Joanna Gaines Gives a Dinning Room and Kitchen Nook a Makeover Perfect for Hosting

By Lori Keong

Joanna Gaines

Joanna Gaines is back with another Mini Reni, which—for the uninitiated—is a series of smaller renovations she and her team at the Magnolia Network are knocking out with budget-friendly hacks like lighting swaps and simple paint and wallpaper additions, plus new furnishings (many of them from her in-house Magnolia line).

This time around, the setting is a cozy ’30s-era home with “a ton of existing character” that lacked a cohesive look and feel, Gaines says. “Going in, I knew the homeowner was craving color and pattern in the spaces we planned to flip, so I kept that top of mind while finding ways to incorporate simple, affordable changes like paint, tile, molding, and furniture that would give the house a fresh, defined look and highlight that existing charm.” See below as she and her team transform a kitchen nook and dining room into warm and inviting places to entertain guests.

Contrasting tiles warm up this small breakfast nook and enhance its cramped dimensions.

To make this breakfast nook more of a destination, Gaines designed around the original windows in the space—thinking through different ways she could incorporate color, pattern, and texture in a room with very low ceilings. “We decided to accomplish all three by tiling the entire wall in an eye-catching color palette and pattern, and I think it may be my favorite moment in the house!” she says.

Her team chose the tile in a size and pattern that would create the illusion of taller ceilings (alternating 2x6 Zia tiles in Amber and Casablanca white) and used a dry stack method of installation—meaning no spacers or grout—to give the walls a craftier artisanal vibe rather than a utilitarian bathroom or kitchen feel.

The tall bookshelf in the corner was custom-made to fit the space. “It started as a simple sketch on paper, and then, using pine trim board and copper piping, the team brought it to life,” Gaines says.

Enhancing the sense of serenity in this kitchen nook are pared-back furnishings like a column-style Lillian dining table from Magnolia’s line and Bruck Lighting Delfina Pendant. Gaines explains that “even if you love bold details, the eye still needs a place to rest,” adding that neutral furniture and relaxed textures play an important role in bringing balance to the look and feel of the room.

The coziness of the dining room owes a lot to the inviting botanical wallpaper, which is a vinyl peel-and-stick option from Red Barrel Studio.

For the original dining room, which featured blue-violet paint on all sides, Gaines went in with a plan to answer the homeowner’s bid for more visual interest. She adopted a dialed-in color scheme that features vibrant wallpaper and some new dusty blue paint (Weathered Windmill from the Magnolia line) on the built-in cabinet in the corner, plus the ceilings and wall trim.

The dining room features a lot of color and pattern, so I wanted to incorporate furniture that would help ground the design and give the eye a place to rest,” Gaines says of the antique-y table and chairs she sourced.

The cabinet ended up inspiring much of the transformation in the room. Joanna Gaines said she loved the scalloped detailing on it and knew that she wanted to give it a fresh coat of paint and make it a focal point of the space. From there, the team “layered in wallpaper that paired well with the color story already in place in a pattern that gave the room a whimsical, artful, and storied look,” Gaines explains.

When thinking about updating one of your own rooms, she recommends zeroing in on what you love about it first. “Look for that something special—existing features that could be built upon, like molding, original architecture, the shape of a window or built-in—that could be mirrored elsewhere.”

The Carlotta dining table and chairs are pieces Gaines designed for Magnolia Market “to feel found and collected,” which she says she knew would pair well with the style of the room and lean into period details that the homeowner wanted. “I also love the subtle shape that the curved chairs and turned legs add to the space,” Gaines adds. Underfoot she layered in a textured ivory rug that helps contrast the chairs and the hardwood floors.