07 Apr 2021 Living With Style Comment

Our Traditional Dining Room Makeover With Calico

We are singing from the roof tops over our dining room makeover with Calico!

In case you have been looking to update your dining room too, I wanted to share the THREE different ways we refreshed ours thanks to the help of Calico and interior designer, Melissa Mahoney!

Just using ONE of the below strategies would make a great impact to any room!

Three Ways You Can Refresh Your Dining Room

  1. Wallpaper
  2. Window Treatments
  3. Host Chairs

Calico

For as long as I can remember, Calico has made their way in almost every home growing up. Which is A LOT by the way! We moved over seven times during my childhood.

So to have Calico help with a large scale project – like an entire dining room – is a dream come true.

I’ve found most people think Calico is just a fabric shop but it’s a complete design studio with locations all over the country.

Once again, Calico has left us grinning from ear to ear over every single detail.

Our Interior Designer – Melissa Mahoney

Our interior designer, Melissa Mahoney, principle of Melissa Mahoney Design House, was the quarterback of this entire process.

Nothing was necessarily wrong with our dining room before. But considering it’s used daily and can be seen from every room on the main floor, Melissa said it would be a smart and fun investment!

We are SO THANKFUL for Melissa’s expertise – who is especially known for her colorful style and pattern play. Melissa has been helping us for a year now. For every project we do, she ensures our entire house feels cohesive and our home is equally as functional as it is beautiful.

So if you live in the Chicago area – I HIGHLY recommend getting on her waitlist ASAP. She was recently featured in Glen Ellyn Living and in high demand these days.

How We Began

So before we stepped foot into the Hinsdale design shop, Melissa streamlined our sample selection down to 40 wallpapers and fabrics from Calico’s website. We were both on the same page with lots of textiles, prints and COLOR.

Thankfully, Calico carries a beautiful selection of different wallpapers, blinds, fabrics and even furniture. With so many high quality options under ONE roof, we were able to nail down an entire design that complemented our decor we already owned. 

You’ll also find a lot of designer brands, like Scalamandre {new!}, Dana Gibson, Ralph Lauren, Magnolia Home, Vern Yip {as seen in our breakfast nook} and more. 

The Design Process

One of the perks of working with Calico is their FREE design services – which both my mom and I’ve used before.

BUT if you work with a professional interior designer {this was a first for me!}, you can also use Calico’s designers.  It’s like you have a whole team working alongside of you.

Melissa’s “right hand” teammate from Calico was Manager Linda Dire.  She was an absolute DREAM.  Linda pulled samples prior to our arrival {a huge time saver}, made thoughtful suggestions and even helped as problem solve.  A seamless experience.

PRO TIP: The first thing Melissa had me do prior to our first appointment, was pull samples from our existing furniture/decor – like our breakfast nook, vestibule and living room. This ensured our new dining room selections would flow with the rest of the house.

Wallpaper

Wallpaper truly works wonders in a room. It can add depth, bring movement and even make a room appear bigger. So this was a MUST for our dining room.

When you are making more than one change to a room, it’s hard to know where to begin!

Our initial plan was to go bold on the walls. But after finding a poppy orange fabric for drapery, we decided to flip the design on it’s head and go more subtle.

Knowing the scale of the print would make our room feel bigger and brighter – Melissa suggested this neutral wallpaper by Magnolia Home. Boy did it open up the space. After it was up, we realized how flat the solid paint color made this room feel.

I can’t believe how many compliments we received on our wallpaper – EVEN when the room was empty. We just love it and it comes in a variety of of other colors!

Window Treatments

Good lord heaven almighty, let’s talk about custom drapery. I am all for ready made drapes, but they just don’t hold a candle to custom. Here’s why…

When you work with Calico, you get precise measurements, they are designed to function specifically to your needs and one of a kind. We roll down our Roman shades every evening since the sun shines directly in our eyes. It’s fabulous.

Even Mary, our photographer, was like “there is just SOMETHING about custom drapes that elevate a space!”

I had ZERO clue how much went into window treatments. Styles of shades {curtains, Roman, stationary side panels, etc.}, fabrics, pleating, trim, placement, length, fullness, lining… And let’s not forget the hardware! You have to think about the color, style, finish and size of those too. Here’s EXACTLY what we did.

  1. Stationary Panel Drapes 
    1. Jaipur Persimmon fabric for the panels 
    2. Two-prong Fan Pleated
    3. Fixed on rings
    4. Black Matte Cafe rod return 3/4”inch
    5. Tassel LR 125 – 16 Indigo – Leading Edge of Panel Drapes
    6. Drapery was weighted as our fabric is thick and heavy
    7. Standard lining
  2. Flat Roman Shades
    1. Wellfleet Inside Out – Navy
    2. Outside mount on both windows (to bring more texture and color to the space)
    3. Standard lining

Host Chairs

As designers always say…it’s all about details. The craftsmanship and intentional design that went into the two upholstered host chairs was so transformative, they deserved an entire post of their own!

But taking a few steps back, when Melissa first suggested this idea, I was like…but I have a husband and a toddler!

Of course Calico quickly reminded us of their Performance Fabrics. Kid and husband approved.

P.S. I actually smear ketchup, a highlighter AND a crayon on our Crypton Fabric in my Instagram stories. You can see how easily it comes off. You won’t even believe it!

Melissa also explained how host chairs alone can truly spice it up! You do NOT have to get all new chairs. Fun silhouettes paired with astonishing fabrics are just the trick.

Get the exact fabrics and details used for these beauties:

  1. Outside Back and Arm Pads Fabric: Kate Spade – Fauna Navy {no longer available}
  2. Seat and Inside Back: Larch Camel fabric with Ebba Denim piping
  3. Chair Double Piping: Kate Spade – Fauna Navy {no longer available} – same fabric as the outside back and arm pads.
  4. Arm Pads Double Piping: Dana Gibson – Kiki Boucle
  5. Painted Wood Frame: Benjamin Moore trim paint in white semi-gloss

Tying It All Together

Calico’s installation process is practically magic.  The installer took professional measurements at the beginning of the project.  The installer picked up everything from Calico (including the reupholstered chair) and delivered to our home.  One second we had a bare room and the next minute everything was up.  They make it SO easy for YOU. 

Melissa was my savior when it came to styling the room. I’m more of an “Old” mixed with the New” type of gal and she some how incorporated our vintage pieces into our new sparkly room!

I love some of the fun moments – like our butler’s tray bar, chinoiserie ginger jar and grandmother’s sea captain oil painting. Btw Sean is NOT a fan of of “The Captain” (poor guy!). So jury’s still out if he’s staying – LOL! But I have to say…he’s been quite the dinner conversation starter…so I like him.

Melissa also balanced it all out with some new and modern items too! Like stacks of books under some kelly green vases. She also hung up my Pencil & Paper Co’s Color Studies Art Collection. The colors just pop against the wallpaper and so much fun.

Last but not least, Melissa also suggested a new dining room table that has literally been life changing. The measurements of our old table were so wrong for the room – which made it uncomfortable to get in and out of the table. We of course had no idea until we bought our new one!

BEFORE + AFTER

A Thank You To The Dream Team!

I can’t believe how much thought and time went into every selection. We are so in love with our dining room and is sparking SO. MUCH. JOY. Calico and Melissa – thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your help. I call them the ultimate DREAM TEAM.

For more ideas and inspiration, be sure to give Calico a follow on their Instagram. And don’t forget you can easily request quotes online and book an appointment today for a FREE design.

If you’ve always wanted to dip your toe in the designer world, without paying full price, Melissa has a one of a kind online program called “House To Home 101”. It’s a fraction of the cost of what it would be to work with her one on one but you still get access to her for all your burning questions. Enrollment opens ONLY every six months – so be sure to get on the waitlist!

Questions?

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave any and all questions here! Either Melissa or myself can answer.

Links To Our Dining Room Redesign

Photos by Chicago Andrea Creative

Disclosure: I received a discount for the wallpaper, window treatments, reupholstery and installation. However, all opinions are my own. Thank you to Calico for making one of the most used rooms in our home so happy!

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