ABOUT THE TRANSFORMATION FROM START TO FINISH
HOME TYPE:
Townhouse
PROJECT TYPE:
Dining Room
STYLE:
Colorful, Maximalist
SKILL LEVEL:
DIY
RENTAL FRIENDLY:
Yes
Narrow rowhouses
and
railroad apartment layouts
can be tricky; after all, there’s
typically a single room right in the center
from an apartment that receives little sunlight. In Emily Schmalhofer’s
@bali_brand_
The Philadelphia rowhouse houses the dining room.
Emily describes it as feeling like “a dim corridor rather than a dining room” and wanted to inject some liveliness into the space. She notes, “This specific part of the house receives zero natural light at all. As a result, I tended to avoid it and ended up using the table just for piling mail instead of having meals.”
Assembling the dining table was a do-it-yourself endeavor.
Even though furniture typically comes at the end of a room renovation, Emily crafted her dining area with the barstools as the focal point. She explains, “As the owner of a counter stool business, I take great pride in the designs. It mattered to me to highlight these pieces, which is why I started by selecting my top choices. Mixing and matching was key for me.”
Once that step was completed, locating a counter-height table that matched without seeming flimsy or overly simple became challenging, according to Emily. This led her to take matters into her own hands through do-it-yourself projects. “In the end, I opted to create my own butchers-block-style countertop placed atop an oil barrel I acquired via Facebook Marketplace,” she explains. The oil drum came at a price of $30, and she purchased a separate butcher block tabletop from a restaurant supplies retailer for around $100.
How To Paint Fabric
The wall artwork is created using tampons.
Emily also put some creativity into her wall decorations; she mainly wanted to introduce more colors without making the area feel darker. “While exploring peel-and-stick wallpapers and polka dot stickers, I came across this incredible Roll of
Someone who used a single tampon to paint their bathroom.
She explains, “It was a truly fulfilling aspect of the project and transformed the whole wall into a piece of art… I barely used any paint and only around three tampons in total!” she continues. “A box of tampons costs $8, and my paint came out to $35.”
“She mentions that this was definitely her inaugural attempt at creating tampon art for a dining room mural.” Initially, she felt anxious about forming flawless circles, yet ultimately chose to embrace the imperfections in what she playfully refers to as her ‘menstrual masterpiece,’ she adds.
She mentions that she discovered how to disconnect her mind during painting and simply savor the experience,” The overall cost of her project amounted to roughly $200. According to Emily, this undertaking transformed the dining area into one that resonates with the vibrant, cheerful ambiance present throughout her home. She also shares some DIY wisdom: create an environment that genuinely uplifts your spirits.
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