Room of the Day: Victorian Dining Room Keeps It Formal Yet Fresh
A Queen Anne home gets a renovated dining room with traditional detailing and loads of charm
Karen Egly-Thompson
April 25, 2016
Houzz Contributor
This Queen Anne home certainly hadn’t been treated like a queen. A series of bad renovations had stripped away her beauty and left her looking washed-out. After a thorough renovation, though, she’s regained some of her stateliness, especially in the dramatic dining room, which respects the home’s Victorian architecture while feeling fresh and updated.
Photos by Eric Roth
Dining Room at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four, including two small children
Location: The Amos-Taylor House, Belmont, Massachusetts
Size: 210 square feet (19.5 square meters)
Design Team: Cummings Architects, Mandarina Studio Interior Design
BEFORE: The original dining room was at the rear of the house, through the door seen at the far end of this former large living room. When the design for a new kitchen was created for that space, the architectural team divided this enormous rectangular living room to create a formal dining room at the far end and a smaller formal living room in the foreground.
Dining Room at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four, including two small children
Location: The Amos-Taylor House, Belmont, Massachusetts
Size: 210 square feet (19.5 square meters)
Design Team: Cummings Architects, Mandarina Studio Interior Design
BEFORE: The original dining room was at the rear of the house, through the door seen at the far end of this former large living room. When the design for a new kitchen was created for that space, the architectural team divided this enormous rectangular living room to create a formal dining room at the far end and a smaller formal living room in the foreground.
AFTER: As part of a full-house renovation, the homeowners wanted to reuse as many existing details as possible. Where architectural components were missing or could be improved upon, the design team added them to fit the 1895 period, when the home was built.
Because a new kitchen also included the family’s everyday eating area, the couple wanted the dining room to be a formal space used for entertaining and holiday celebrations.
The homeowners refinished their dining table and paired it with new French-style chairs in a white finish. A French sideboard maintains the formal theme but keeps the space light and airy. A washed bright-pink area rug adds a spot of color and offsets the dark-hued walls. Besides keeping the overall tone cheery and up-to-date, the rug choice also picks up some of the mauve tones in the drapery fabric.
Chairs: Restoration Hardware
Because a new kitchen also included the family’s everyday eating area, the couple wanted the dining room to be a formal space used for entertaining and holiday celebrations.
The homeowners refinished their dining table and paired it with new French-style chairs in a white finish. A French sideboard maintains the formal theme but keeps the space light and airy. A washed bright-pink area rug adds a spot of color and offsets the dark-hued walls. Besides keeping the overall tone cheery and up-to-date, the rug choice also picks up some of the mauve tones in the drapery fabric.
Chairs: Restoration Hardware
Architect Mathew Cummings tackled the challenge of combining two different functions in a single space by using a false beam at the ceiling and columns to divide the room.
Built-in shelves on the living room side serve as supports below the columns and function as partial-height walls. “Together, they create just enough separation between the living and dining areas but appear to have existed since the Victorian home was built,” Cummings says.
The physical separation also allowed for each area to have its own color scheme. To contrast with the bright white trim, the homeowners wanted a dramatic, darker, more conservative color in the dining room. Interior designer Amanda Reid selected a deep blue for the walls.
For continuity, Reid used the same fabric for the drapery panels in both the living and dining areas. The large-scale linen floral is the primary pattern in both spaces and successfully bridges traditional and contemporary styles.
Wall paint: Newburyport Blue #HC-155, Benjamin Moore; trim paint: Chantilly Lace #OC-65, Benjamin Moore; drapery fabric: “Indian Arbre” in Hyacinth, Schumacher
Built-in shelves on the living room side serve as supports below the columns and function as partial-height walls. “Together, they create just enough separation between the living and dining areas but appear to have existed since the Victorian home was built,” Cummings says.
The physical separation also allowed for each area to have its own color scheme. To contrast with the bright white trim, the homeowners wanted a dramatic, darker, more conservative color in the dining room. Interior designer Amanda Reid selected a deep blue for the walls.
For continuity, Reid used the same fabric for the drapery panels in both the living and dining areas. The large-scale linen floral is the primary pattern in both spaces and successfully bridges traditional and contemporary styles.
Wall paint: Newburyport Blue #HC-155, Benjamin Moore; trim paint: Chantilly Lace #OC-65, Benjamin Moore; drapery fabric: “Indian Arbre” in Hyacinth, Schumacher
New wainscoting wraps around the periphery of the dining room to tie into the new millwork at the columns. The windows were restored and a ceiling medallion, previously obscured by an unsuitable semiflush light fixture, was brought back to life and set off by a new chandelier, seen in a previous image.
The gem of the dining room, however, is the fireplace. Though it looks as if it’s been here since 1895, it’s actually new, having replaced a dull, awkward red-brick fireplace that had been added by previous homeowners and didn’t fit the style of the house.
The current homeowners found this Victorian wood mantle at a salvage store. After an insert was added, it was finished off with a handsome tile surround and hearth in deep blues and greens.
Tile fireplace surround: Tile Showcase, Watertown, Mass.; dining chairs: Vintage French Square, Restoration Hardware; rug: Landry & Arcari, Boston; chandelier: Currey & Company; sideboard: Grand Siecle, Grange Furniture
The gem of the dining room, however, is the fireplace. Though it looks as if it’s been here since 1895, it’s actually new, having replaced a dull, awkward red-brick fireplace that had been added by previous homeowners and didn’t fit the style of the house.
The current homeowners found this Victorian wood mantle at a salvage store. After an insert was added, it was finished off with a handsome tile surround and hearth in deep blues and greens.
Tile fireplace surround: Tile Showcase, Watertown, Mass.; dining chairs: Vintage French Square, Restoration Hardware; rug: Landry & Arcari, Boston; chandelier: Currey & Company; sideboard: Grand Siecle, Grange Furniture
BEFORE: This floor plan shows the home before the renovation. You can see the enormous space the original living room occupied. The yellow highlight identifies the location of the new dining room within the former living room. The room directly behind that was the original dining room.
AFTER: Here, you can see where the new beam, columns and built-ins separate the new dining room from the modified formal living room at the front of the house. Flanking the other side, at the back of the house, the renovated kitchen has direct access to the new dining room.
See more of this home
More: Design Your Ideal Dining Room
See more of this home
More: Design Your Ideal Dining Room
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http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/house-project/overview/0,,20956109,00.html
Beautiful and breathtaking!
Beautiful and breathtaking! Cannot believe how much space has been "created"