Interrogation room to cozy dining room

The downside of just starting out is that I had very little furniture. Thankfully my parents lent me the first kitchen table they ever used (and my grandparents before them), so I had someplace to eat and something to put in the dining room. The dining room had been hastily painted white some time ago, and it looked cold and sterile. Remember that light?

It was bad. Very interrogation-like.

So I stuck a basket on it (and haven't taken it off since). I'm working on a better solution. Tips on hanging paper lanterns here. 

We're looking at the freshly spackled, sanded, and primed wall. There were a lot of holes to fill in. Oh my goodness, I wish I had taken pictures. It was incredible.

I went with Behr's Warm Muffin. It always seems appropriate to pick food names for food rooms. In the mornings it looks yellow, in the afternoon it looks beige, and in the evenings it looks gold. I just like that it looks warm and habitable.

Then, inspired by the internet stenciling trend, I decided to stencil the whole room. Yes, the whole room. I'm an idiot. I intentionally painted the walls with a flat enamel so I could stencil in the same color with a semi-gloss. The results look really really cool, but it's a lot of work.

I'm using the Endless Moorish Circles stencil from Royal Design Studio. It's really easy to use.

The pattern changes based on how the light hits it. Different parts stand out as you walk around the room. It will look great when it's done, but it's so much work!

Have you taken on a great project that turned out to be way too much work?