Although we have bigger plans for this room in the near future, I just couldn’t live with the decor as it was in the meantime. In the past I’ve definitely been guilty of this, but why live in a space you dislike when you can make simple, quick fixes that can transform the room, even if they are only on a temporary basis. And let’s face it, temporary can sometimes mean years! The small changes I carried out for this kitchen diner makeover have had a big overall impact on the aesthetics and I feel uplifted every time I walk into or spend time in it now.
After a major renovation of the kitchen, I initially decorated it in 2014 with a rainbow of colours, using our choice of dining chairs as inspiration.
Update One Area At A Time
The makeover started with an update of the dining area by first replacing the rainbow chairs with some velvet chic ones from Next, reflecting the colour scheme that is starting to flow through my house. Andy and I decided to stick with the theme of different coloured chairs to add interest, and I of course had to get a bit of leopard print in there!
I couldn’t wait to switch the slate look wallpaper and red clock for a more modern look. I carried the pink geometric vibe in my living room through to the kitchen dining area with a gorgeous blush and gold wallpaper, and blinged up the vintage sunburst clock with some gold leopard print.
DIY Table Decoration
At this point, the plain boring white table just wasn’t doing it for me and needed a lift. I decided to carry the geometric theme through with some black sticky back vinyl that I cut into strips and stuck in a random triangle geometric pattern to the surface of the table. This update does not permanently change the table and can be removed or re-applied if necessary. Regarding the durability of this, it’s holding up pretty well. Having said that, it’s only Andy and me, so if you have a large family, it probably wouldn’t be as practical, however, it would be easily rapairable.
Bling Up Your Furniture
Having previously upcycled my G Plan retro cocktail cabinet the red colour wasn’t right for the new scheme so I repainted it in a burnt orange and decorated the doors with *gold sticky back vinyl to tie in with the geometric theme. I chose the orange as opposed to an obvious pink or teal that would have matched the other updates, as I wanted to create some conflict in the room so it wasn’t all predictable. It also ties in with the orange in the hallway and porch. Here it is before in red.
Tip – create surprises in your interior design that will stop the eye in its tracks. This will add interest to an item or space that may otherwise go unnoticed. For example, an unexpected colour, an oversized lamp, an off centre mirror.
And after.
Here’s a wider before shot.
See how the unexpected orange immediately adds a quirky vibe to the space that a matching pink or teal would have failed to do.
Add A Living Wall!
I softened the edges of the room by adding a living wall above the wall units to give life to the empty space that was there before. I also covered the dark grey column in the same blush and bold geometric wallpaper as the dining area which I was keen to not be an isolated ‘feature wall’ within the room. This really lifted and brightened the room.
This is how it looked before.
And this is how it looks now. I also added the neon print above the hob, and new accessories for the worktops – *gold cookbook stand, teal canister, leaf tea, coffee and sugar jars. The once rainbow cook sign got the gold treatment!
Create A Gallery Wall
This makeover was carried out in different parts of the kitchen over a fairly long period of time, and after dragging my feet with the rest of the makeover, I was spurred on to finish when I was contacted on Instagram by H&J London asking if I’d like some PR samples of their prints. So I finally got round to replacing the pictures below on the right hand side of the table with a small gallery wall.
The Girl Gang, Be Kind, and Wild Thing, prints were part of the PR gift from H&J London, they are a small female run business selling fun, quirky prints. They are so me, and a perfect fit for my kitchen makeover. I already had the paint explosion print and it’s unfortunately no longer available. However, I have another copy of this print and I’m running an Instagram giveaway soon. Follow me so you don’t miss out on a chance to win. You can see how I styled the wall here.
The gold frames were from Slay My Print.
Switch Up Your Furniture
Our stools below that I originally bought for the kitchen weren’t great quality and I quickly fell out of love with them. The paint on the seats chipped and scratched from day one.
I replaced them with these sexy studded gold and black ones. Another little touch I added as part of the makeover was this *’stage door’ sign above the laundry room door.
Create Vignettes
I created a vignette around a gorgeous print that was previously in my living room prior to the renovation. The shell mobile was from a quaint homeware shop in the village of Ironbridge.
Tip – Look in small independent shops for unusual items to style your home that nobody else has.
Show Love To Neglected Areas
An area of the kitchen that had always been an afterthought, was the window opposite the galley part, which mainly served as a space to re-bloom my orchids.
Having already added a new gold wire shelf, I brightened this wall further up by using the rest of the wallpaper. I chose to cut out the pattern around the edge of the paper for a quirky effect. You can see me hanging the wallpaper along with the kitchen makeover from the start on my Instagram kitchen makeover highlight.
Tip – Think outside the box when decorating. You don’t always have to do things in the conventional way.
Add Accessories
I framed the canvas print of my nan and grandad (which I adore) and added some accessories – *macrame plant hanger, grow wild planter, faux trailing eucalyptus, glass bum vase, Dalmatian planter, artificial plant, lady sculpture, leopard planter, sitting leopard, zebra tea towel, teal hand towel.
I love the cheeky glass bottom vase and the grow wild planter which was a perfect colour for the kitchen. The trailing eucalyptus from Abigail Ahern is amazing! It looks so realistic, is super thick and full, and falls and trails perfectly in whichever position you put it. The lady sculpture also from Abigail Ahern is another one of my favourites.
Do Some DIY
I made the wire words myself with *craft wire, You can also see me doing this on my kitchen makeover highlight on Instagram.
This quirky abstract face rug broke up the floor space and added some texture and interest.
I gave an old red ampersand the leopard treatment, also on my Instagram kitchen makeover story highlight. I may do some separate posts on all of my DIY hacks. Sign up to my email list to be sure not to miss them!
Our old red toaster was replaced with this *pretty blush one, I added a teal tray to display my mugs on, and hung an artificial herb pot from the wall cupboards. Andy bought me the *gold Aarke carbonator for Christmas, and the ‘Tea’s up’ print was a DIY project that pays homage to our love of tea!
The DIY print, frame, and mount also feature in my Instagram Kitchen Makeover Highlight.
Easy Kitchen Makeover Before & After
You can see how the small decorative changes have transformed the room in the wide before and after shots below.
The kitchen area has been totally transformed from when we first bought the house. You see here the original kitchen renovation.
I’d love to hear what you think of my kitchen makeover in the comments below and hope you find the tips and inspiration from this post useful!
Love Cara x
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