441K People Love This Clever Dining Room Transformation (And So Do I!)

I’ll let you in on a little behind-the-scenes Apartment Therapy secret: There are certain house tour and Before & After photos that readers love over and over again, and you should know that this dining room makeover is a continued fan favorite. In fact, over 441,000 readers have taken a peek at the stunning transformation. (It’s just that good!)

It started out as a beige, somewhat boring square-shaped space right off the kitchen, and homeowner Chelsea Scott “wanted it to be more aesthetically pleasing and a place people would want to spend time in,” as she previously told Apartment Therapy. 

I love how she took it from beige to beautiful thanks to paint, crown molding, and new accessories. You can read all about that here, when I wrote about Chelsea’s project in 2021. 

Still, in 2024, the project holds up, and I think so many people love it because it’s such a simple but striking change. In my opinion (and perhaps 440,999 others agree), it’s a project worth bookmarking because it employs simple tricks for making a room with low ceilings look taller — whether you rent or own. The room totally transforms, and for less than $400 at that. 

1. The DIYer used dark paint on the bottom and light paint on the top. Chelsea used Sherwin-Williams’ Grizzle Gray for the former and Pure White for the latter. This helps to ground the space and add depth on the bottom, but still keeps the room feeling light and airy around the windows and up by the ceiling. 
2. She added a pendant light with a long cord. Whereas before, the dining room had a flush mount boob light, Chelsea chose to add more vertical drama with an IKEA chandelier and an over-3-foot cord, and this is a swap that renters looking for something statement-making and elongating than a builder-grade light fixture could do as well. 
3. She pooled her curtains. Chelsea also swapped out her curtains in the transition from Before to After. “I reinstalled the curtain rods to hang much higher than originally installed and ordered new 96-inch curtains from Amazon, which look much higher-end,” she explained in the Before & After post. It’s slightly polarizing, but letting your curtains drag about an inch on the ground can create a little bit of luxe drama — and it’s even pro-designer endorsed. 

“I am pleased with how all the changes — both big and small — opened up the space,” Chelsea told Apartment Therapy. For more ideas for making a low-ceilinged room look taller, try adding a long vertical mirror, hanging artwork from floor to ceiling, or employing a pattern that runs vertically.