The Dining Room

OMG.  I am in love with our dining room now.  Our little project has created an entire different look.  Unfortunately, I can not find any before pictures of this room from our walk through.  This room was one of the few that did not have wall paper, so besides being painted a purplish-mauve color and having a terrible light fixture...it wasn't that bad. 
At one point over the summer, since we had sat in the room once since being in our home for a year, I thought we would convert it into a reading/project room.  Create a spaice I could sew, paint, craft etc.  Ummmm, why I didn't realize that the having some of those things in such a public space (meaning no doors to shut) was a bad idea...I don't know.  The girls wanted to craft with my stuff too. Hmmm...back to dining room.  We had painted it a lighter gray to make the room brighter (when it was a reading/project room), but it wasn't really working as a dining room for me.  How can I make it light but still bring a little drama?  Have you seen the many batten board tutorials out there?  I have too.  Hee, hee, hee.
Ben groaned when I said my wheels had been turning again.  But when he saw how cheap and easy it was going to be, he was on board.  Now that we are done, I keep catching him in the dining room staring and smiling.

Here is a before the batten board project shot:

 During...

By the way, I really did the majority of this one.  Officially not scared of the nail gun, but still not a fan of the saw...any type.  So my cute little hubby stepped in to cut ALL the wood.  

He was also great at helping to level all the boards.

 AFTER...

 Don't you love that chocolate?

 But it is still so light with our new white Batten Board!

 Would you believe me if I said we did it for under $75?? I know, I can't believe it either.  BUT, we didn't buy any paint...this is all left over!