Date:  2026-11-02 12:23:13  |   Story: Tiffany Adams  |   Photography: Rett Peek  |   Styling: Julia Glover  |  

Casey Sarkin helps a Fayetteville homeowner achieve the full vision for her family’s formal dining room

A love of traditional design and a penchant for pastels were the genesis of this homeowner’s vision for her family’s formal dining room. When designer Casey Sarkin first visited the space, the owner had started to implement her ideas by covering the walls in mint green, hanging custom pink-and-white drapes, and putting a rug underfoot to unite the palette. “I thought, OK, they have something going here,” Casey recalls. “She said we could get rid of anything or start completely fresh, but I felt like the space just needed to be finished.”

Opting to keep the drapes, rug, and a portion of the light green walls in place, Casey had an idea to tie the elements together: “I said, This room is crying for a scenic wallpaper,” she recalls. A floral mural from Schumacher was the ticket to bring the walls alive with a garden-like feel, while the ceiling was covered with a grounded yet feminine grasscloth that features a silver sheen throughout its material. Areas like the pair of corner niches and ceiling medallion as well as the room’s trim, all in the original mint green, now stand out in contrast.

As for the furnishings, the ball-and-claw table and matching chairs were heritage pieces the couple also hoped to keep in the update. To make them blend with the room’s lighter take, Casey added a quartet of upholstered Highland House chairs customized with a Schumacher tape that runs the length of their backs. “We were going to add a skirt to the wood chairs, but when I saw the narrow back and wider seat of these, I knew they would be a perfect addition to bring balance,” the designer says. “This room is all about detail, and this is a softening effect that breaks up the wood.” In addition, a gilded mirror and wood buffet were kept in place on a side wall, while Casey helped the client to group like pieces of her collections for display. For the table’s centerpiece, she called on Fayetteville floral designer Pigmint to create a custom faux arrangement that keeps its blooms and shape year-round. Artfully placed in a blue-and-white vessel the designer selected, the floral selections mimic the ones seen on the room’s walls. “She is a traditionalist who loves lots of millwork, rich woods, and collectibles,” Casey says. “I loved working in this style and enjoy it when clients come to us and say, This is who we are, and then let the design evolve from there.”

“I loved working in this style and enjoy it when clients come to us and say, This is who we are, and then let the design evolve from there.”
—Casey Sarkin, designer

The original built-in cabinetry and trim are painted “Copen Blue” by Sherwin-Williams. 

Bring on the Trim
Skirted, upholstered chairs soften the dark, rich wood on the dining table and its coordinating chairs. Schumacher’s “Ashoka” tape, a floral design that is also a nod to the walls, lines their backs in an eye-catching treatment.

Create a Scene
Casey knew a floral mural would enliven the walls. “Madame De Pompadour” panels from Miles Redd’s collaboration with Schumacher gives the effect of an English garden growing up the walls.

Give It a Shine
Playing off the background color on the wall panels, Casey covered the ceiling with a linen-hued Phillip Jeffries grasscloth that has a silver sheen. To highlight the ceiling medallion and tie it together with the rest of the room’s millwork, Casey kept it in the same mint hue, Sherwin-Williams’ “Copen Blue.”

Dress the Windows
The window treatments’ pink quatrefoil pattern brings a geometric element to the room, while its bunched valance is a nod to the formality of the space. The room’s dentil molding is a feature the homeowners added when they first purchased the house.

Design Resources
Interior design Casey Sarkin, Casey Sarkin Interior Design Accessories, fabric, furniture, and wallpaper Casey Sarkin Interior Design Floral arrangement Pigmint Floral Studio Paint Sherwin-Williams Painting M&L Painting