Budget Dining Room
This post was originally published on December 31, 2022.
Moments from our dinner table
When we first lived in this apartment, my flatmate and I inherited the furniture from the previous tenant who himself had taken it over from a family who rented the flat before him. Although we had never met the original owners of our furniture, we knew they had hired a designer and set them free in IKEA with a budget of 10.000€. When I decided to move back in and take over the flat, I decided had the opportunity to design it to my personal style - rustic modern as my better half describes it.
The Project
The dining room sits inside the living room and as much as I would have loved to tear down the wall and put in a kitchen island, I had to tame my ideas and design it with the restrictions of someone renting and not owning a space. Most people would spend money on a bedroom, but my budget was largely allocated to the living room - the biggest room in our apartment with three windows and an asymmetrical shape. My heart had settled on an Instagram post of Freida Pinto’s living room and I decided that was the one I wanted. Because the dining area was a part of the living room, I knew it had to complement my aspirational living room and yet work with my finances.
My Design Process
Extendable IKEA Dining Table
The original dining area consisted of a white, square, expandable table with four stackable, non-upholstered chairs -uncomfortable to the back and the butt. Out of this experience, my first goal emerged. I wanted the dining furniture to be comfortable. Our family loves brunches and big weekend spreads of Indian cooking. Since we were still in the pandemic, we did not feel the need to get a large table that would accommodate many guests. So, we settled on a table for four that could be swapped for a larger unit in the future. Since the table was only meant to seat four, I wanted the legs to expand outwards rather than straight down which tends to give the table a boxy shape, making it look bulky and not-so-elegant. After building many a mood board, my colour scheme emerged as - beige, wood, black, and gold. Since the couches I picked were beige, I wanted to bring some earthy tones with the dining set up. I decided on a wooden table paired with black chairs. I toyed with the idea of four chairs vs. a chair-bench combo. Good chairs were expensive and so I opted for a chair bench combination. Besides, a bench could prove versatile if I chose to later pull it into the living area or move it into the hallway.
The Inspiration
Naturally, I went to Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration. I eventually settled on this one because the position was very similar to mine and I believed I could make this work. We have a really large living room with expansive white walls so I loved the idea of adding artwork as a backdrop but thought four large frames would be overkill so I settled for two. While a carpet is always lovely, I cannot understand the concept of having one under a dining table which comes with a high risk of spills.
Instagram - @artiplantodecor
Mood Board
I built the Mood Board in Canva. The individual images for the furniture are taken from the respective websites. Since the light fixtures are common for the room, they are not included in the cost breakdown.
Mood Board
The final furniture
Dining Table - Prices for wooden tables in my preferred shape made my eyes pop and so I set up an alert for dining tables on the secondhand marketplace. On a rainy summer day, I found the perfect table for 50€ right around the corner of my apartment so I grabbed it even though the move was still months away. It’s a Höffner table that goes for the original price of a little over twice the money I paid for it.
Chairs - I had always liked the idea of pairing wood with black, but most of the chairs were either glossy or too expensive. I picked out ADDE chairs from IKEA that cost 12€. They are not sturdy or very comfortable but look minimal and do the job when paired with a cushion.
Bench with Storage - I checked quite a few benches on Wayfair, IKEA, Maison du Monde, but most of them were long with an upholstered seat. Since I wanted a bench that could blend into the living room and also used for storing blankets / throws, I opted for the IKEA PERJOHAN. It is easy to assemble and sturdy. With a coat of wood paint, it fit perfectly into our colour scheme. The DIY was really easy and done over the weekend. I bought wood paint from the local hardware store and applied it without a base primer. The coats were thick and resulted in a matt look. At first glance, it is hard to tell that the bench was not originally black.
Seat cushions - We did most of our furniture shopping during the Black Friday and Christmas sales when everything was 50% off. The seat cushions are Julius from MADE that retail for 40€ when not on sale.
The furniture total was 144€ or approx. $165. Considering tables alone tend to cost upwards of 100€, I considered this makeover budget-friendly without having to compromise style or function.
The Reveal
Dining Room Collage
Sustainable Living
With each piece of furniture I selected, I asked myself to envision it in future homes. We decided that the dining table was small enough to be used as a work bench or desk if desired. The bench could be re-used in the hallway or at the end of the bed in a larger bedroom. The chairs - although not durable - could be given a second life in the garden since they are made of plastic and therefore weather-friendly.
We have been enjoying our small dining room for a little over 2 months now and the only addition we might make is a standing lamp since the main ceiling light doesn’t quite reach the table. That said, we are happy with our small budget dining area with a dash of DIY.
