We’ve made some renovation progress upstairs. Today I’m sharing some blue decorating inspiration from my upstairs dining area.
My upstairs entertainment room will be decorated with primarily blue and white. I love the restraint of this colour palette and I’ve fallen in love with blue since decorating my sister’s kitchen in shades of blue.
See the rest of this kitchen makeover here
Another reason I love blue… I randomly bought blue sunglasses that I turned into prescription glasses and I started adding a lot more blue to my wardrobe as a result (below).
Decorating with blue and white
I’ve already painted the kitchen and ceilings in this room a lovely pale blue. Then I found this lovely patterned print by Schumacher for the window seat but later I realized it wouldn’t work because it would fade instantly:
I had some other fabrics but nothing I thought was fabulous. So I decided I had to take another trip to the city to source something else.
The window seat in this room is really long so it needed a dining area to break it up. Before we added a window to the right of the kitchen area, it wasn’t a good spot for a dining area anyway.
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Here’s another look at the floors before we had them restained a medium brown.
It really is amazing how much light these two new windows added to this upstairs space. Read more about that process here.
Dining room furniture
I knew I wanted a white table. I even considered a Saarinen tulip table but then I found this one from Facebook Marketplace. Sure, it was quite stained on the top but I bought it for the bargain price of $100!!
Since my painter was already here painting the room, I asked him to paint the table white as well.
I loved how the table looked now that it was painted but I still needed to find the right chairs:
Then I discovered these chairs by Mark D. Sikes from Anthropologie:
Yes, they are in danger of fading too because they’re a cotton/linen blend. But in the meantime, I will enjoy them (and they are easy to re-cover) and try to keep the windows covered when we’re not in the room.
Obviously the art will not stay there because it blocks the view, but right now I like it because it turns this area into a vignette that is pretty to look at while I wait for the rest of the furniture to arrive.
When you are living through a renovation project at your home, it’s important to create these little spaces as you go. Looking at unfinished spaces for months at a time is hard, but creating these little decorated vignettes sure makes it a bit more tolerable.
I also purchased two blue and white throw pillows from the same Mark Sikes collection.
Love how the white painted table turned out too!
Let’s see the after again shall we?
There is still so much decorating that needs to happen in this room. Of course, I need to find my window seat fabric ASAP, which I’m thinking will be a blue and white striped performance fabric!
Our Lucy turned two last month – not sure if I mentioned that. She’s such a darling girl!
Blue and white is such a good combination to decorate with, since it’s the worlds favourite colour. That is, it was until black came along. 😉
Related posts:
What Everyone Should Know About Blue
Two Timeless Blue Exteriors: Before & After
Help! My Light Grey Walls look Baby Blue
You need to put a window film product on your windows to protect from UV rays. Makes a world of difference! Love your house and COLORS!
I came here to say the same thing!
Look at SOLYX Ultracool Heat Blocking Window Film, or something with similar specs. Blocks 99% of UV.
I have a similar dining setup with windows on three sides and it was suggested I do the same. But I have to lose the beautiful rays of sun and worry that it will be too dark at dusk, when we have wonderful sunsets. I’d love to hear your experience.
There are window tint options that are clear but still block UV. Dark tint blocks the most uv but clear does a great job where a view is impacted.
I live in a one storey house with a two storey house overlooking my kitchen and large dining room windows. When I moved in I felt as though I was in a goldfish bowl as they could see straight in and through to my sitting room area. Privacy is important to me but I don’t like net curtains, so I invested in privacy glass – clear from the inside but mirrored from the outside. Best investment ever! This side of the house also gets full sun for several hours a day and I often had to put the blinds down to keep the heat at bay. Since having the window glass changed there is a negligible reduction in light but not enough that I need to turn lights on. And it definitely reduces sun damage and heat.
Very nice! Gives me ideas for my dining room. I have a pecan wood, country french Thomasville dining table and six chairs with high backs (cane back) and it is all way too formal for my new little 907 SF “cottage.” Someone said I should paint the table and replace the chairs. Your post inspires me to do just that. Love the blue and white. Great job on your room.
Love the blue in the kitchen. I am getting ready to paint my small eat in kitchen that has a chair rail. I was thinking about cream, green or blue walls
with the white cabinets.
I recently purchased the same print for a client – it really helped to bridge her kitchen and new ‘keeping’ room – with a good eye for design and a sense of HOW you want a space to look … HomeSense and HomeGoods has a treasure trove of surprises!
Can you tell us where you got the beautiful framed art?
It was from HomeSense. Maria
I have the same art piece and I got it at Homegoods.
I forgot to add that I love what you’re doing with your new home and how generous you are in sharing your process. Since your first blog so many years ago … I think it was “Color Me Happy” ??? you’ve been generous with your thoughts, experiences and information. A lot of designers are so much better with color because of you and a lot of homes are ‘timeless and classic’ because of you! THANK YOU!
Thanks Elynn! Maria
Hello Maria. Love your posts. FYI – did no one tell you that you need to select outdoor fabric for very sunny spaces. The best part is you do not have to sacrifice your aesthetic because outdoor fabric has come a long way, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Schumacher has their own collection of outdoor textiles. Also, love that you mix new and vintage pieces to stretch your budget.
No one needed to tell me, I just forgot when I first selected the fabric which I explained in the post! Yes I will be looking for performance fabrics for this area but the blue and white fabric on the chairs came with the chairs. Maria
Aha! I didn’t catch that either, I just wondered what ‘performance fabrics’ meant
Indoor/outdoor fabric is what you need for sun protection and performance fabrics are what you need if you have kids and dogs and need high durability but they aren’t necessarily sun protection. I learned that yesterday when I went looking for fabrics. Maria
Sunbrella has wonderful fabrics you can use on the cushions. Blue has been my signature color for a long time. My entire house has blues in it throughout, and my kitchen has navy blue subway tile backsplash.
LOVE those charis! They would be perfect around my large round dining room in my blue and white kitchen/dining room. Question: are they comfortable?!
As a matter of fact they are. As well as nice and deep. Maria
Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about the sun fading your fabric on your chairs. You will get years of wear, regardless, and then you’ll be ready to recover or replace. The exception to my philosophy is the window seat, which will be expensive to cover and should probably be done once, with performance fabric — as you already noted!
LOVE ME SOME BLUE TOO!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!
I love, love, LOVE your blue and white space! We live on the ocean in Nova Scotia and have lots of different shades of blue in our house, from navy to light turquoise. I never tire of the palette, and love how blue can be very formal and traditional or casual and modern.
In fact, when we were having our fireplace surround and hearth redone a few years ago, I used untreated soapstone in very soft grey-blue because sealing it would have brought out the greens. Some people were horrified that I also used a piece of that soapstone as a side table insert, saying it would look stained and horrible in no time. But it’s fine. I scrub it with dishsoap and warm water semi-regularly, and it’s still perfect.
Looking foward to seeing more about your upstairs space.
Scotchgard has help for your chairs! Outdoor Sun and Water Shield is awesome. I have used it on our deck cushions and they have not faded in the South Carolina sun – and that is some sun! I renew it once a year.
If you have newer windows with the Low-e coating your fabrics shouldn’t fade as fast as you think. Low-e blocks around 75% of UV rays. However, if you don’t, then they’ll fade as expected.
Your home looks amazing as always!
Where do you get your blue and white porcelain pieces? Thanks!
I have been collecting them, but a few of them I have purchased from Chintz & Co in Victoria. Maria
I find them at second hand stores.
I am madly in love with your table!
This is such a pretty room! Beautiful space, beautiful view and I love the blue and white colors with the wood floors. I’m fascinated to see your process, too, and have learned a lot.
The white table is amazing! What kind of paint did you use for it? I’d like to try something similar and I wonder whether you used a hybrid paint like Benjamin Moore’s Advance? Or something more specialized that only professional painters can apply? It looks fantastic.
Thank you for sharing!
I love blue and white too, but I love it even more when yellow is thrown into the mix! I just have to have my yellow fix.
Really good reminder to think about fabrics fading in the sunlight!
So beautiful! You have me wishing for a fresh blue & white look. Is there any way to incorporate blue with a gray sofa? Yes, I know that was a mistake, but I’m stuck with it. Wish I had found you earlier & avoided that mistake. 🙁
Of course, nothing brings grey to life faster than colour! Bring on the blues and whites! Maria
https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/dining-nook-reveal-sunbrella-review
Emily Henderson just used a gorgeous Sunbrella tough as nails fabric on her dining nook bench. Might be good for your bright room and window seat.
Hi Maria, Can you tell me if your wood floors are red or white Oak? I’m guessing white.
What color stain did you go with? I have red oak and trying to mute the red or pink undertone.
They are white oak with a Provincial stain. Maria
Love the light and airy look of blue and white room. Have you considered a fabric spray to prevent fading of the chair fabric. I have used it on my dining room curtains that get lots of direct sun. Try it on a sample swatch first,of course. Some are also water repellent too.
I LOVE the white table. Have always loved that style. Chairs look great with it.
You broke your own rule – choose paint after fabrics!
No, I chose that blue Schumacher fabric first before I chose the blues in the room, along with some other fabrics but then realized it would not work because it was not an indoor/outdoor fabric for the window seat. Maria
I love Revolution Performance Fabrics… have had a whole sofa custom slipcovered in it as well as dining chairs & pillows. Mine is washable & has held up great! Beautiful blue & white space… can’t wait to see it complete!
Thanks you for sharing your decorating process. I love your timeless cheerful style and your use of pretty colors of nature (blues, yellows, greens and warm naturals.).
Would you please share what paint color you used for the walls and for the trim? I love how it looks fresh with the fabrics and medium brown floors.
The trim in the house was existing, SW Alabaster or BM Cloud White and in this room I painted the walls the same colour. Maria
Love the bargain you got on that table! And love it painted white!
Looks beautiful. What color did you select for the table?
Blue and white have been my favorite for years. The blue in the ceiling is beautiful. What is the color similar in SW? Thanks
Oh, that VIEW! I could look out those big windows all day. I’m very late to the party seeing this post from last May, so I doubt anyone monitors new posts or questions still, but just in case, I’ll ask.
I’ve long-admired that same, linear light fixture you installed over your island in this space. I’ll have some recessed ceiling lights, but I don’t have the large windows. I’ve assumed while that fixture looks beautiful, it won’t provide much light considering it has just two bulbs spread apart. If my island fixture wil be one of my main sources of light, am I better off choosing something with more bulbs? I will have a dimmer switch on it and also a semi-flush over the sink near the island. Love all the blue and white, too–my favorite! Thank you.