Elsie’s BnB Dining Room Reveal

I am overjoyed to be able to share another room from my project house (future Airbnb) with you today! After months of work, it’s really starting to come together!

Today, we’re partnering with Wayfair, a shopping site that as you know we’ve loved and shopped at for years. It’s a big site, with options for every style—truly. When I started this home, I made a mood board that I have stuck to very closely (maybe I’ll share it in another post soon?). I wanted to branch out and try a new style, not just replicate my personal home. So I made a new mood board and I accessed a completely different side of my taste, and it has been SO MUCH FUN. I am totally in love with how this room turned out and the quality of each individual piece.

Before we jump in, let’s take a walk down memory lane …

On closing day, the dining room looked like this.

Two things to note for this tour: 1. This is a small space that opens to another room (the living room). When we tour the living room, you’ll be able to see more of how the two rooms connect. But for now the living room is not complete, so it could not be included in these photos. 2. The doorway to the kitchen (you can see it above to the left) is currently covered in plastic because the entire kitchen floor is ripped out! I share these two notes so that if you are curious why we are sharing only certain angles here, now you know. These are the only good angles—haha! But don’t worry, in a few more weeks, we’ll be able to start sharing more pulled back views as well.

Anyway, we made some major cosmetic changes to this little space that added a lot of charm. For more “before” photos, click here.

First let’s talk about this light fixture! I have had my eye on this piece for a while. It’s bigger than I imagined it would be, and makes the space feel so COOL. I really love it. Since I embraced more farmhouse vibes in this home (my husband encouraged me to go “full Nashville” with the style), it was important to me to still retain a modern edge. I think this light really delivers.

The wallpaper is a moroccan wallpaper mural designed by Sarah Sherman Samuel. It’s so stunning in person. We just did the one accent wall in this space. I love how it adds a lot of texture, while still staying neutral and bright. She is so talented! I’m so obsessed with this marble pattern as well.

By the way, if you live in the Nashville area, I highly recommend Meryl and David for wallpaper install. They are the sweetest and they do all my wallpaper (which has been a lot this past year—haha!).

I love these chairs! They are so sturdy and beautiful. I like that they have an arm, but still fit so nicely at a kitchen table. You’d have to sit at them to truly understand, but they’re the nicest dining room chairs I’ve ever owned.

The farmhouse table is super sturdy as well. Great quality. Since we built a white farmhouse style table for the breakfast nook, I decided to go with a wood finish here. It is extendable, and this is the smallest it can be.

The rug is a simple jute rug. It’s perfect for this space and I know it can withstand some wear and tear. When it comes to purchasing rugs, I have learned a lot about how to choose rugs that will really last. Surprisingly, dining rooms are not as heavy traffic as other rooms (in my experience, the living room rugs are the main ones that really take a beating). The big issue with dining rooms are occasional spills and messes. So a rug with either a darker tone or pattern is more forgiving.

I’m proud that this space seems to really lean on “autumn vibes,” but I still think it will be easy to mix it up each season.

(white vase, decanter, footed bowl)
I’ve written before about my love for fake plants. And you all know I love real plants as well (a LOT), but there is a strong case for certain faux plants. For example, these fiddle leaf fig trees. Real ones are expensive and I’ve killed them repeatedly. This little cutie you see here in the corner will never ever … ever die.

For me, a mix of real and faux is ideal. I already do have a few real plants in this home (and I’ll add more). But I also want to be smart about it and only add low-maintenence plants that are easy to care for.

We chose to keep going with the black theme from the fixtures and tie it into some smaller pieces in the space, like this beautiful flatware. 

I’ve had THE BEST time working on this space so far! Let me know if you have any questions at all. I have several more rooms in the works that I’ll be sharing over the next few months.

xoxo! Elsie

Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Project Assistant: Collin DuPree, Photography: Amber Ulmer.