Modern Coastal Farmhouse Dining Room Makeover in Beach Condo

Mixing decor styles keeps your home feeling fresh — how I blended a rustic chandelier with modern farmhouse in our dining room

We’ve been renovating our cozy beach condo and I’m excited to share the dining area refresh. The centerpiece that inspired the whole look is a stunning rustic chandelier from Lighting Connection. Replacing the dated ceiling fan with this fixture shaped the direction of the room and helped me create a relaxed modern farmhouse dining space with a gentle coastal influence.

DISCLOSURE: I was compensated for this post by Lighting Connection. All opinions are my own.

Here’s the dining area before we began. It’s a compact zone that opens to the kitchen, entry and family room. My goal was to move away from an overly beach-themed look and toward a cleaner modern farmhouse aesthetic, while keeping a subtle nod to the oceanfront location. I wanted the space to feel coastal but not literal — just a hint of coastal color and texture.

When I design, I always start with an inspiration piece. Pinterest was a good starting point, but the exact mix of styles and tones I wanted didn’t surface there. So I turned to lighting — a statement fixture can define a room. At Lighting Connection I found the Costello Orb Chandelier, and suddenly the rest of the plan came together.

Costello Orb Chandelier from Lighting Connection

Here’s the chandelier in place. I chose the 26″ six-light version — it’s large, and at first I worried it might overwhelm the dining nook. Because the dining area flows into the kitchen, entry and family room, a smaller fixture would have disappeared, so the larger size is the right call. Although it sits a bit higher than the height I’d normally use directly over a table, this piece is meant to light and anchor the entire open space, not just the dining surface.

With the major renovation work complete, we’re now in the fun decorating phase. Below is the project checklist for this area and the items we’ve completed so far. The list helped me stay focused as I created a mood board and made design choices around paint, finishes and furnishings.

• Paint walls (Sherwin Williams Snowbound), trim (Sherwin Williams Extra White) and ceilings (Sherwin Williams Ceiling White)
• Remove tile and replace flooring (Tavern Oak Laminate Flooring from Lowes)
• Add board and batten to wall behind table
• Paint board and batten a medium shade of gray
• Remove ceiling fan and replace with a statement chandelier
• Purchase larger dining table
• Purchase end chairs that have a beach vibe
• Paint existing side chairs and barstools
• Add an area rug
• Add artwork

I’ll share specific sources and styling tips as each element is finished, but the overall approach is simple: start with a strong focal point, then layer textures and colors that support the chandelier and the modern farmhouse vibe. My mood board helped keep the palette and scale consistent — if you enjoy mood boards, I explain how I make them here.

Connect with Lighting Connection for more inspiration — follow their social channels for the latest lighting ideas

Lighting Connection offers a wide selection of contemporary and rustic lighting at competitive prices. They also hosted a giveaway for a $150 e-gift card; the contest closed on Tuesday, Oct. 31st at 11:59pm EST and the winner was notified by email. No purchase was necessary.

UPDATE: THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!