Three Boys: Dining Room Turned Library- Room Tour

It has been 6 months in the making but I have finally finished the transformation.

Remember where we started back in January?

Please excuse the crazy night shots.

After discussing with my friend Liz over at Designing Domesticity, we decided to convert this traditional dining room space into a library in-order to better suit our families needs. You can read more about that, HERE.

I also wanted to use as much second hand furniture as possible. Because up-cycling is always better for the environment, and my bank account.

After

The rug, sofa, and chairs are all craigslist finds. I found the curtains at Bed Bath & Beyond.

The coffee table is from CSN stores and the apothecary lamps I found at Ballard Designs.

The bookshelves are the Ikea Billy bookcases with crown moulding,

and wainscoting wallpaper added to the back.

The ceiling of the bay window needed something and I didn't want anything that would take away from the view. So I painted it a mis-tint color that I found at the hardware store.

Perfect. I love the casual, open feeling of this room. The boys spend so much time doing projects at the coffee table and the leather sofa is great for spills. Talk about easy clean-up.

Now I can officially check one item from my 2011 to-do list. Next up the living room, hopefully it won't take me another 6 months.

28 comments:

Lisa @ Shine Your LightJune 25, 2011 at 4:55 PM
I love it! The bookcases add so much storage and character to the space and the color and overall feeling is so much lighter and brighter. You must be thrilled!
Jen @ Domesticated NomadJune 25, 2011 at 5:09 PM
Cool. It's really great. I love libraries; perfect way to use an unused dining room.
LindaJune 25, 2011 at 5:43 PM
Wow.. it all came together beautifully. The sofa and rug are great Craig's List buys and love the CSN table. The bookcases turned out awesome. Did you add the crown molding? I can see myself in that room have a nice read on a rainy day :)
AnonymousJune 25, 2011 at 5:53 PM
looks comfy!
highheeledlifeJune 25, 2011 at 7:17 PM
Looks great!! I love how you used the Ikea bookcases and gave them a little wow factor!! HHL
Cassie @ Live.Laugh.L0ve.June 25, 2011 at 8:18 PM
It looks beautiful!
meghanJune 25, 2011 at 8:44 PM
What an awesome transformation! Love it!
TanyaJune 25, 2011 at 8:54 PM
Such an awesome improvement, and love that it didn't break the bank!
Grace @ Sense and SimplicityJune 25, 2011 at 11:01 PM
It looks fantastic - cheerful, usable, and pretty.
Claudia LaneJune 26, 2011 at 1:06 AM
It looks really gorgeous, well done Sarah :)
Claudia xo
Comeca JonesJune 26, 2011 at 1:46 AM
Love the baskets on the bottom shelves!
DeniseJune 26, 2011 at 2:51 AM
Great job, I love your dining room as a library! And "easy clean-up" is SO YOU! Although you make all "clean-ups" look easy!

Can't wait to see some of the creativity born in this new space!
Alicia S.June 26, 2011 at 9:05 AM
Wow! What a transformation! That window nook and the space in that room was too good to go to waste unloved. I can't beleive what a different those bookcases and a few strategic pieces of furniture can do! It looks amazing :-D
AmyJune 26, 2011 at 1:46 PM
The room is so bright and wonderful. Great job! I can see why you chose having a library over a formal dining room. It is such a good use of space.
Holly GruszkaJune 26, 2011 at 8:21 PM
You really did a great job. And it's so smart and functional - looks like a great place that your family will enjoy for a long time. Doesn't it feel so good checking things off the to-do list? Especially bigger projects such as this.
Susan Nowell @ My Place to YoursJune 26, 2011 at 11:16 PM
Stopping by from Met Monday... Nice job! It sounds like your "new" space functions really well now for your family. That's what makes a house a home!
abeachcottageJune 27, 2011 at 7:13 AM
It looks gorgeous. Lovely the transformation.
brokeintrovertJune 27, 2011 at 8:52 AM
Love this room!
UnknownJune 27, 2011 at 10:26 AM
Love those mistints-I've gotten some great stuff there.

Fab room and terrific idea with the crown moulding on the cases.
tarynddavidsonJune 27, 2011 at 10:59 AM
love the shelves! :) the room looks great~
BluBabesCreateJune 27, 2011 at 9:13 PM
How nice!
ChristineJune 27, 2011 at 9:28 PM
Excellent room. I love the idea of painting the ceiling above the windows like that! I have a similar window set up like that, and I can see myself doing something similar--thanks for the tips!
UnknownJune 27, 2011 at 9:46 PM
What a great room! I especially love that you used the leather sofa and the white bookcases. I admire that you are not afraid to have a few toys 'on display' too. My son noticed the tractor right away.
We plan to add bookcases to our living room to make it more of a library/sitting room. We have a family room and basement room for tv watching, so this is just our relaxing and reading room. I was looking for used bookcases to paint but I may just go with the billy after all. Thanks for sharing.
.June 28, 2011 at 12:09 AM
It looks great! I love that you decided to turn the dining room into something more useful for your family. :)
MariaJune 28, 2011 at 4:32 AM
I love your new library! It feels very welcoming! I have Billy Bookcases myself and love them. How did you do the crown molding? That's not an IKEA product, right? You've made some excellent choices and this room is going to grow with your family. I can just see the evolution of those shelves, as the trucks leave and other things take their place. And I can imagine your kids sprawled on that wonderful couch reading their books. Awesome job!
Megan GunyanJune 28, 2011 at 10:23 AM
Sarah, this is amazing! I love the idea of having a "library" in the home. We would certainly enjoy having a space for all of our books. I can't believe most of those items are 2nd hand! They look so perfect! Great job.
The Vintique ObjectJune 28, 2011 at 10:18 PM
Sarah, you did a beautiful job with this room. Such a great transformation! How lucky you are to have such a great multipurpose room, er library!
Camille
Angie@Echoes of LaughterAugust 7, 2011 at 11:25 PM
I love this room! I love how you took a room that wasn't used very much & turned it into a functional space for your family...more people should do that in their homes! Angie xo

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