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Homeowner Alexis Moore updated a dining room she said had not changed since the 1980s, completing the makeover over eight weeks as part of the One Room Challenge. She painted over difficult-to-remove wallpaper, added a forest-patterned design above the chair rail and furnished the room largely with secondhand finds.
Homeowner Alexis Moore has remade a dining room she said had not been updated since her 1980s home was built, using forest-patterned wallpaper, painted-over existing wallpaper and mostly secondhand furniture. Apartment Therapy’s before-and-after report describes the project, completed over eight weeks as part of the One Room Challenge, and presents it as a vintage-inspired redesign shaped by Moore’s own style.
Moore told Apartment Therapy that the old room felt outdated and did not reflect her personal style. She wanted to keep features she liked, including the hardwood floors, natural light and open layout, while changing the dark red wallpaper that dominated the walls. The report does not give a total project cost; its listing marks the cost as not available.
Removing the old wallpaper proved difficult because, Moore said, it appeared to have been applied directly to the drywall. She chose to paint over it instead, using Sherwin-Williams’ Hardware, a color the report describes as between tan and gray. Preparation included filling holes, skim coating the walls and applying primer. Above the existing chair rail, she installed Wall Blush’s Wedded Woodlands forest wallpaper.
Moore said she had not wallpapered a space that large before. A friend with more experience helped her hang the first few panels, after which she finished the installation herself. The room’s table and chairs came from Facebook Marketplace, and its buffet came from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Moore also sold her previous furniture through Facebook Marketplace to offset costs. The report says much of the decor was secondhand; a lamp from HomeGoods cost $30.
Secondhand Finds Shape the Room
The makeover shows how Moore combined reused furnishings with a few chosen new materials to change the room’s character without replacing everything in it. Keeping the hardwood floors and open layout let the work focus on the wallpaper, wall finish, furniture and accessories. That approach may be useful to readers considering a room refresh, although the report gives no complete budget or item-by-item cost breakdown to show what the project would cost elsewhere.
Moore’s account also puts the preparation behind the paint finish in view. Painting over wallpaper avoided a removal job she described as a nightmare, but the walls still required filling, skim coating and priming. She said the preparation paid off: “you’d never even know” the wallpaper remained underneath. The article documents her experience; it does not establish that painting over wallpaper will work equally well on every wall or in every home.
Her use of secondhand furniture and decor also shaped the final look. Moore said vintage pieces add character and a lived-in feel, and that she was proud of what she found and reused. The report offers one homeowner’s example rather than a measured comparison of secondhand and new furnishing costs. Still, it gives concrete detail about where the main pieces came from and how reselling the old set helped offset spending.
An Eight-Week One Room Challenge
The project was part of the One Room Challenge, a makeover event in which Moore worked on the dining room over eight weeks. Apartment Therapy reports that the room had gone without an update since the home was built in the 1980s. Before the redo, its dark red wallpaper was the feature Moore most wanted to address, even though the room already had natural light, hardwood flooring and an open layout.
The reported sequence began with retaining the old wallpaper where removal seemed too difficult, then preparing and painting the lower wall area. Moore installed the forest design above the chair rail, bringing in a new pattern while preserving the room’s existing architectural division. The report identifies the wallpaper and paint by product name, but does not provide measurements, installation instructions or a full materials list.
Furniture and finishing pieces came from a mix of sources. The table and chairs were purchased through Facebook Marketplace, while the buffet came from a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Moore sourced an oversized antique-looking mirror and other decor secondhand, and bought the $30 lamp at HomeGoods. Her description of the completed room is personal: she collects antique oil paintings and said the finished space makes her feel immersed in one.
““It felt super outdated and lacked my personal style.””
— Alexis Moore, as quoted by Apartment Therapy
Budget and Wall Conditions Remain Unknown
The report does not state the total cost of the makeover, give a complete materials budget or quantify how much Moore recovered by selling her previous furniture. It identifies some purchases and sources, including the $30 lamp, but readers cannot use those details alone to calculate the overall expense.
It is also unclear how the wall finish will hold up over time or whether the same paint-over approach would suit other wallpaper and drywall conditions. Moore reported that extensive preparation concealed the old wallpaper in her room. The article does not supply independent testing, a follow-up on durability or a general recommendation for homeowners facing similar walls.
No Further Project Plans Reported
Apartment Therapy’s report presents the completed dining room and does not identify a further project milestone, planned renovation or follow-up date. Moore’s next steps for the space are not reported. For now, the documented outcome is the finished makeover: prepared and painted walls, forest wallpaper above the chair rail, and a mix of secondhand furniture and decor.
Readers interested in repeating parts of the approach would need to assess their own wall condition and source the materials and furnishings independently. The article names the wallpaper and paint Moore used, but offers no full cost estimate or guarantee that the same preparation will produce the same result in another room.
Key Questions
What changed in Alexis Moore’s dining room?
Moore painted over the old wallpaper, added forest-patterned wallpaper above the chair rail, and brought in mostly secondhand furniture and decor.
How long did the makeover take?
The project took eight weeks as part of the One Room Challenge, according to Apartment Therapy.
Did Moore remove the old wallpaper?
No. She said removal looked difficult because the wallpaper seemed to be applied directly to drywall. She painted over it after filling holes, skim coating and priming the walls.
Where did the dining room furniture come from?
The table and chairs came from Facebook Marketplace, and Moore bought the buffet from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. She also sold her previous dining set through Facebook Marketplace to offset costs.
How much did the full project cost?
The report does not provide a total. It identifies some purchases, including a $30 lamp, but the full project budget and resale proceeds are not stated.
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