I’m not seeing wainscoting, but rather trim strips that were tacked on - popular at that time. Removing those is easy, then just patch the holes and paint. You can leave the chair rail and still have a more casual, updated look.

Do you need the china cabinet? If you have plenty of space in the kitchen, then removing the China cabinet will give your dining room a more relaxed look. You may come across a piece at a flea market or charity shop that better suits your style. Maybe find something vintage and paint it.

What color is your tableware? You might choose a wall color to complement that.

Remove the table cloth and use yellow place mats for protection. Consider a natural jute rug (easy to clean) which will lighten up the space and provide some textural relief to the traditional furnishings. Consider painting above the chair rail rich yellow. Hard to see the light fixture with the lights on. Another photo?

I agree with those who said paint the trim. There is so much you could do with this room, I would go for a bit of drama with a paint color, larger art and or a wallpaper mural And painted trim in an off white or a richer shade of wall color (see last photo). Also, either a lighter or brighter rug.

Look at in black and white, it's easier to imagine a change.

Komar is just one of many that does cool moderately priced wall murals.

Honestly, your crown and chair rail aren't substantial enough to be contrasting...currently the crown looks like a dark outline of the ceiling. I think in your case...I would paint all of the trim (crown, chair rail, wainscot, and base) the same color as whatever wall color you ultimately choose, but in a semi-gloss so provide a bit of texture from the matte (or eggshell) walls. I have seen this and it really looks quite elegant but low-key, if that makes sense. Maybe a mossy tone of green, but lighter, would look nice? Do you like green?

I'd do a natural rug (sea grass or sisal or something) to tone down the formality of your furniture and definitely lose the tablecloth! :) Bigger art, which you know. I like your mirror, too, but it seems a bit off with the china cabinet. It's a nice room...I like the windows! Definitely use lighter panels and nothing that obscures the glass during the day (no fussy sheers or anything like that.)

This is all incredibly helpful! I'm still working through these comments and trying to digest everything.

To those who suggested painting the trim: will it look funny to have one room with white trim when literally every other room in the house still has the wood trim (and likely will still have wood trim for the next couple of years)?

The inspiration photos are awesome. One common thread is they almost all have substantial trim and crown molding. Is it difficult/expensive to bulk up trim somehow? Or add additional trim to make it look more like wainscot?

@biondanonima I'm not really sure what he means by rich; I think he means he wants to stay away from pastels and off-whites, but beyond that, I'm not sure if he even knows what he wants. Good thought about dark colors potentially being oppressive; I'll have to give that some thought. I like rich berry pinks, but DH vetoed that. We both like blues; there was a green dining room posted down thread that I like too. Partly I'm just not really sure which direction to move this in.

@eld6161 The house does feel dark. This room is west facing. We also have a lot of trees around the house so there's a lot of shade. I think we prefer blues to greens. I like pink, DH not so much.

@latifolia You're right - it's fake wainscot. I think it looks even more incongruous because the chair rail is a different color from the trim pieces. As if they were trying to make it look like wainscot but didn't follow it through to the logical conclusion.

@Jodie White Designs, Inc I'm not sure yet. I think at a minimum paint and drapes and shifting artwork around. Thanks for the pictures!

@justerrilynn Awesome inspiration pictures - thank you! I had not considered a wall mural before. I'll spend some time googling, It's amazing how different a feel can have depending on color.

@Vistas Interior Design I'll take another picture of my light tonight.

@nini804 I like green, depending on the shade. I probably tend toward blue. I agree that the molding seems kind of skimpy. Would you recommend bulking it up? Is that even possible?

Personally I would keep the trim and molding consistent to the rest of the house. You don't necessarily have to paint the thin ceiling molding white especially if your ceiling is 8'. Look at the 7th picture down I posted. They have thin ceiling molding and didn't do white. In my own home I have that same molding and 8' ceilings. I painted the molding in a semi gloss and the wall the same paint shade in flat. I swear it looked like my room got a lot taller. It was amazing. I think the trims and such would look nice in the off white or white though.

Check out BM Van Deusen Blue or van Courtland Blue. If the room is dark, may as well go darker with lots of white in trim and curtains.

Another color Gentleman's Gray (it's not gray)

Newburyport Blue

Or lighter blues:

BM Yarmouth Blue, Whythe Blue, Woodlawn Blue, Wedgewood Gray.

You could do color and white, or all in color.

Or go with a warm white (like BM Capitol White or SW Creamy) and a colored ceiling.

In my opinion, paint grade crown molding is one of the cheapest ways to improve the look of a room, especially in a traditional home. It was one of the first things we added to our townhouse, which had it downstairs, but not up.

Go to a good lumberyard, or even Home Depot, and look at the options. It is just a strip of wood with a profile that is installed diagonally across the join between the wall and ceiling. Then it is primed and painted. A beefy molding adds so much to a room. They would just remove the original ones, which, as you say, are anemic. I think your husband would appreciate this look, too.

I like the look of natural jute or seagrass rugs, but for a dining room in a home with children you might prefer the ease of synthetic jute look. THAT will be easy to maintain.

When you say that you'd prefer to not paint the trim white, it reminded me a bit of a dining room in one of Candice Olson's shows from a few years ago where she paired a dark royal blue with the wood trim. She used a wall paper, but also had dark blue curtains. At the time watching the show, I'd never thought of a dark blue with that tone of wood, but it was so lovely. Not sure I'm allowed to copy the picture of her dining room, but it is available by googling Candice Olson Dining Rooms.

Dining rooms are a challenge but fun challenge.

I like the blue above but I love anything Candice Olsen does!

I found a pic but cannot get it to post.....that being said, go for a strong medium COLOR that is found somewhere else in your home. Any color would work, then paint out all the trim and crown in semi gloss same color as walls and put bright white on ceiling....add the sea grass type rug as suggested with one foot of flooring all around, and a modern brass type chandelier.....it will look fresh with modern curtain pattern and modern color application. You need a strong color to counteract all the wood darkness which is very nice indeed. See room directly above!

@Susan Davis I'm guessing this is not modern enough?

Check out 'jewel tones in paint colors'. Maybe that's what your husband is thinking of. Kind of like nosoccermom's blues.

I had this exact same dining room set in the 80s. I think the top comes off the bottom of the china cabinet, if I'm recalling correctly.

Maybe by "rich" your hubby means "giving the appearance of wealth" rather than a particular color. I.e., he wants an expensive looking dining room?

Meanwhile I see that you have a high chair in the corner there, so I have to ask if this is your every day dining area? Or just for special occasions? Because if it is your every day, and you have kids... I think you may want to go in a different direction. Something less formal, less fussy.

looking at your furniture I chose blue

[houzz=https://www.houzz.com/photos/goshen-ridge-model-home-traditional-dining-room-dc-metro-phvw-vp~44511]

The tablecloth, carpet and large mirror are items I would remove immediately. The mirror seems out of scale with the size of the room. The brown trim doesn't work, I'm afraid. I would also paint the window trim white. Curtains will be an important part of the overall look, but painting the walls and choosing an appropriate rug will have to come first.

Yes, remove the tablecloth, carpet and mirror.

Do you intend to eventually paint all the trim in the house white? A far easier way to do this is one room at a time. Yes, it WILL look like a "work in progress" but short of spending money to bring in painters, this is far more doable. And you'll be surprised how as each room's woodwork is painted and it looks FAR better, it will be easier to be motivated to move on to the next room. Start in your public rooms; bedrooms can follow.

Blue can be very dreary in a dining room, especially at night. You don't say what other colors are in your house, or if you intend to have curtains in this room. If you do, get the curtains you love, first and then choose a paint.

I would absolutely get rid of the faux wainscoting - it's dreadful. That actually looks like a fairly nice chandelier, but it's hung way too high. A lighting shop should be able to re-wire it to be longer and provide the chain, which I would then cover with a simple chandelier chain cover. You can make your own and slip it on before re-hanging the chandelier. Then buy small shades for the chandelier. You will probably need higher candle covers (and the fitting under them - again, you can buy the parts at a lighting store and do this yourself or you can have them do it).

Your furniture is formal reproduction furniture and nothing on earth will change that. Embrace it and make it welcoming, and as your DH says, "warm". I like the idea of a seagrass rug - my DD has had one in her dining room now for nearly 19 years, and they used to entertain a lot, and still have holiday and birthday meals in the room. They have two boys, now 15 and 17, and it has survived them, her husband and 3 cats! DO NOT do jute or sisal - sea grass is far more durable.

If you truly don't like the chandelier, replace it with a pot light where the chandelier is. It was already that way in DD's house and she was delighted as she hates chandeliers. She has beautiful English antique furniture in there and it does give the room a bit more contemporary feel.

My last house had 1970's cheap pine stained molding throughout. Also stained hollow core flat doors. I painted each room, one at a time. It took about a year to complete. About half-way through, we hired a carpenter to replace all the doors. I painted those as well. Yes.. the house looked like a work in progress for a while. It was! We were switching furniture out, trying out paint colors, etc. It takes time. I think your dining room would look fine with painted trim while the rest of the house waited it's turn.

I agree with Justterri above.

@Anglophilia recommended picking curtains first. It just occurred to me that I might be able to get my pink color in the curtains and then keep the walls and trim neutral.

I like these curtains a lot, especially that they have both pink and gold. Not sure if they will feel too boho for me (I'd prefer a polished look but I love the colors): https://www.pier1.com/sari-patchwork-pink-curtain/PS76401.html

I also found anthropologie curtains I like but they are mucho $$$.

@justerrilynn You are correct that our ceilings are low. The after picture is beautiful! The baseboard looks white; is that right or is it just my computer?

Yes, off white backboards.

I like those curtains you found! You could paint the walls and all trim one of the warm whites mentioned above, or even a straw color. The brass chandelier might work very well as is and even the mirror could add to the boho theme.

If you decide to get the draperies hang almost to the ceiling and use good quality hardware as suggested above. Rug to compliment the draperies and mirror. Paint walls and woodwork neutral and keep your chandelier as it works well with this design. Mirror needs balance with sconces or surrounding art work on the larger wall. When you paint the walls and trim one color it will not distract as it will lengthen and trick the eye to the walls being higher. Best of luck.

I have to take issue with this uninformed belief that rich color is going to be dreary in a dimly lit room. Actually the opposite - often the whites/beiges like your current colors can be even drearier in a dim room than a rich, substantial color, due to there not being enough pigment or "oomph" to overcome the dinginess of the untinted paint base itself. Thats why the oft repeated advice to let such rooms be more intimate and colorful... and the dining room is one place where this really would be an ideal effect, no?

Also dont feel browbeaten into painting wood that you dont want to paint right now. I agree that one room with painted trim would be incongruous It wasnt that long ago that this very same forum was pushing java gel stain onto every conceivable wood surface - cabinets, woodwork, floors, everything.... whether appropriate to the style or not. Now the advice is all white, all the time - who knows what the next big thing will be!

The only thing I might consider painting is the crown -and that I would just make the same color as ceiling, whether thats white or another color.

One thing that is very important when decorating any room, but a dining room in particular, is what time of day is the room used? With most women working today, ladies luncheons are left for Martha and me and a few other old ladies. Most of the time, a DR is used after dark, usually with candles on the table. This GREATLY affects the colors one uses! The English used to typically paint or wallpaper a DR in either a rich claret red or bottle green. These colors looked wonderful with white linens on the table, and silver, china, crystal and candlelight. The walls sort of "enveloped" one. In a DR, the table, the meal, your guests are the "stars" in the room - the rest are all just background. But making nice background IS important.

Here are a few examples in my own DR.

As you can see, the room looks much better at night than in the day. The cream background curtains stand out more - they will stand out even more if I ever get around to replacing the tie-on seat covers with ones made in white linen. The chandelier light would never be that bright for dining - it was turned on in order to take the picture!

Below, is one of my favorite dining rooms. If I could have afforded to have my DR paneled, I would have duplicated the wall color and the curtains. Would have loved to have duplicated that gorgeous antique rug, but would have used seagrass as it is FAR more affordable!

Young people today are put off by formal dining as it is something they have never experienced. It's not the room, the table settings or the furniture that make a room "stuffy" - it's the guests one is entertaining! The rest is just using pretty things to make the occasion a special one.

You mentioned in one of your comments that you're going to do paint and drapes at a minimum. If you plan on keeping your rug, you'll want to work with one of the colors in it and then choose drapes from there. If you plan to change out your rug, decide on that first and then go from there to choose a wall color and drapes. You can leave the wood trim and paint the wainscot and upper walls in the same color. What colors are you planning on using in the rest of the house? You can have some fun in the dining room but you also want it to feel like it goes with the rest of the house.

Anglo, I love your dining room -- so classic!

Thank you, Martha! It's a very small room - about 13'x13' - it's almost square. It doesn't help that my antique table (inherited from DH's parents) is 56" wide! When I put in a leaf at Christmas (each leaf is 2' wide and there are FIVE of them!), It's very, very tight. But I love the table and we just make do - just can't properly serve from the left and remove from the right - plates get passed to me or whomever is clearing between courses.

@katinparadise That's part of my challenge - the rest of the house is basically the same wood trim and dingy walls that haven't been painted in 30 years. We've redone a bathroom but the the dining room is the first public space I'm playing with. So I feel like I'm starting from scratch. My last home was a historic house so I felt like I had parameters to work within. With this house the sky's the limit and I'm not sure which colors to use or how to pick a whole house palette or anything. I really like pink - my husband not so much. I think my style would be called transitional.

@Jennifer M I had not considered taking the hutch off the china cabinet and just leaving a buffet. It might open up the room a bit. I think I'd hesitate to do so because I don't have any good place to store our formal dishes. Not that I use them that often. We generally eat in the kitchen but will soon be outgrowing it (another baby on the way!) and in the meantime, we do entertain a fair amount for other families with young children. I'm definitely looking for something not fussy. But I'd like it to look polished. If that makes sense?

I don't think the trim work on the bottom of the wall looks dreadful at all, but I agree that it looks a little odd with the stained chair rail above it. I think painting all of the wall (including trim and rail) the same would look nice. The added texture of the woodwork on the walls would be a nice background for your boho taste.

Because you've just moved to this house, I would wait before painting all of the trim white. The stained trim might grow on you, and it's not something you can undo easily if you change your mind.

It's good to pick 3 or 4 colors to use throughout the house for consistency. You said you like blues. It's always best to have a jumping off point. It sounds like you want the room to have a more casual, comfortable feel as opposed to Persian rugs and heavy draperies. Have you gone through pictures on Houzz for rooms that stand out to you? Look for blue dining rooms and see what jumps out at you.

So I’m making progress! We painted the trim glossy white and ended up pickin plum for the walls, which definitely feels rich. I heard you on the tablecloth — it’s gone! I struck gold on Facebook marketplace and found all of these chairs for $25 total (!) which I spray painted emerald and recovered. The curtains are gold. Several of you mentioned you’re not crazy about the mirror but I really like it. It’s capiz and shiny and has gold in it as well, so I think I’m going to stick with it.

I’m turning now to art, carpet, accessories. What will tie this space together?

You sure did strike gold with those chairs! They retail new for between $200-$500 each normally! Can you post a close up of the fabric you used on the seats?

I would consider a pair of botanical prints-one on each side of the cabinet.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/550640826/paphiopedilum-purpuratum-orchid-flower?ref=related-5

I would also add a green and plum glass bowl to the center of the table.

Not a Pro.

Are you keeping the color Green on the chairs?

Also these chairs look very easy to reupholster too

The green chairs and plum walls are fabulous!

Here is a closeup of the fabric.

The plum and green are rich but IMO rather modern also. You may need to consider replacing chandy with a modern version. But I sure love the combination and those aren’t even my colors!

So the fabric is rather modern. I think adding the botanical prints would work well and the lighter background of the prints would draw your eye over to that wall. What size rug do you need?

oh my! Claire that looks awesome and Katinparidise I clicked just to see those prints and they are (a bargain) stunning and would look perfect ! Those chairs though seriously someone lucked out!!

Can't wait to see the room finished.

The botanical prints are exquisite but with the traditional furniture, the prints might lean the room towards too traditional. I think a large abstract w/be more effective. But you have more than 1 wall so hanging botanicals and abstract art would work splendidly.

The green of the chairs needs to be repeated in a more prominent way in order for it to have its full, proper impact as a daring and excellent choice.

@katinparadise, That's a good point about the lighter background drawing your eye to the wall. You've articulated that well; now I know what to look for in artwork.

I find myself being drawn to banana leaf prints but I worried it would start to feel too tropical. We're in New England, not Palm Beach, so I don't want to go overboard. I'll measure the current rug today.

Great eggplant color for the walls. Stylish chandeliers add a decorative element to any space. Chandeliers diffuse the light throughout the room to create a soft glow and atmosphere when entertaining. Choose something that harmonizes your space. A mix of materials and contrast with your wall and furnishings would be complementary and decorative without adding clutter to your space. Rug in your preferred style and color to complete the look.

Jodie, that green chandelier is spectacular. I’m guessing out of my budget, but where did you find it?

You could bring our capiz shell over to your chandelier if you want to repeat it. I've always loved the way they look.

https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/beachcrest-home-janiya-5-light-kitchen-island-pendant-bchh9135.html?piid=

Rob, cheat, steal to get that green chandy posted by Jodi white interiors, it is glorious! I like it that it is a different green than chairs so doesn’t make space matchy/matchy.

you could keep your existing chandy, get little shades and paint them the lemony green. $50 update, paint included