When we moved to our house five years ago, I knew that I wanted a red dining room. I had seen so many photos of gorgeous red dining rooms and wanted the same bold punch of red for my home. I loved my red dining room….for a few years. But my decorating style had slowly evolved into more of a relaxed feel and soon my red dining room was just didn’t fit in with the rest of my home. When we decided to do a little room swap and move our dining room into what was once our living room, I left the red behind and painted the new dining room a dark taupey gray (Sherwin William Keystone Gray).
I friend of mine recently did the same red to gray switch and used Benjamin Moore’s Weimaraner on her dining room walls. She picked the color from Pottery Barn’s Fall/Winter 2011 Collection of Benjamin Moore paints:
It’s amazing how the change in paint color has completely changed the feel of both of our dining rooms to more warm and relaxed. Of course, we all know the “dark side” to repainting a room – it is the start of the decorating domino effect. Now that my friend’s dining room is a gorgeous new color, the drapery panels that once hung in the room looked terrible so she has taken them down and started the hunt for some reasonably priced drapes to help complete the look of her space. The great thing about gray walls is that it leaves you with plenty of options for other colors to use in the room. Want to see a few of my favorite drape options to go with gray walls? (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here})
One option is to bring in some pattern with Ballard Designs’ Firenze Embroidered Panels, which come in three color options, including gray and ivory.
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| Ballard Designs Firenze Embroidered Panel |
Target’s Farrah Fretwork panels are a super inexpensive option – these panels come in several colorways, including black and white. They are available in two lengths and can be found in store or online:
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| Target Home Farrah Fretwork Window Panel |
Another option is to use neutral drapes as was done in {this pretty dining room}. For inexpensive neutral drapes with a pattern, I like Ballard Designs’ ivory and grey Bingham Printed Damask panels:
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| Ballard Designs Bingham Printed Damask Panels |
For a solid neutral drapery panel, I love Ballard Designs’ Fringed Burlap Panels, which are available in natural burlap or ivory. They are cotton lined, have a decorative 5″ jute fringe:
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| Ballard Designs Fringed Burlap Panel |
For neutral linen curtains, you can’t beat the look and price of IKEA’s AINA linen curtains in either white (it’s a softer white than it appears in the picture) or natural.
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| IKEA AINA Curtains |
While the IKEA AINA drapes are super cheap at $59.99 per pair this picture from one of my favorite blogs, For the Love of a House, shows that they look anything but cheap:
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| For The Love of a House |
Which drapes are your favorites?
I must say I love the the mosaic Jute pattern and the simplicity of the ballard Bingham printed, but I must say you can’t go past the ikea aina ones and I want them in the dark grey for my lounge…. Next trip! Thanks this gave me more to think about for my room.
Thanks so much Kris! Love the blog! Of course I think my favorite is the most expensive! Looks like we will have a weekend field trip to Ballard! Of course, now I’ll need another blog on rugs… and then…
Where did you find the curtains that you ended up using in your dining room? I love those!
I had the drapes made from a now discontinued fabric that I lucked into getting for a great deal through Decorator’s Backroom on Etsy. It’s David Hicks’ Pomegranate by Lee Jofa.
I’m in love with the black and white and gray. I need advice….my drapes are on the order of the Ballard ivory and gray damask, wall is gray, table is black parson’s and chairs are a combination of lucite ones from Ikea and 2 slipper chairs. There is a picture wall on one wall with black ledges. Could I use a black and white patterned rug (zebra, ikat, medallion,etc.)? What would you suggest?
Barb
Hi Barb – your room sounds lovely! Choices in rugs are such a matter of personal preference that it’s hard to advise you on what to do but if it were my room, I would stay away from too much bold black and white pattern and stick with something a bit more subtle. Good luck with finishing off your room!
Great choice! I appreciate your advice! Thanks.
Barb
I am about to paint my dining room and wondered what color you chose for you wall??? I already have similar curtains and I’m just changing up a few things.
Sure – It is a slightly tweaked version of Sherwin-Williams Keystone Gray (SW 7504). It’s my favorite paint color in the house!
White and off white goes with any wall
Everything is so Beautiful. I love the burlap panel in the doorway. 8 also like when you hang the panel higher than usual to make the window appear larger.