Vintage Dining Room Before & After Tour

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One of my favorite spots in my home is the 1960s dining room. The before photo is very dark and I really wanted to brighten up the room with fresh paint and colorful decorations. The most exciting addition to my dining room is my vintage dining set which is a formica table with vinyl chairs. It adds the perfect nostalgic retro touch to my 60s home. Let’s get to the tour!

My 60s dining room before photo

Is that a sofa sitting in the dining room? Yes, yes it is. I have no idea why that was there when I first visited the house but what can you do? There were a few problems with the dining room. I didn’t like the yellow color it was pretty pale and didn’t spark joy. The other big problem was that the flooring was different from the kitchen and there was a big bump in the transition between the two rooms.

One of my favorite parts about walking in the home was seeing the original vintage rose globe chandelier in the dining room. I absolutely loved it and wanted to keep it in the home.

After

We replaced the flooring in the kitchen and the dining room to be a dark wood laminate that we got from the Habitat from Humanity ReStore. We painted the kitchen and dining room white so there would be a smoother transition moving between the spaces. And I kept the original light fixture and it fits right in!

You can read all about my $1,000 kitchen makeover to see the full transformation.

Retro kitchenware shelf

I have a big statement wall with a collection of mismatched shelves to display my vintage kitchenware collection. In the center is a thrifted spoonrack that I painted white. I use it to hold vintage hankies.

The main blue shelf was a flea market score. I got a great deal on it because it was raining that day and the shelf was soaking wet. For $25 I brought it home and dried it off and now it’s good as new!

The yellow dressers

I found two matching yellow dressers at an estate sale for $5. They ended up fitting perfectly on either side of my dining room shelves and they match my dining table! The dressers are filled with vintage sheets because I have such a huge collection.

The formica table and vinyl chairs

I found my yellow formica table at a thrift store for $25 which was a total steal. It didn’t have chairs though which ended up being a problem. I searched for a year looking for the right chairs and then a listing appeared on Facebook Marketplace for green floral vinyl dining chairs that were still in their original packaging! It was $135 for four chairs so $160 including the table.

For tips on how to get great scores like my dining table you can read my post about The 10 Best Places to Find Cheap Vintage Items.

The vintage rug

Rugs can be so expensive but vintage rugs can be pretty cheap. The very first vintage rug I ever bought was the one in my dining room. I walked into a record shop and it was laying on the floor. I asked if I could buy it and they said I could for $20. I’ve had it ever since and now I’m addicted to buying old rugs. I recently bought a super cute vintage rug on eBay that I plan on using in my next home. There’s a great selection of antique rugs on Etsy too and you can get them in both places quite affordably.

Vintage rugs last way longer than new rugs and are basically indestructible I highly recommend them. Check out this blog post on how easy it is to clean vintage rugs from A Beautiful Mess.

Vintage apron wall art

I have a vintage apron collection but they are difficult to display. I bought wood hangers at a thrift shop and hung them up in my dining room to display my aprons. I change them out with the seasons, when I decorate for Halloween I hang up black witch hats instead. You can read the easy DIY apron display tutorial on my blog for exactly how to do it.

Hutch for my Pyrex

My green hutch is the first piece of vintage furniture I ever bought. I found it ten years ago at an antique store in west Michigan for $150. I only had an apartment at the time and I bought it for my future house! It’s perfect for holding my Pyrex and Jadeite.

You can get an up close look at how I put my hutch display together on my Symmetrical Shelf Styling Tips post.

I found the orange and yellow crochet garland at a thrift shop. It’s a huge handmade piece that someone made themselves and it adds a lot of color and texture to my dining room.

I love the 3 tier shelf that I upcycled into a groovy stand for my dining table. It holds one of my favorite finds ever, the merry mushroom canister set along with my rare Orange Bird piggy banks.

The rainbow theme of my dining room wall carries right into my living room. You can see my rainbow gallery wall above my sofa, I love doing rainbow displays! Learn How to Create a Vintage Rainbow Home Decor Display.

I hope my dining room inspired you to prioritize putting color in your home! Even though my dining room is white it certainly is anything but neutral. For help on how to add color to your home check out my post on Easy Ways to Create a Colorful Vintage Interior.

Or if you’d like personalized help for your home you can book a one on one home styling session with me. I’d love to help you with your home and take the stress out of decorating!