A Dining Room Makeover Using Stuff I Already Had

We spend a lot of time in the kitchen and dining room.

I spend a lot of time looking into the dining room from the kitchen.

When we moved into the house four years ago there was no money for furniture, and with two kids in college and three more to go, that budget remains at zero dollars for another decade.

I furnished about 2/3 of the house for free using donations from friends, Facebook Marketplace, and stuff I found for free on the side of the road.

When we moved in, the view from the kitchen looked like this:

One of the first things I did was get the dining room table in place.

I threw a chest in one corner and a plant in another.

It was better, but still pretty sparse.

I made a few additions here and there, and for the last couple years the view from the kitchen into the dining room has looked like this:

The silhouettes are from the kids’ preschool and are one of my favorite things.

Almost all of the furniture in my dining room belonged to someone in my family or was made by my dad.

He made my dining room table and hutch (it’s not visible in this picture).

The six smaller chairs and the white wooden high chair on the left belonged to my grandma.

The antique corn husker in front of the window and the area rug came from my aunt and uncle.

The blue table under the silhouettes was a free side-of-the-road find, and I bought the chest in the corner at a tag sale a long time ago.

I like vintage and antique and thrifted and family treasures.

But I hadn’t really given much thought to this room since moving in, and it was so bland and colorless.

Every time I looked in there from the kitchen I just saw 50 shades of beige, a thousand chairs, and horizontal lines.

It was really bothering me, so while the kids were away for spring break, I decided to give my dining room a makeover.

There was one rule: I had to use stuff I already had. I couldn’t spend any money.

I shuffled things around and found some stuff in other rooms in the house, the garage, and the basement.

I did a couple projects using spray paint I already had and brought a little nature in from outside.

I had a lot of fun spending time giving this room some love.

And now when I look into the dining room from the kitchen, I see this:

I LOVE IT!!!

I still see all the kids’ silhouettes.

I see the table AND the hutch my dad made for me.

I see some color.

And when I’m lucky, I also see this: