A Traditional Living & Dining Room Makeover: Jeddah St.

The designing process for this particular project was actually quite straight-forward since Zane had some really great pieces to start off with, which gave us some clear direction in terms of style – it’s like we were just filling in the blanks! It also helped that as soon as she moved into this home, she decided to put down some gorgeous gray laminate floors. As many of you know, white/cream tiles are pretty much standard for most homes in Dhahran, but laminate flooring, while expensive, is totally worth it. It changes the whole vibe of a space!

This home layout is actually the same but flipped version of the home in A Modern Boho Living Room & Dining Room Makeover. When I first walked in, Zane (like Debby) had the dining room towards the back of the room and had no furniture in the front. The front is actually quite small, and it’s very hard to envision any kind of furniture in there especially if you’re interested in entertaining.

So we started off by moving the dining room to the front of the room, and the formal living room to the back. It may be hard to see in the pictures, but since the room is actually larger in the back and can accommodate more furniture, it was the most practical decision for a family interested in entertaining!

The other thing that we benefitted from in this project was that a very kind person who was leaving the Kingdom, reached out to me as she had a couch and a couple of armchairs that she thought I’d find interesting. She also said she wanted to see what I would do with them, so I definitely had to take up that challenge!

All 3 pieces had amazing bones, but needed to be reupholstered, slightly redesigned and also needed a change in color. The “conversation sofa” – a curved couch – was the perfect way to add a little coziness and visual interest to the room, but I wanted to see it in a different color, with slightly less rounded arms, and higher cushions. I also loved the shape of the armchairs but was dying for a little upgrade in the design, so I had some tufting added to the back cushion.

From there, we purchased a few more items – side tables, lamps, console as well as others things, and had a custom ottoman made as a coffee table. I just love how cozy the whole room looks now…

| AFTER |

The colors that we chose for the couch, armchairs and ottoman were largely dictated by Zane’s rug. As much as I like red these days, it’s a very bold and dynamic color that demands a lot of attention. So to tone down its effect in the room, we pulled the colors of the other furnishings from there to help create the room’s overall color palette as well. Now every piece enhances the look of the entire room without becoming the star of the show.

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Side note – Now the only thing that I wish I had realized earlier (well realized while going over the pictures), and that we forgot to do because they were out of town, was to get the legs on the armchairs refinished in black! We had every intention of doing it, but then Muhammed Ameer and his son went on holiday and we forgot to call them when they got back. It was bugging me big time while writing this post, so I just had to make you aware of it in case it bugged you too LOL! Besides that minor detail, I think they look pretty fabulous 🙂

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I had originally decided on a glass coffee table for this room, but after Zane saw my custom made blue ottoman, she asked if we could do something like that for her space! So we had Ali, the upholstery guy, make us a round ottoman for her living room.

The lovely wooden cabinet that now divides the room is a drinks cabinet with a top that folds out. It really felt like it needed its own “moment” in the room, so situating it in the middle of both spaces felt like the best place for it. It’s also a functional piece that can easily be used on both sides of the room for entertaining, which hopefully means that it’ll get used a lot as well.

Since the rest of Zane’s house has lots of family photos, we decided to use some of the family’s landscape vacation photos in this room and had them framed by Arab Frames. I just love the way they look around the cabinet!

Living Room Product List

Black Console Table, Ashley Furniture | Small & Large Baskets, Pottery Barn | Blue Vase, Gray Vase on console, Ashley Furniture | Ceramic Tray, Home Center | Star Candle Holder, Ashley Furniture Bahrain | Tray on ottoman, Home Center | Custom Made Ottoman, Ali Mulhal | All lamps, Pottery Barn | Plant, Dhahran Flower Shop | Plant Pot, IKEA | Large Black Plant Pot, Ashley Furniture | Blue Vase on ottoman, Home Center | Nesting Side Tables, Pottery Barn | Ballerina Figuring, Ashley Furniture | Marble Coasters, West Elm | Patterned Cushion Covers, Pottery Barn | Plain Cushion Covers, West Elm | Candle Sconces, Ashley Furniture | Chandelier, IKEA | Curtains & Rods, Fabric from Al Guthmi & Custom Made with rods by Ali Mulhal | Red & White Blanket (only available in gray), IKEA

Drinks Cabinet & Dining Room Product List

Boxwood in Oval Container on Drinks Cabinet, Ashley Furniture | Silver mirrors above the Drinks Cabinet, Ashley Furniture | Framing, Arab Frames | 8×10 Rug, Home Center | Ceramic Vase, Pottery Barn | Curtains & Rods, Fabric from Al Guthmi & Custom Made with rods by Ali Mulhal | Dining Room Storage, Ashley Furniture

Please note that all other items were all part of Zane’s existing furniture – product information is not available for these items

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I really hope you enjoyed this transformation!! For more fun transformations, make sure to check out the PROJECTS page!