Looks great!
terry
December 10, 2008 at 7:38 pmHi Nicole,
I think your taste is usually fantastic, but I have to say that I don’t like the wallpaper and thought it looked better before.
Your website is great though!
Diane
December 10, 2008 at 8:08 pmOh my! Now that’s what I call Making it Lovely! Absolutely beautiful. I love how the wallpaper plays off of the pink paint in the living room.
Jenny
December 10, 2008 at 8:47 pmoh! it’s just beautiful! you did a wonderful job. do you find that the “nesting” is kicking in even more now that you are expecting? i am big into decorating and when i was pregnant with (our now 6 year old) son, i felt like it kicked in even more, awesome! maybe it never went away after that too… :)
Michelle
December 15, 2008 at 2:41 pmLOVE your whole house! I recently moved into my first apartment, and found your blog looking for decorating ideas. I love your style. WHERE did you get the really cool green *things” in the vase on your tv stand. MUST HAVE! :)
Katy
December 19, 2008 at 3:08 pmWhere did you get the fabric in the living room? I love it.
Caitlin
December 19, 2008 at 10:56 pmIt looks so great!! I love how the chandelier looks with everything else.
Sallie
December 23, 2008 at 10:08 amI totally covet that chair from Anthropologie!
rachel
January 6, 2009 at 11:37 amthat pillow on your couch is just what i have been looking for. it is the exact palette of my living room. wherever did you get it?
Jana May
January 12, 2009 at 5:08 pmAck! It looks totally amazing!
Nice job!
NANCY
January 14, 2009 at 12:24 pmI love to see creative re-dos of old places without completely ripping them out! Nice use of wallpaper.
bungalowbliss
January 21, 2009 at 10:27 amI’m not usually a fan of wallpaper, but this is gorgeous! What a fun pattern! You guys did a wonderful job.
I love that you have picture rails in your living room, too. It’s a nice little visual extra.
melody yesterday
January 25, 2009 at 5:21 pmi know about wonky walls from having fixed-up “the unfixable” 1870’s nightmare house.But my mom (r.i.p.) was no stranger to hanging wallpaper & did several of my walls “for fun!” (UG! if you can imagine!)
These were SO BAD,rough plaster,holes left from years worth of “wall art”
but she did 1 wall a day before lunch.She told me she LOVED hanging wallpaper because when she was a kid each house they lived in (& there were many) 1 of the 1rst things her mom did was wallpaper!
hmmm
well MY old walls were lopsided due to someone doing a BAD BAD job of jacking up the floor from the basement throwing it off a LOT – it really messed everything up : doors were off kilter- HUGE mess.
But as I recall she she told me once about decorating
“don’t be stingy with paper paint or fabric”
meaning too often to conserve a little curtains were wrong or pinching back in another way it looked “cheap”
So those 3 things were things to definatly not be stingy about.
She cut 3 strips of paper at a time measuring out the length of the longest of the wonkiness & after it was cut rolled out the next & cut it from the first (not using the measuring tape after the first one)
& the 3rd one the same.
so the next 2 strips were longer than the 1rst due to the wonkiness (great word by the way THANKS)
but easily trimmed & tucked.
SHE WAS FAST
I miss mom
I have almost 1/4th of my kitchen at a new place papered realizing I never WAS & never will be MOM (this time unfortunatly)
lori
February 2, 2009 at 11:05 pmoh my, where did you get that gorgeous chair in your living room? If you upholstered it yourself, do you still have the info on the fabric?
it’s **lovely**
Holly
April 22, 2009 at 8:08 pmI’m in love with the chair in your living room! I’ll have to read a few more posts to see where it came from….
Closing time « Two Brides
May 18, 2009 at 3:01 pm[…] pink! I saw this room on Making it Lovely and knew that I *must* paint a room pink before I die. So the living room it was. 0 Comments No […]
Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » Time for a New FLOR
June 23, 2009 at 9:50 am[…] sisal rug in our dining room is about five years old, and it has a big threadbare spot on it that was just made much worse this […]
Jems by Judye
October 3, 2009 at 12:26 amWall paper looks fabulous! Lovely dining room.
Adriana
October 16, 2009 at 4:54 pmI love your place, love the paper in your DR
Amie Hartman
February 26, 2010 at 12:31 pmOh so gorgeous! I wish my DH would give me such creative license and allow more pink in our home! Great job!
Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » Wallpaper for Eleanor’s ‘Big Girl’ Room
July 12, 2010 at 11:03 am[…] My dining room is wallpapered in Mibo’s Clackett Lane, but before I decided to go with that pattern I had actually bought several rolls of a vintage design on eBay. I didn’t use it for Eleanor’s nursery (obviously), but I have been planning to work it in to her ‘big girl’ room when she’s ready. I’ve already used some of the wallpaper to line the drawers of Eleanor’s dresser that I painted pink, but there is still plenty left. […]
Meredith
July 20, 2010 at 1:57 pmWhere did youu get that wallpaper??
Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » Black Spindle Back Chairs
August 31, 2010 at 11:01 am[…] trim white (it’s on my 30 Before Thirty list), and I’d like to paint the ceiling too. The wallpaper is staying (I’m going to have to be very careful when painting the trim), and so is the rug. […]
Becca
March 26, 2013 at 8:24 pmI just discovered your blog and was amazed to see the print in your dining room of the woman sitting at a cake-covered table with an eager-looking seal gazing up at her. There is a small French bakery in my town that has the same print on their wall. I have loved it for years and hoped (without) success to find out who the artist is, or where I could find a print. If you had any information on it, I would be thrilled to know! Thanks!
Making it Lovely
March 26, 2013 at 8:26 pmThe print is by I’m Smitten!
Becca
March 26, 2013 at 8:36 pmThank you so much!
The Dollhouse Archives - Go Haus Go
December 12, 2015 at 5:03 am[…] batten with wallpaper at the time (Making it Lovely was my favorite blog back then (still is!), it reminded me of her dining room) so naturally, this mini room had the same wallpapered vibe, just reversed. I still love the scale […]