A High End Look for Our Dining Room on a Budget

Traditional Dining Room by Portland Interior Designers & Decorators Vidabelo Interior Design

I LOVE this transitional dining room. It is elegant and fresh without being pretentious. It is inviting and comfortable while maintaining a luxurious feel. This is the look I wanted to create for our dining room. 

Here is HOW we created the LOOK FOR LESS!

Dilbeck Dining Room

Let's start with the table, bench, and slat-back chairs. We found this farmhouse style table on Craigslist for $380. The seller also included two additional slat back chairs (to be used in another area of the house) and two cushioned end chairs (seen below). We sold the end chairs for $100, bringing our total cost for the table, bench, and slat-back chairs to $280. Similar tables sell for upwards of $1500 like this one at Williams-Sonoma.

The end chairs pictured in our Designer Dining Room are custom tufted end chairs from the Interior Design company listed. I found some similar chairs at a high-end retailer in Nashville...

Even on sale, these chairs are $525 each! Blowing my budget right out of the water. So, we opted for our trusty Craigslist to bring us a deal. We found the white parsons chairs for $40 for the pair. Since we are not using a rug in our space like in the Designer Dining Room, we are going to add some texture and pattern by making Ikat fabric slipcovers for the parson's chairs like these from Ballards...

The total cost for the Ballard slipcovers is $474 (includes 15% promo code) so my plan is to purchase a similar  fabric for around $20/yard and sew these with the help of my mom. Each parson's chair needs 4-5 yards of fabric plus cording and additional sewing supplies for a total of around $250 for the slipcovers.

The BEST FIND by far in this look for less journey is the light fixture. Yes, this is the exact light fixture pictured in the Designer Dining Room. You can find it here, too. It retails for $559.90. While looking for similar fixtures online, I found this exact fixture in an amazon warehouse for $142.78 (free shipping and no tax!!!) Meant.to.be.

Last but not least: ACCESSORIZING! I love the decorative porcelain succulents in the Designer Dining Room. I found these similar accents at Target on clearance. $12.94 each plus the silver tray (also on clearance for $15) brought the accessorizing total to around $40. I was able to find the exact Porcelain artichokes used in the Designer Dining Room on amazon.com for $204. I found similar trays for around $50, but they can range up to $150.

So, what does the total look for less, look like?

Item	Designer Dining Room	Dilbeck Dining Room
Farmhouse Table	$1,600	$280
Light Fixture	$559.90	$142.78
Accessories	$254	$40
Upholstered End Chairs	$1,050	$290
Bench	$250	(included in Table price)
Slat-Back Chairs	$400	(included in Table price)
GRAND TOTAL =	$4,114	$753

THE LOOK FOR LESS, (much less). 

DINING ROOM: 80% Complete

Sources for our Living Room Revealed

I am VERY PROUD to say that our living room is 80% complete. We still have a few finishing touches to go -- possibly some wall art, curtains, and a new bench beside the fireplace, and maybe one day built-in bookcases --- but the progress so far has been Room-Changing. The best part: everything purchased was either clearance, final sale, or a Craigslist steal. I love a bargain! And I believe this is proof that you don't have to compromise quality or taste when you are looking for a deal. So here is the reveal...

but FIRST, a look at how this room has progressed. 

During the House Hunt: 0% Progress

Move-in Day: 0% Progress

Post-Painting: 30% Progress

Post-Sofa Purchase: 40% Progress

My favorite part about Craiglist purchases is the story behind each one, and getting to meet other avid craiglisters. For example, the couch is a CUSTOM-MADE sofa by Bassett  from a family of three with one on the way. They live right down the street from us, and recently went through a MAJOR home reno as well. They were the kindest couple, and gave us more than the couch (which turned out to be too big for their space once they got it home!). They passed along contractor names, paint colors, and upholsterers. Things you just can't put a price on.. and their home is breath-taking. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. 

Ty and I found this side table in Addairsville, GA at a thrift store on our way back from a wedding. 

Cost? only $35 for a solid wood table with leather top. SUCH a steal! The matching mercury glass lamps were purchased online at Target.com - they had a deal for 15% off home decor when you spent $75 or more (and I just happened to already have the perfect lamp shades). I would have spent 15% more if these had been purchased in-store. 

Those perfect pillows...

Usually I am a huge fan of buying fabric and making my own pillows, but when I saw these at Restoration Hardware on FINAL SALE right after I purchased the rug on Craigslist, I KNEW they were too perfect to pass up. I love how the medallion print on the pillows mimics the print on the rug. Speaking of, the RUG was another craigslist deal. The rug retails for over $1000 but we were able to get it for a fraction of the cost because a lady's chihuahua was allergic to the wool!  The other white sidetable we already owned - you may remember it from the guest room in the condo. 

The matching nailhead sidechairs are the latest addition to the room and the final touch. These were originally from a boutique in Buckhead, GA called BEE. Lucky for me, the lady who purchased them changed her mind and she put them on Craigslist. My in-laws were sweet enough to scoop them up and haul these giant wing chairs back to Nashville on their way to visit last weekend. 

Living Room: 80% COMPLETE! 

This week I showed you our living room steals, but next week we will go into the dining room (which you glimpse in this photo) to see how we got the look for less!