MY FRUGAL DINING ROOM MAKEOVER
I have been without a formal dining room for over a year now. When we moved from Alabama to Florida we gave away our gently used dining room set (that was given to us for free) because there was absolutely no where to fit in our storage unit. Now, a year-and-a-half later, I am beyond ready to have a nice dining room area for my family to enjoy our meals and gather together to play games.
I had a budget of $400 and that amount had to include the dining room table itself.
Most people would have found that to be impossible. Me? I saw a challenge and relished in the thought of getting to finally decorate my dining space on a budget. Was I up for the challenge? Absolutely.
The first thing on my task list was a dining room table.
My requirements were low. I wanted a table that could fit four people comfortably and was made of dark wood. The babies are still small enough to sit in highchairs for a few more years, so I automatically knew that this would take a big load off of my budget. Trying to find an affordable dining room set with six chairs would have depleted my entire budget. I finally settled on the Hometrends Dais 5 Piece Counter Height Dining Set from Wal-Mart. With tax my total was $298.
Next, I had to find decorations for the table.
Because the table and chairs were wooden, I wanted to outfit them with seat cushions. My living room colors are earth tones with hints of burgundy, and since the dining room and living room are joined, I decided to carry that color scheme to my dining room accessories. I purchased four seat cushions (two burgundy and two cream) for $6.97 each. Total: $27.88.
Next, I purchased a table runner, over sized candle and a candle base. Keeping with simplicity, I didn’t want to overwhelm the table. (Plus, having four boys doesn’t allow much room for small, fancy, breakable decorations.) Total: $28.85
I re-purposed the curtains in the dining room from ones that I already had in storage. I also re-purposed the vase and decorations from the living room. Not pictured is a huge picture frame that I got on sale at Wal-Mart during their Black Friday Sales. (I was just too lazy to hang this for the picture.)
My total for this room makeover: $354.73.
I still have $45.27 left in my budget to go towards my dining room makeover. I may purchase a small, burgundy area rug to put under the table, but all-in-all I think that my dining room makeover went very well. I am happy with my purchases and I am even happier that my dining room finally looks like a family eats here. (We have been having all of our meals picnic style for too long now.)
Have you ever had to decorate a room on a budget? How did you stay within your budget? Do you have any tips to share?
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Very cute Shynea! I like the colors…very pretty. I love the “counter height” dining room sets!
Dear K.O.,
I was skeptical at first about the counter height dining room sets but I am loving it. I can put my laptop on that table and not have my children’s little hands all over my stuff. lol
Take care,
Shynea
I hope to blog about it eventually, but I did a bedroom makeover as a surprise for my brother’s 16th birthday with a $300 budget. Fortunately we didn’t need to buy any major furniture. We found some amazing clearance deals at Lowe’s, including aluminum window blinds for $10.00 each. We used $1.00/yard clearance fabric to make our own curtains. An old calendar featuring photos of his favorite sports team was cut up to create wall art. We painted mismatched wood furniture and replaced the handles so that everything would go together. The biggest difference was just painting the room. If you are able to paint your walls, that is the cheapest way to make a huge statement!
p.s. Your dining room came out great!!
Jennifer, I would love to see how the curtains came out. I’m in need of new curtains in my living room but my windows are very large. So it would cost quite a bit to purchase ready made curtains.
Dear Jennifer,
You are going to have to make a post on your website showing your brothers room makeover. I love seeing how people decorate rooms in their house on a budget and I would love to see what you have done with your budget of $300. Please let me know if/when you post this. You are too creative.
Take care,
Shynea
You did a great job! This is a project that I’ve been putting off for sometime now but I think you’ve inspired me to get on the ball.
Dear MahoganyMomma,
I LOVE to decorate. I would love to include more accessories and knick knacks but my boys are just TOO active for me to be able to put glass or breakables anywhere.
If you redo your dining room I would like to see pictures.
Take care,
Shynea
Shynea that is a very cute setup. Way to stick to your budget. You go girl. Cynthia
Dear Cynthia,
Of course I wanted to accessorize a little more, and the area does look better now with my picture frame and hanging candles, but with four VERY active boys I try to keep everything as basic as possible.
Take care,
Shynea
Looks fab!
Dear Niecy,
Thank you!
Take care,
Shynea
I love your dining room!!! As you know, we have two tables for our family of seven and NO CHAIRS left because over the course of our last 3 house moves since 2007, they have gotten messed up (or the kids have broken them in some way LOL) I should do a dining area makeover, but I think I will wait until I’m able to buy ONE big table to fit all of us instead of working around the two tables LOL
You did a great job, especially considering you successfully stuck to your budget. I love burgundy – you can do SO many things with the scheme you chose. I hope you all are enjoying your new dining room!!
Dear Kat,
Believe me I have been there, done that. Sometimes children can be so destructive and at one point in time the chair legs on all of my kitchen chairs were wobbling. It was so funny because we would be eating and then the next thing you know *whomp*. Hilarious stuff depending on what you were eating.
Take care,
Shynea
Excellent shopping. I’m learning a lot from you. Thanks for sharing.
Dear LaShaunda,
I am glad that I am able to help in some way or another.
Take care,
Shynea
VERY CUTE!!!
I love your new dining room. The burgundy makes the earthtones pop! I have a pub style table and chairs almost identical to yours that I bought two years ago..not from Wal-mart, so I’m not even going to tell you how much I spent. Let’s just say that my eyes did that little pop out thing like Roger Rabbit when I saw how much you spent. I want a do-over!
Sidenote: I don’t know if you have any other dark/cherrywood furniture, but I have found that it shows scratches VERY easily. I know your children aren’t as horrible as mine though. I have a tablecloth, placemats, AND chair cushions, and they still find a way to drop debris everywhere and scratch the furniture. I’m done with my rant now.
looks great way to go you created a great dining area
Looks so good!
Your dining room looks great! I have had to decorate a room on a budget also so I understand the challange, I over came my budget of little to nothing by finding two tables I needed from friends who sold it to me for dirty cheap, and going from walmart to kmart to find curtains and area rugs that were on sale, my four sets of curtains were $5 each and I needed two area rugs they were $17.50 each and chair cushion( I needed six) were two for $5,my grand total I believe was around $100.
Sales,Sales,Sales would be my frugal shopping tip. I find that different walmarts and kmarts have different things on sale. Happy decorating!
That looks great. You can’t go wrong with the red. Ya know, yardsales are about to start a great way to get some extra accessories. I look for the unconventional way off decorating. I got 3 iron front door mats from Garden Ridge and hung them over my loveseat. It is so cute. Like you I am very frugal. Looks Great.
you did reallly goood i just redone my bathroom on a little budget i guess i have learned a little from you by pricing and comparing it really does save u money
Very Very Very Nice!!
Hi! Did you happen to have any chipping going on with your table? I’m trying to get a hold of the manufacturer because I LOVED it when I first bought it, but all the chairs and table have corners with the surface literally just peeling off. I’m so sad. : (