Hello! This is Kristin from Postbox Designs, back to share some beautiful, but affordable ways to decorate your home. I’m a huge believer that you can get great design at any budget! Sometimes I have even more fun decorating for clients with a smaller budget because you have to do some detective work before uncovering the gems. To prove my point, today I’m showing you a High-Low comparison for two dining rooms. Both rooms have a neutral farmhouse look to them, with a mix of whitewashed woods with pops of black. Both show off a little color with a graphic indigo rug. Both are beautiful, but one is THREE TIMES THE COST of the other! I don’t know about you, but I think I would pocket the difference and book a trip to the beach…
Designing a Farmhouse Dining Room on a Budget
by Postbox Designs
Can you tell which is which? Here is Version #1:
And here is Version #2.
So…..can YOU tell the difference? Which room costs THREE TIMES more than the other?
Before I spill the beans, here are some other farmhouse inspired dining rooms that make my heart beat a little faster:
via Better Homes and Gardens
via My Design Chic
via Linda McDougal Design
via Decor de Provence
Okay, you had some time to think about it now…was Version #1 or Version #2 the High-End version? If you guessed Version #1, then you were correct!
Let’s start with the High-End dining room: pretty right? With both rooms I started with a soft, neutral gray for the walls. The color is “Silver Fox” by Benjamin Moore. And I’m already picturing wide plank, hand scraped wood floors for a room like this. The more beat up, the better.
Here’s how I filled it up:
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Chandelier: This Pottery Barn wire chandelier will be a great focal point to any room, and it clocks in at $449 (a fun fact though: it is an indoor/outdoor chandelier!)
Dining Table: This turned leg table is from Restoration Hardware, and it is truly beautiful. This is the type of furniture you give a name and make it a part of your family! However, it doesn’t come cheap, the 72” size it comes in at $1995.
Area Rug: With all of these neutral colors, I think the room needed some depth with this rich, indigo flat weave rug from Pottery Barn. The 8’x10’ size can be yours for $599.
Woven Baskets: For some rustic decorations over your buffet, I love this idea of a collage of baskets. Mix it up with different sizes, shapes, and colors. For a similar look, you can pick up three of these Pottery Barn round baskets at $120 each.
Buffet Table: I love the weathered look of this Restoration Hardware buffet with loads of drawers for storage. It comes in multiple sizes, but it makes me gulp at $1550.
Pillow: I’m currently obsessed with a swiss cross pattern! This handmade pillow can sit on your upholstered head seats, or sit on extra chairs. But be ready to pay over $100 for two pillow covers.
Black Windsor Chair: The ultimate farmhouse chair is the classic Windsor chair, this look will never go out of style! A simple black finish both ties in the chandelier, and helps ground the space. To buy a set of four of these from Restoration Hardware will set you back almost $1000 though.
Upholstered Chair: I love adding upholstered chairs to a dining room for the head chairs. It gives your space a more high-end look, plus it mixes things up a bit. To buy two of these for your table will cost around $900 from Pottery Barn. Hint: If you are going to use an upholstered chair, think about having a stain-resisting treatment applied to it before use.
Grand Total for this Dining Room: $7,001
I love the look, but I think we can do better. When you are starting any decorating project, go crazy and start Pinterest or Houzz boards filled with gorgeous high-end looks. This will help you narrow down the elements or the style of the room that you truly love. After that, it is time to play detective. Some great sites to start looking at are: Target, World Market, Pier 1, and Amazon. Also try Craigslist or Ebay to find a gem that you can DIY for a similar look (and then just hop on Remodelaholic for oodles of DIY tutorials!). I was able to replicate this dining room for less than 1/3 of the price. This is how I did it:
Chandelier: I think I actually prefer this World Market chandelier over the Pottery Barn version! The black metal finish makes it classic, but it has a modern twist to it. And it is almost a third of the price at $169.99!
Buffet Table: This rustic console table has a very similar look to the Restoration Hardware version, with drawers and open shelf for storage. You could buy two and put them side-by-side and still come in way below budget at only $299.
Pillow: The room still has the vintage looking swiss cross pillows to bring a softer quality to the room. Plus, having a pillow on my chair might force me to relax while my kids load up the dishwasher! This pillow cover is very reasonable at $29.
Woven Baskets: To achieve the look of a collage of woven baskets on your wall, my first stop would be the flea markets or garage sales. Collecting these baskets over time will give it a beautiful eclectic personality to it. But if you are looking to fill up your wall ASAP, grab three woven baskets from World Market at $19.99 each. With this rectangle basket, you could even create a grid pattern using nine of these lined up over your buffet.
Dining Table: I love this budget-friendly table: it is the very definition of farmhouse charm with it’s turned legs and slightly whitewashed finish. It comes in several sizes (including an extending version) from Pier 1, but this 60” version is only $449.99. You could buy this table AND a back-up and still be ahead!
Area Rug: This indigo and cream graphic rug is a great focal point to all of the neutral colors. Whenever I put rugs under my dining tables (especially if there are kiddos in the home), I always use an indoor-outdoor rug. It is a breeze to clean with a bit of water. This 8’x10’ Target beauty is a steal at only $299.
Black Windsor Chair: I think the best deal in the bunch may be these black Windsor chairs. They are a classic look that will last forever. I have two sets in my home, and I plan on keeping them for a long time! Unlike the pricey ones above, these are only $75 each. So for all of you fellow math nerds out there, you can buy THREE of these chairs for less than the price of one of the high-budget chairs.
Upholstered Chairs: And again, to make Mom and Dad (or your guests) feel special, add two upholstered chairs to the ends of your new farmhouse table. These beauties from Home Decorators are $279 each…go ahead, buy two!
Grand Total for this Dining Room: $2194
When you are willing to be creative and spend a little extra time searching, you can find budget beauties for almost any look, I hope you have had fun shopping with me! If you want to fill up on more budget friendly design ideas, follow me on Facebook, or check out my Postbox Designs Blog. We have all kinds of fun with things like Designer Math Mondays and the 30 Day Design Challenge. As always, thanks to the fantastic team at Remodelaholic for letting me come hang with you all today!
See you soon,
More ideas for getting that farmhouse style:
farmhouse X media console
farmhouse kitchen style (mood board)
build a modern farmhouse table
easy farmhouse DIY decor
The post High-Low Farmhouse Dining Room Decor appeared first on Remodelaholic.