Steal This Look A Cheap Cheerful and Durable Dining Room on Cape Cod portrait 2 Icon - Arrow LeftAn icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow RightAn icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External LinkAn icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - MessageThe icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - Down ChevronUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - CloseUsed to indicate a close action. Icon - Dropdown ArrowUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Location PinUsed to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Zoom OutUsed to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Zoom InUsed to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - SearchUsed to indicate a search action. Icon - EmailUsed to indicate an emai action. Icon - FacebookFacebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - InstagramInstagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - PinterestPinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - TwitterTwitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Check MarkA check mark for checkbox buttons.
You are reading

Steal This Look: A ‘Cheap, Cheerful, and Durable’ Dining Room on Cape Cod

Search

Start typing to search...

Search
Cape CodIssue — Freshly Picked

Steal This Look: A ‘Cheap, Cheerful, and Durable’ Dining Room on Cape Cod

August 12, 2025

When we visited designer Victoria Birch’s beach house in Falmouth, on Cape Cod, a few summers ago, we were charmed by the backstory—Victoria worked with her college roommate, architect Tei Carpenter, on the project—and by the creative approach the friends took to create a “cheap, cheerful, and durable” summer cottage, as Victoria puts it. The dining room, an open space clad in head-to-toe shiplap, has spray-painted wicker lampshades, a reclaimed wood farm table, and our favorite budget dining chairs. Here’s a roundup of sources to replicate the look.

the view from the kitchen into the open dining/living room space. for more on t 17
Above: The view from the kitchen into the open dining/living room space. For more on the kitchen, see Kitchen of the Week: A Compact, Nautical Entertaining Kitchen on Cape Cod. Photograph by Justine Hand for Remodelista.
the all white room is accented with select color in the palette of wes anderson 18
Above: The all-white room is accented with select color in the palette of Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Photograph by Justine Hand for Remodelista.
on the wall is a vintage life preserver from \1st dibs. photograph by justine 19
Above: On the wall is a vintage life preserver from 1st Dibs. Photograph by Justine Hand for Remodelista.

Paint

the interior walls and ceiling are benjamin moore white pm \2 eggshell, shown, 20
Above: The interior walls and ceiling are Benjamin Moore White PM-2 eggshell, shown, and the floors are painted in a California Paint high-gloss finish.
 the sliding doors are painted in benjamin moore&#8\2\17;s high gloss blue 21
Above: The sliding doors are painted in Benjamin Moore’s high-gloss Bluebelle.

Lighting

the red barn light is vintage from \1st dibs. for something similar, the cooper 22
Above: The red barn light is vintage from 1st Dibs. For something similar, the Cooper Pendant in Barn Red is $240 at Barn Light.
the wicker dome pendant lights are \$\145 each from kouboo. victoria spray pain 23
Above: The Wicker Dome Pendant Lights are $145 each from Kouboo. Victoria spray-painted them and had them rewired with gray cloth electrical cord. For something similar, the Lilliana Single Light Rattan Pendant is $229 from Joss and Main.

Furniture

the dining table, the farm table from recycling the past, is made of salvaged b 24
Above: The dining table, the Farm Table from Recycling the Past, is made of salvaged barn wood; inquire for more info. For an off-the-shelf style, Crate & Barrel’s Basque Dining Table starts at $799, depending on size. For more, see our post 10 Easy Pieces: Modern Farmhouse Dining Tables.
the table is surrounded with black salt chairs designed by ton design team for 25
Above: The table is surrounded with black Salt Chairs designed by Ton Design Team for Design Within Reach; $375 each.
the fiberglass case study arm shell dowel chair is from modernica; \$570. “i 26
Above: The Fiberglass Case Study Arm Shell Dowel Chair is from Modernica; $570. “I prefer Modernica as a source because their chairs are made of fiberglass, not molded plastic,” says Victoria.

Accessories

the peg rail seen leading into the dining room is made up of individual pegs in 27
Above: The peg rail seen leading into the dining room is made up of individual pegs integrated into shiplap. Similiar pegs can be found online, like these White Wall Hooks, $7.91 each from German maker Rowzec on Etsy.
the niwaki hand broom is \$\26 from terrain. for more, see \10 easy pieces: ga 28
Above: The Niwaki Hand Broom is $26 from Terrain. For more, see 10 Easy Pieces: Garden Shed Whisk Brooms over on Gardenista.
the leather flyswatter is particularly useful in a beachfront summer cottage. t 29
Above: The Leather Flyswatter is particularly useful in a beachfront summer cottage. This one is $28 at Salt Creek Mercantile
a rope door stopper like the one shown in the dining room is the maritime door 30
Above: A rope door stopper like the one shown in the dining room is the Maritime Door Stopper is $60 at Annie Selke.

For more dining rooms to steal, see our posts:

N.B.: This story originally ran on July 3, 2018 and has been updated with new products, links, and prices.

(Visited 8,931 times, 1 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.
Add to Collection
New Collection

Product summary  Item 6 171Item 7 172

design within reach salt chair black paint
Design Within Reach

Salt Chair

$375.00 USD from Design Within Reach
Steal This Look A Cheap Cheerful and Durable Dining Room on Cape Cod portrait 10
Dining Tables

Farm Table

$600.00 USD from Recycling the Past

Explore Deeper Into These Areas

Previous Post

Natural Materials by the Shore: Architecture for London’s Dorset Beach House

August 11, 2025
Next Post

Trend Alert: Sunken Baths

August 12, 2025

Have a Question or Comment About This Post?

Join the conversation

Related Stories

Read all recent posts

join us on Steal This Look A Cheap Cheerful and Durable Dining Room on Cape Cod portrait 20 31

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No connected account.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.

v5.0

×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.

Full Access Individual Subscription

Benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99


×
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.

Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

My Account

Your member profile is powered by memberstack