Dining Room Quick Fix

How do you lighten up your dining room without making a lot of costly changes?

Interior designer Jeffrey Marks provides some useful lessons at his own beach house, where a low ceiling, dowdy knotty pine wainscoting, and old-fashioned shutters made the room feel cramped and tired. 

His palette of materials maximizes daylight and creates a glow that blurs the boundaries of the room.

High-gloss ― and highly reflective ― white marine paint covers the wainscoting, ceiling, and chairs. Walls are white plaster, and the shutters have been replaced with elegant Roman shades.

Marks darkened the oak floor with ebony stain; the color is echoed in the tabletop.

Yellow paint brightens the table base. The sunny hue is picked up in the wall art and chair seats. 

Design:  Jeffrey Alan Marks, Los Angeles (310/207-2222)

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