“We need a music room.”
This is what one of my lovely clients told me when we began a redesign of her home. Her family lives in a lovely period home, full of historic charm. Unfortunately, space on the main level is limited, and we could hardly get her baby grand piano up the stairs!
An important part of my job as a Nashville interior decorator is finding solutions, and sometimes those solutions may be a bit outside the box. It was obvious that the dining room was currently being used as a holding area for things to go to their storage unit or Goodwill. When I asked my client how often they use this room for actual eating, she said maybe – maybe – once a year. This is an underutilized room that could potentially be the music room she was wanting.
before – dining room/storage area
There is already seating for seven in the kitchen for this family of four, which is where they typically eat their meals. And when they entertain? It’s usually a finger food event, where people serve themselves from the kitchen island and sit on the more comfortable upholstered seating in neighboring rooms. No dining table required, really.
So it was decided. Out with the dining room, in with the music room! We already had the instruments, which included a gorgeous baby grand piano and a guitar. I came up with a plan for a new paint color palette, window treatments, and just the right seating for the musician’s audience.
Are y’all ready for this? Here’s the lovely new music room:
after – music room by The Decorologist
My client was SO OVER the previous golden yellow wall color that in this room for years. The walls and trim were painted the same white, while the ceiling got an extra special treatment of Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal HC-166 in a satin finish. Don’t you just love how the light bounces off of it?
Below is a shot of the room facing into the adjoining living room in its before state. You’ll notice that the piano was previously taking up a large portion of space in the living room.
before
In this after photo, you get to see a bit of the transformation in the adjoining living room, as well. I’ll show you more of that another day. Notice that we did new draperies in both rooms, which face the front of the house.
The Decorologist
I decided against curtains on the smaller windows on the side of the house. There isn’t a privacy issue there, and the room would have looked much smaller had we put curtains on that end wall.
The Decorologist
The blue lamp is really pretty – although it looks peacock blue when the light streams in, it’s nearly navy when the sun isn’t shining on it.
The Decorologist
I only have a photo of it when the room was sunny, but it is beautiful both ways!
lamp – Home Goods
Would you ever give up your dining room to make it into a music room, a library, an office, or something else more functional for your family?
Wow! I love that room! Probably one of my favorite transformations you’ve shown on the blog.
Oh, wow, thank you for saying that, Elizabeth! Such a small room, but it’s one of my favorites, too! 🙂
SO pretty. Because of the ages of my boys and the way our home is constructed, our “formal” living room is currently the playroom. In a few years, it will be our music room! I can’t justify filling a room with furniture and then telling everyone not to go in there (like was the case when I grew up – sorry, Mama!). So ,we’ll keep the piano in there and move my husband’s guitars downstairs and add to the collection of instruments.
Yes – rooms have to be functional, in my opinion. When they are functional and lovely, all the better!
Gorgeous! The charcoal ceiling is absolutely stunning!
Thank you so much, Robin! You’ll find those colors in your Paint Color Toolkit 😉
https://thedecorologist.com/product/psychological-staging-paint-color-toolkit/
We also turned our dining room into a music room, but without a baby grand ours is no where near as impressive 😉 What an amazing transformation!
Kristie,
It is beautiful. The rooms look so much bigger and brighter.
It does look bigger, doesn’t it? People are often scared of a dark ceiling – that it will make the room appear smaller. I find the opposite is true, especially when you keep the walls light and neutral!
BEAUTIFUL job Kristie!!
Thank you, Becky!
So beautiful! I love how it turned out!
It’s perfect ! I do love the dark paint on the ceiling. Wow what a transformation ! You did a great job Kristie !
Thanks, dear!!!
What an elegant transformation! Love the lighter neutral tones in this home; it all ties together so well.
How gorgeous! The turquoise lamp is stunning, and the chairs and piano look like they’re just waiting for me to visit 🙂
Tanya,
I bet my client would love to hear you play! 😉
That is my plan for our retirement home when we can move there. The dining room has a bay window & a baby grand would look…well, grand! I hadn’t decided on the seating yet, though, so I love what you did there. Gorgeous job, Kristie!
Thanks, Beth! I love the wingbacks – they are so versatile, and I like that it makes the room a place to get away and read a magazine or sit and talk with one other person. And by the way, you are too young for retirement!!!! 😉
I see the ceiling color- but what white ate the walls and trim?
Are
Claudia,
The walls and trim are Ben Moore’s White Dove.
Hi Kristie, what finish did you use for the BM White Dove on the walls and trim?
I made a dining room into an art studio in a previous home. When we built a home I left out a dining room and included a full-fledged art room.
Love that – I had a client who was a landscape artist, and he turned his front parlor into an art studio. It was a very inspiring space!
I turned my dining room into a bar – best move ever! Love your music room ?
I remember seeing when you did that, Donna! I bet everyone wants to hang out at your house now, haha!
What an inspired idea to paint the ceiling charcoal! Love this room, it’s fabulous! x Maria
Thanks, Maria! I love the way it turned out 🙂
This is beautiful! What great ideas here! Thank you!
Stunning, Kristie!
We recently turned our living room into our dining room. The former dining room is now our sitting/music room with the piano, some side chairs and our dry bar.
Joanne,
I love to switch up dining rooms and living rooms – for people who host large gatherings, the larger living room is better as a living room, and the usually smaller dining room is a perfect “away” spot for reading or hanging out with just a couple of people.
Beautiful, simple, and elegant. What absolutely stunning work you did to create this very special room.
Thank you so much for the complement, Jane!
Simply stunning!!!!!! No other words need to be said!!!! Thank you Kristie!!!!
This is gorgeous! My favorite of your many great transformations!
Thank you so much, Patricia!
Beautiful! Our dining room is definitely a multi-purpose room. It’s a school room / music room on a daily basis, and serves as a dining room for special occasions. Before my children were school-aged, it was a playroom. 🙂
This is beautiful! This is my favourite transformation you have done as well. I am moving into a new home in June and am looking for ideas, this one is a keeper! Can you tell me if the colour of the walls is the same as the trim? Also, do you have any information about the gorgeous mirror? Is it wood or gold? Thank-you for sharing!
Heather,
Glad you like it! Color on walls is White Dove in eggshell finish, and color on trim is White Dove in semigloss finish. Same color, different finish. The shinier trim will read a bit lighter than the wall due to light reflection. The mirror is to-the-trade only. It is painted out in wood tones with gold highlights.
I love the transformation! But then again, I love everything you do. You have inspired me to consider painting my bedroom double tray ceiling in this lovely color and finish. I get stuck on the double tray and what color it should be.
Cindy
Cindy,
Only paint the flat uppermost part of your tray this color – the lower tray and vertical wall bits should be trim color in the same finish as existing trim. This is the most updated way to paint out a tray ceiling!
Love the transformation!! Much easier on the eyes than the yellow tones of before. As for using Kendall Charcoal for the ceiling, would it still be as lovely using a flat finish instead of satin? I would like to have this look in our living room but we have a pitched ceiling with two skylights and maybe not such a perfectly smooth surface.
Yes, Jeannie. It would be fine in flat!
How absolutely stunning – clients must be over the moon happy.
I especially love your trademark painted ceilings – and the lamp is to die for!!!!
Thanks, Jil!
Love!
This is absolutely gorgeous! I love everything about it.
In our house, we turned our dining room into our home office. For us, a dining room is wasted space for 99.9 percent of the year, so it was a no brainer to do this.
Yes, that makes good sense, Pam!
What a great transformation! Really looks so spacious and beautiful. I loved how you choose the lmap to go with the dress in the picture. Details! Great job!
This is definitely my favorite make over to date!
Beautiful!! One question if you don’t mind: will the client manually close the curtains for privacy? I just put up beautiful curtains and I’m worried that over time my hands are going to stain the fabric if I am yanking them open and closed every day?
She would have to close them manually, Michelle. The good news is that she rarely closes those curtains! There’s little need for her to, since it isn’t a room that requires privacy (like a bedroom).
This is my favorite transformation of yours, as well! I’ve been aching to do a dark ceiling and this is such a stunning example. I’m thinking it would be nice in the master bedroom.
As for turning an underutilized dining room into something else, my last dining room was also a library, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves (and you helped me with the perfect paint color, Stratton Blue). I’m planning to do the same thing in my current house, but it will be even better because we have a full wall of original (1918) casement windows facing the future bookshelves. It’s the brightest room in the house and shouldn’t just sit there empty, waiting for someone to have dinner. I’m thinking of doing something dramatic like Narragansett Green – lots of light and very little wall space seems like a perfect opportunity to use a deep color like this.
I love that idea, Debra!! Narragansett Green would be fabulous 🙂
Hi Kristie, Do you recommend a minimum ceiling height when painting a ceiling a dark colour? Also, are these curtains to the trade only?
Heather, these are only 8 foot ceilings! And yes, the curtains are to the trade. But I could get you pricing if you are interested! Email my office manager, Allison, if you want more info: [email protected]
So very lovely! But one question, when the piano is being played wouldn’t it make sense to have the sofa on the window wall as it was previously? The sofa makes the music room private, maybe that was the reason… But I do love this room. I the lamp to the trade? I didn’t see any info on the lamp.
Gayle,
We tried different positions for the sofa, and the homeowner liked how it separated the two rooms/areas. Also, the sofa had been in the same position beneath the windows for many years, and she simply wanted a change. Good question! Also, the lamp was from HomeGoods!
I think this is my favorites of the rooms you have done! So classy, so elegant, so gorgeous!!! I LOVE it!
Aww, thank you so much, Melissa!
This room is simply gorgeous and fantastic. My favorite of your work so far! Thank you for sharing!
We had a large formal living room and a small dining room. The living room was never used, the dining room at holidays but with our growing family (grandkids) we were running out of room. We switched the 2; the larger room is now the dining room and can accommodate the table with 2 leafs. And instead of a formal living room the smaller room is now my office complete with a sofa . . . where I work all the time.
Sounds perfect! I will often suggest switching the formal living room and dining room when it makes sense. Such a simple thing can make a huge difference in regards to function for a family. Thanks for sharing, Lori!!!
Wonderful room! And that ceiling with the satin finish paint looks amazing! I think the charcoal color works especially well with the piano being a large dark object in the room. Without that element, would you choose a different color?
Not necessarily, but it does look particularly beautiful with the piano! Without the piano, I’d be sure to repeat the dark with a few black items in the room.
Stunning transformation. So very classy. Just like you. 🙂
A www, you are so sweet, Jessica!!!
This is just beautiful! We are wanting to convert our dining room to our music room, with a very similar piano as your client. Our only hesitation is that the dining room, which has a beautiful bay windows overlooking the lake, which is an inspiring view for a music room, is also located off of the kitchen area, separated by a bar height counter and tall barstools. It is not located off the main living room as your client’s was. However the wood flooring in the main living room does extend into this dining space, which is different flooring than that of the kitchen area. Also the main living room is visible and close in proximity. It just isn’t directly connected. Do you think this would be strange to convert the dining room to a music room in this location? We have plenty of seating at the table in the breakfast room area of the kitchen plus the barstools…..We just never use our dining room!! Thank you for the inspiration and any thoughts you might be able to share!
Not at all strange! Although this former dining room is connected to the living room, it also is connected to the kitchen. If your current dining room has the same flooring as the living room, and is different than the kitchen, I think this could be the perfect solution for your issue! I had a different client who had two large living room areas that were right next to one another, and a dining room that was adjacent to the entry and kitchen. We moved the dining room into one the redundant living room areas and made the former dining room a very similar music room – with a large piano, guitars, and a gallery of family photos on one wall. Worked out great for them, as well!
Absolutely Stunning🎶 Im transforming my dining into a music room, i dont eat there anyway. Love the idea❤️
Hi Kristie,
Weird as it may sound, I want to rid my 6′ round glass DR table/6 chairs in lieu of a 6′ digital black baby grand……to use as the table…just for 4. Useless but beautiful room w/ a great oriental rug which will stay…has black in the print. I can’t find a height on many piano sites….just length. Don’t know about leg room, but seems tall armed/backed bar stools would be in order if this could even be a possibility.
Any comments or suggestions? I haven’t been to a piano store….assuming they would have a template for placement.
Know any designers in Denver that could help with such an unusual plan?…or could you be for hire w/ pics?
Would appreciate your advice.
Thanks,
Barbara