A Dining Room That’s Cozy and Bright

The holidays are right around the corner, and that means your dining room is about to see a lot of traffic. Whether you’re hosting friends, family, or both, your dining room should be a place where everyone feels welcome, cozy, and right at home, and with so many opportunities to use this room at this time of year, why not give it a chance to shine?

Home renovations during the holidays can be stressful, which is why we recommend starting any project a few months ahead of time. Adding an accent wall can really liven up a room and create a focal point within your home that draws people in, and it’s easy to achieve with the right primer. We hope our renovation inspires you to give your dining room a bit more personality and charm.

As with any room makeover involving fresh paint, we started by preparing our accent wall. We chose KILZ 2^® All-Purpose Primer for this project thanks to its ability to seal surfaces, block stains, and hide previous color. We like that this primer is mildew resistant, as kitchen humidity can sometimes penetrate nearby rooms, such as dining spaces. This multi-surface primer is a favorite for time-sensitive projects you’re hoping to complete before the holidays, because it dries fast, adheres beautifully, and has a very mild odor. While not recommended for flooring,

Once primed, we chose a rich, marine blue for our accent wall—Tribute Oceans Deep TB-60—and started painting, taking care to cover the base board below with painter’s tape. Taking a wall from light to dark is a great way to change the tone and feel within a room, which is what we did here. You can highlight desired areas and draw focus away from others. It can be a good idea to place a darker-shade accent wall next to a window to create contrast and play with the effects of the natural light. Again, using a primer before you begin painting is a great way to ensure any color you choose looks its best and brightest, especially if you’re painting over an existing color.

After our paint finished drying, we put the final touches on our dining room. Because this room is a gathering place, we didn’t want to overwhelm the space with too much décor that could get in the way of company or serving food. We opted for gold fixtures and accents, as well as white chairs and drapery to brighten and complement the dark wood of the larger furniture and our lovely accent wall. Overall, we’ve achieved a room that is elegant enough for holiday parties, while still being casual and comfortable enough for nightly dinners with just the family. 

If you are choosing to take on a dining room renovation this holiday season, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to complete it—at least a month or so prior. Be sure to research the right primer for the job if painting, and keep it simple when it comes to décor. You can always bring more decorations into the mix for parties, but you want to make sure the space stays cozy and casual enough for year-round meals. Whatever type of domestic sprucing you tackle this year, we hope this project inspires you to create more spaces inside your home for togetherness. 

 Always remember to refer to our website kilz.com or product back labels for additional information on which primer is right for your project and detailed instructions on how to apply our products. Check out our Coverage Calculator to understand your estimated paint needs for your upcoming project.