DIY Picture Frame Wainscoting & Dining Room Makeover

     When we moved into our new home it was very apparent that the previous owners had done nothing to customize house. Each room was a blank slate. I decided early on I wanted to dress up our formal dining room since I was enjoying decorating the table so much.

     I turned to Pinterest and looked at all sorts of dining room inspiration. I quickly realized that my favorite styles had really pretty walls. I did a bit of digging and found out these pretty walls all had picture frame wainscoting. I started to draw up a plan for our dining room that involved a chair rail on the wall with the window, and picture frame wainscoting on the largest wall that you see when you enter the house.  

Before: The clean slate

     I started gathering materials and making a game plan. I was going to take the last 5 weeks of my maternity leave right before (and around) Christmas so I could finish the project then. First, I noticed that none of my inspiration walls were textured, but our wall was. Several YouTube videos later, and I was convinced I was now an expert on applying the wall compound to make our wall ready for the picture frame wainscoting. I ordered the supplies and waited. During this wait I used my laser level, measuring tape, pencil, and painters tape to "mock up" where the framing would be placed on the wall. I had to be very careful that none of the boards would hit any of the electrical outlets. Instead of making equal sized picture frame areas, I opted for a single large frame in the middle, two matching medium frames on the outside of that, and finally two matching small frames on the outside of the medium frames. After that was all done, I took precise measurements to be able to order the boards for the chair rail and the picture frames. I did go in to Home Depot to find the exact ones I wanted, as it can be difficult to choose from pictures online, and then placed an order for them. I caution anyone doing a similar project to think about the size of the boards and cuts so you do not have to piece together to many small pieces. Preparation is really key for any project.  

Mocking up the wainscoting

    The drywall compound arrived and I began preparing the walls. I needed to do the entire large wall and then roughly half of the other up to where the chair rail would be installed. I used a small shower squeegee to apply the compound and smooth it as I went. I did about 2.5-3 coats on each wall. 

A close up to see the different textures 

    After the drywall compound was dry, I sanded both walls so they were as flat as they were going to be. 

    I went to Home Depot again to pick out colors for the room. I'm usually all about grey, but I wanted something a little different yet neutral enough for my ever-changing décor. I settled on what I would call a grey-green (Nature's Gift from Behr), and a pretty white color for the rest (all the way on the right in the picture below). 

Decisions, decisions...

Testing out colors

    The pace started to pick up from here. Our neighbor let me borrow his saw and nail gun, I did not use any sort of adhesive. 

Chair rail is in!

    After the installation of the chair rail I painted the green walls. I had to wait for a time when my neighbor could help me cut the picture frames and attach them to the wall, some of the longer pieces required two sets of hands. My amazing husband took care of our little guy while I got my DIY on (thank you love!). I lightly re-drew the frames on the wall so we would have guidance for where to nail in the frames. 

Cut and ready to put up

Bottom picture frames are on the wall!

    All the frames needed to be caulked around and the nail holes filled in and sanded. This was very tedious work, but made it really look polished. 

All the frames installed and caulked.

    From there, I was able to paint everything that nice bright white and see the finished product. I was more than a little happy with everything!

The wall was finished in time for Christmas! 

    Since finishing the project, I have added décor to pull the room together. I found some gold wall sconces on marketplace and turned them into led lights with a remote control. Lastly, I finished it up with an ode to Gossip Girl, the perfect Prada sign! 

The perfect finishing touches.

    I am so thrilled with how this room turned out. I get compliments every time we have someone over. It made such a big difference in the room and I love walking into the house and seeing this. I have since added some window treatments and continue to search for the perfect sideboard for the opposite green wall. 

The end result. 

    

    Thanks for checking out my project! If you'd like to see the different ways I decorate my table check out some of my other posts.