How about a nice blue in a shade that reminds you of the beach. It would compliment the yellow/gold tones of your dining room furniture (which I hope you don't paint!).

If you really want a beachy look you will need to sell your dinning room furniture and get something more casual. Possibly rattan parsons chairs around a white table (round or rectangular and with simple lines). Paint walls grey owl from Benjamin Moore. 2 inch wood blinds on the windows with a muted grey and white ikat curtain, chunky white wood rod. Art for the room will also be important. Vintage seaside images possibly. You also might have to switch out the light fixture. It's all about the details and layering.

Thanks all! Really helpful! Can I take back "beachy" and say, Joanna gains style along with Genevieve Gorder style with a touch of Candace Olson style?

And yes I'm open to light fixture ideas! I was going to paint it black and add crystals to it..... But then had a baby 17 months ago and everything has come to a stop

It seems from your latest comments, you are looking for a more relaxed, yet refined look for our dining room. I think the blonde wood tones of the furnishings are nice. To help achieve the overall look I think you want, I would recommend painting the hutch with chalk paint in dark grey to give it a little age

and paint the walls in Benjamin Moore Edgecomb grey as shown in the photo below on a blog called Dear Lillie. I thought it was a good image because it shows a natural wood table and chairs with a painted server, and I believe you can achieve this with your pieces.

I also recommend a simple white/ off white linen roman shade or sheer panels instead of the swag around the window.

Good luck with your project!

Gina, keep the furniture. Make the following changes. Get rid of the dark read fabric on Windows. Hang rattan blinds. Remove the plastic over seat cushions. It is not expensive to recover chair seats. You can change them out every few years. It appears that you have a lot of stuff in your china cabinet. Remove half of it and store somewhere else. Hang a different chandelier. I will look for some and post pics. If you must cover table with a table cloth, get a blue and white striped one. Take out extra chair next to china cabinet so you can walk around table. I also think the blue and white striped theme for a rug under the table would work well too. Remove artwork. Place one LARGE water themed print on that wall. One big art piece will look less cluttered than several small ones.

This chandelier can be purchased from anthropologist. It has blue teardrop crystals in it

anthropologie *

The drapes, chandelier and china cabinet are very heavy and formal. I think the room would be halfway there to comfortable/casual if they were removed. Then you'd have a great starting point for the look you are after. Good luck.

Painting your furniture is going to be a huge task, I'd leave it as is, at least for now. Paint the walls a very soft blue/grey (not baby blue). Of course, remove your red swags. White, wooden drapery rods with a heavy, linen blend fabric. If the room were bigger/more open, I'd suggest a print, but in your case, a nice decorative band on the leading edge of the panels would look good. Recover your seat cushions.

All that being said, if you want to keep your wall colors neutral and have color in drapery, something like this might be nice. http://us.shopsarahstyle.com/collections/drapery/products/seaglass-palette-drapery-panels-set-of-2

This band is too dark, but gives you an idea of what I'm talking about...

Gina - you are closer than you think to achieving your beachy style. Your beautiful dining room set should stay as is - it is light and airy. Select a blue and white or blue and green theme for a rug, add a back cushion for your end chairs, remove other non-matching chairs. Remove the burgundy drapes and the heavy matted framed picture - they both read formal/NewEngland style. Use a white linen valance for your windows, a single, large piece of beachy art and you are done.
If there is money in the budget, select a light-hearted chandelier.
Keep your table bare with perhaps some coral or sea glass balls in a grouping for a centerpiece.

IMHO opinion you need to take down the curtains first. Then paint the walls light blue...very light. Put the same color fabric on the chair seats. Put up white sheer curtains. Will the top of your china closet come off? If so, that would get rid of the heavy piece of it and you would be left with a nice buffet. If it won't come apart, then I would suggest you look for a nice buffet, console table or something to fit in that space. Put lighter colored art work on the walls. Take away the two black chairs unless you need them every day....they just need to be put in another place.

Thanks everyone! Really, really helpful.....as all of my Furnature was gifted to me from my mom (traditional style) since we lost everything in super storm sandy (2012) and when we moved back into the house (7/2014) our funds had been depleted due to the rebuild of house. I'm really trying to work with what I have- and this is why I really appreciate all your feed back. I have removed the red swags and will look into some colors.....I'm having difficult attaching photos, so I'll try a new post.

@111ideahound- thanks so much. I went to look at paint colors today. I was wondering- should I just change my "want" to need? Meaning, the Furnature I have won't change for a few yrs, so do I just design towards the style instead of forcing it to rustic?

Blue/gray/green walls, remove curtains, large modern/rustic chandelier, white or espresso paint on dining set. Good luck :)

Can you get rid of the top of your china cabinet or is it attached? I just got rid of mine and I'm so glad. It looks so much more open.

I don't think you need to paint the furniture either.

I would probably paint the chandelier white and add crystals, but I am not a decorator...

@kjbjw will look for white paint to Chandelier Like the way my China is displayed in the top portion So I would be keeping that. Really appreciate the suggestion to paint the chandelier white...:)

I agree with a lot of suggestions. Since you have this furniture and need to work with it I suggest a soft grey/blue/green for the walls. I did a simple mock up for you using the matting on picture as inspiration and found a very light version of it.
Just keep it simple by removing dark objects in the room. I don't think you have room for a rug as it would need to be 2' larger than table on all sides. But you could change the fabric on chair seats, a fabric that resembled watercolour art could add a beachy look to them.
The wall colour below is BM Wales Grey but if you like the look try out different shades to get the look with your lighting.

Definitely going to echo a few of the previous folks - go for a lighter, perhaps white / pale blue paint for your walls, and switch out those drapes for white ones.

Rather than draperies with a valance, which makes the room feel heavier, you should choose a style that would give of a refreshing, breezy vibe.

Sheer soft top draperies like this would look great - this one's a sheer belgian linen in off white, but one with a tinge of tan, like these in oatmeal, might look good too.

You can go for rings, or just slip it into the rod pocket, depending on the look you're going for.

For paint color, Benjamin Moore's Lookout Point might be a nice choice. It's a pale blue tone.

Though it's more farmhouse in decor, I think this sort of color scheme in the home of Miss Mustard Seed would definitely fit well with your existing dining set. As you can see, her tables and chairs are actually a similar color, and the light blue would pair nicely with the tan chairs.

In here, even though she paired the windows with a heavier fabric - a our textured linen in Oyster, it still gives off a fresh, breezy look.

Consider repainting your cabinet - maybe with a whitewash effect?

@ daneejela- really helpful.....I'm all about change- just struggle to put it all together and really appreciate the pictures. I am going to try and paint the walls first and change out the curtains first before I paint the set.

@marleneM OMG thank you for doing a visual! This is awesome. I'm going to look for something a little more grayish/blue along with the color u suggested.

@Barn and Willow- I really appreciate all the different links- really awesome to not have to hunt the web.

Would James river gray work?

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt is such a beautiful color, imho...It's a greenish, grayish bluish...

https://67.media.tumblr.com/c3a48509c61dd11566c0a47c49ada547/tumblr_n790qzz4KN1rxzjloo2_r1_500.gif

For a beachy look, you can't go wrong with Sherwin Williams Sea Salt - works in every room.

Barn & Willow

I love that image from Miss Mustard's home, and color-wise, I agree, it would work awesome with Gina's current dining set. I am concerned about heavy look of the dining set, that is why I suggested remodeling it into something lighter.

Gina, I think your approach to leave the dinning set, change the rest, and see how does it feel is smart option...maybe when the rest of the room changes dinning set would also feel lighter.

Here is the James River grey. It may look darker here than it actually is, but it's a a darker, moodier colour.

Another blue grey you could check out is Mt Rainier grey.

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/paint-color/mtrainiergray

@marleneM-thank...with your help. I will not sure that color lol (I ont like in my room).

@111ideahound- don't want to do sand as the current walls are Bm Shaker beige.

Paint samples on the wall are whale gray (dark) grand tenton (lightest) white, and in Sag Harbor gray (little greenish color)

Thoughts? Also- I will be painting the window trim....should instill go with marshmallow "white" since the grills are white?

What do I use to cover windows other than sheers?

You're welcome, Gina. That is a different gray than I suggested, I think you have Whale Gray and I suggested Wales Gray-1585. The whale gray is much too dark.

Oops @marleenM - I clearly read that wrong- lol back to pint store.

Ok folk- none of the colors r working for us.....I'm leaning towards a light gray but can't figure out one. I'll try the mt. Reiner....
Looking for a blue/green/gray-light if that at all possible.

Hi Gina, here is a link to a blog that you might find interesting. I stumbled across this blog a while ago and I just love her way of exposing why a colour will work or not. I think you are on the right track for a colour choice and you just need help to narrow it down. Hope this helps.

http://www.kylieminteriors.ca/8-most-popular-blue-green-paint-colours-mix-sherwin-williams-and-benjamin-moore/

whitewash the China cabinet and table base and chairs, stain the top of the table a dark color color. recover the chairs with some kind of beachy pattern or light floral fabric. wall paint would be best a bright white. burlap table runner, white cotton place mats. big light colored run that can easily be cleaned.

If you removed the sheers You would almost have the beach look! The red sheers are not blending in with the rest of your room and gives it a more formal look. If you can go without sheers, do that. If you must have them then match your wall color which btw is great!

White transparent stain on all the dining room furniture would really lighten it up and give a French country (but maybe not beach) feel. I would consider sheers in white or pastel instead of the heavy curtains. If you plan to keep the color neutral a light bluish grey is breezy and beachy.

In terms of paint- maybe try Benjamin Moore Marilyn's Dress?

It is a very light grey with a hint of blue to it. I think timeouts look very pretty there!

Painting the furniture is easier said than done. Unless you can have it done professionally don't do it. Here's what I would do. Take off the red swag. Paint the room. Take off what is on either side of picture, lower it a little. Panels on side of Windows but do not cover them, makes the window look bigger and install rod closer to ceiling. Take plastic off chairs. The chandelier can be spray painted if you like. If the table has a leaf try it without. Remove extra chairs and stuff.
That shouldn't break the budget.

I don't think you have right colors. We went with beach design and selected Sw 7656 Rhinestone (light cool gray) and SW 6476 Glimmer ( greenish/ blue)

Good luck!

@teejaysawards thanks and I agree.... I've already taken down swag and art work. Tried additional paint suggestions (see pics) and don't like them....I tried sea salt n its to greenish.....leaning towards light gray with slight hint of blue.

Marilyn's dress I don't like either- I tried SW dove tail n like it but want lighter n can't find it.

@ MarleneM- OMG love the blog link n think I found my colors to try- Gray Cashmere n gray owl.....possibly knitting needles
Thanks for the suggestion.

Lower the art. Get rid of the cutesy pseudo-formal window treatment. Leave the table and chairs as they are, but consult some books and paint the cabinet as a traditional Italian/Swiss/Austrian/German country piece.

Gray owl is my go to colour. It's perfect in every room. You really can't go wrong with it. That's why I suggested it in my first comment. Good luck! :)

If you want a light grey, try Horizon by BM. It is awesome. I have it through my home and everyone who comes in loves it and several people have copied it.

I should have said that Horizon is a light blue-green grey Like the horizon... it changes in different lights. Always beautiful and fresh.

zeelud- sorry didn't see you suggested that a while back....thank you for doing so....I will be posting more pictures later with thoughts.....gosh these BM samples add up, lol

pauli12- Will look into the Horizon and see if that would work too.

Update! Thanks for all ur help.....now onto window treatment and wall stuff.