The story behind “Sunny Dining” is really personal, as it is in my grandparents’ house. Sunny dining is actually two rooms connected by a wide opening. The dining set was hidden in the smaller of the rooms, while that big and bright south-facing dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors used to be adapted for the needs of my disabled grandfather. After he passed away I decided to do a surprise makeover for my grandma while visiting her in Poland. I ordered the wallpaper, lamps and area rug in advance and shipped them to my cousin. The fabrics, hardware and small decorations travelled half the world in my suitcase. Being well-prepared I needed just three days to transform the space with a little help from my dad (well… huge help, to be honest).
We painted the walls gray, added decorative trim and this gorgeous Heron wallpaper from GP&J Baker to create some visual interest. Had I told my grandma about my idea of gray walls, she certainly wouldn’t have let me do that being afraid of dark and gloomy mood. That’s why I did not let anyone in till the reveal day trusting my intuition.
This lovely set of mid-century modern dining furniture was bought by my grandma in the 1960s and was still in great condition. I just refreshed it a bit with new knobs from Anthropologie and graphic upholstery for the chairs.
I sewed new curtains, found a perfect area rug to match the new colour palette and decorated the room with items found around the house mixed with my Calgary finds.
The smaller room was transformed into a cozy living space with simple beige sofa and two classic armchairs. I used leftover fabric to sew a couple of cushions. Both rooms used to have only central pendants, so I added a few accent and task lamps to create warm and relaxed atmosphere as well as sophisticated decoration.
The makeover was a huge success! My grandmother simply loved it (and she still does). It became such a bright, warm and inviting space, which is perfect for family gatherings. Despite the gray walls!
