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Kristi Linauer’s September 15, 2026 update captures a dining room still in the preparation stage, not a finished reveal. She removed shelves and a television, repaired the newly exposed wall damage, and received a revised drapery-fabric order while paint samples were still waiting. The most noticeable design change is the switch from a one-yard Spoonflower Essex Linen sample to extra-wide 3.5-ounce cotton sateen for the full curtain yardage.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Linauer says she darkened and increased the contrast in the print after the first sample looked washed out. In her visual assessment, the revised design on cotton sateen looks “sharper,” “bolder,” and more contrasted. Because both the artwork and the fabric changed, the update documents her project decision rather than proving that one substrate always prints better than another.
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What this dining-room update actually covers
The post is a progress report from a larger remodel of a 1948 fixer-upper. Linauer writes the project as a DIY decorating journal and sews her own draperies, as described on her About page. This particular entry follows two parallel tasks: making the dining-room walls ready for paint and selecting a fabric for future curtains.
Neither task is presented as complete. The walls still needed repair before paint sampling, and the clay intended for a planned chandelier was due to arrive on the day of the update rather than already installed. The curtain fabric had arrived, but the post does not give finished curtain dimensions, a heading or hem treatment, lining, or completed construction details.
Wall work came before paint samples
Removing the shelves and television exposed damage
Linauer began by taking the shelves and television off a dining-room wall. The television hanger resisted removal. When she finally pulled it away, the wall anchors came out with it and left two larger holes. She filled those holes with spackle, but that was only one part of the cleanup: additional holes and minor caulk damage still required attention.
This sequence matters for anyone following a painting project. The apparent condition of a wall can change substantially once shelves, brackets, and electronics are removed. Holes hidden behind hardware become visible, and caulk can tear or remain where trim or mounted pieces once met the wall. Linauer therefore treated repair as a prerequisite to color decisions instead of placing samples over unfinished damage.
Why the paint decision was delayed
She had hoped to put paint samples on the dining-room walls during this work period, but the repair tasks consumed the available time. The update does not identify a selected paint color, a finalist palette, or even a completed sample comparison. Any description of the room as painted or color-resolved would go beyond what the post reports.
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The practical lesson from this stage is sequencing rather than a particular product recommendation: fixture removal revealed defects, the defects needed filling and additional repair, and paint sampling had to wait. That order also keeps a sample from being judged against a wall whose holes and caulk damage could distract from the color.
The fabric decision started with a washed-out sample
The first one-yard sample
Before ordering the final yardage, Linauer had ordered a one-yard sample printed on Spoonflower Essex Linen. She felt the design looked too washed out. Her response was not to abandon the pattern. Instead, she edited the colors in the design so the revised version would be darker and carry more contrast.
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The source does not publish the exact color values, a swatch list, or the print repeat. It also does not identify the original and revised color names. The defensible description is therefore visual and author-attributed: the first sample seemed washed out to her, and she adjusted the artwork toward a darker, higher-contrast appearance.
Ordering the revised full quantity without another sample
Linauer then ordered the full quantity needed in the revised colors without first requesting a new sample. That is a notable project choice because it leaves two changes intertwined in the final comparison: the artwork was edited, and the fabric substrate was changed. The full order was printed on extra-wide 3.5-ounce cotton sateen rather than the Essex Linen used for the first sample.
Her update is transparent about the visual result but does not claim a controlled test. There is no side-by-side laboratory measurement, colorimeter reading, durability test, opacity test, or long-term performance evidence. The account supports what she saw in her own project, not a general rule that cotton sateen will always produce a sharper print than Essex Linen.
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Essex Linen sample versus extra-wide cotton sateen
The post makes one direct material comparison. The table keeps the comparison limited to details Linauer actually provides.
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| Project stage | Material and format | What Linauer observed | Reason it mattered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial color check | One-yard sample on Spoonflower Essex Linen | The print looked too washed out to her. | Prompted a darker, higher-contrast color edit. |
| Full curtain order | Extra-wide 3.5-ounce cotton sateen | She said the revised print looked sharper, bolder, and more contrasted. | The wider format could be used without joining two widths. |
Linauer summarized the visual change in her own words: “The print seems so much sharper on the cotton sateen.” She also wrote, “The new print on the cotton sateen looks bolder, has more contrast, and also looks sharper.” These are first-person observations from the September 15, 2026 account, not independent fabric testing.
Why she chose double-width fabric
A construction shortcut, not a performance claim
The extra-wide fabric served a practical sewing purpose. Linauer wanted to avoid sewing two fabric widths together and then matching the pattern across that seam. By ordering double-width curtain fabric, she could avoid that joining and pattern-matching step.
She says this saved a step and time, but she does not quantify the labor saved. The post also does not state the finished panel width, the number of panels, the total yardage, or the dimensions of the windows. “Double-width” should therefore be read as the format she selected for this project, not as a complete curtain specification.
What avoiding a seam changes for this project
Pattern matching at a joined width can add layout and sewing work, especially when the design has a directional repeat. Linauer’s stated reason for the wider cloth is simply to avoid that operation. The update does not report whether the choice changed cost, fullness, drape, cutting waste, or installation method, so those outcomes should not be inferred.
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For a reader planning a similar project, the decision framework visible here is straightforward: first decide whether the available fabric width can cover the intended panel without a join; then consider whether avoiding a seam is worth selecting an extra-wide substrate. In Linauer’s case, the answer was yes because eliminating the join and pattern matching made the project faster for her.
How the wall-preparation and fabric decisions intersect
Both choices are still provisional in the update
The wall repair and curtain selection move forward at different speeds. The fabric order arrived and supplied a clearer direction for the window treatment, while the wall still needed more patching before color samples could go up. The post therefore gives readers a snapshot of decisions in progress rather than a final room scheme.
A fabric that looks bolder can influence how a future paint color is judged, but Linauer had not yet documented that paint comparison. The update does not say whether the eventual walls will match, contrast with, or otherwise respond to the revised print. It is safest to treat the fabric impression as a design input that will be considered alongside later paint work.
The planned chandelier was also unfinished
The entry mentions clay for a planned chandelier was due to arrive that day. That detail signals another unfinished element in the room. It should not be described as a completed fixture, installed lighting, or a finished centerpiece.
What the post establishes—and what it leaves open
Established details
- The update was published by Kristi Linauer on September 15, 2026.
- She removed dining-room shelves and a television from a wall in a 1948 fixer-upper.
- The television hanger pulled out wall anchors and left two larger holes.
- She filled those holes with spackle and still had other holes and minor caulk damage to repair.
- Paint samples had not yet been placed because the repair work took the available time.
- The first sample was one yard of Spoonflower Essex Linen.
- She edited the print colors after deciding the sample looked washed out.
- The full order used extra-wide 3.5-ounce cotton sateen.
- She thought the revised print looked sharper, bolder, and more contrasted.
- She selected the wider material to avoid joining widths and matching the pattern at a seam.
Details the update does not provide
- The print’s exact repeat, color codes, or named palette.
- The total quantity ordered or the finished curtain measurements.
- The final curtain heading, hem, lining, fullness, or hardware.
- The price of either sample or the full fabric order.
- A measured amount of time or labor saved by using double-width fabric.
- Durability, wash-care, light-blocking, or long-term drape results.
- A controlled comparison isolating color editing from the change in fabric.
- The paint color selected for the dining room.
- Completion of the chandelier or any final-room reveal.
Keeping these boundaries clear prevents a personal progress note from being turned into a product test or a finished-room claim. The source supports a specific account of one homeowner’s choices and impressions; it does not support universal fabric-performance conclusions.
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A practical reading of the fabric workflow
1. Evaluate the first sample honestly
Linauer did not force the original sample into the project after deciding it looked washed out. She used that visual reaction to identify what needed to change: darker colors and stronger contrast. The account shows the value of treating a sample as a design check rather than assuming the first version must be accepted.
2. Edit the artwork before committing to yardage
Her next step was a color edit to the existing design. Because the source does not list the exact edits, readers should understand the action at the level reported: the colors were revised to create a darker, more contrasted print.
3. Choose a width that fits the sewing plan
The full order moved to extra-wide 3.5-ounce cotton sateen. Linauer’s reason was construction efficiency: no joining two widths and no matching the pattern across that join. Width was therefore part of the sewing decision, not merely a visual preference.
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Once the order arrived, she judged the revised print to be sharper and bolder. Since the design colors and substrate both changed, the update cannot tell us how much each change contributed. That distinction is important when applying her experience to another project.
How to use this account when planning your own dining-room work
Linauer’s sequence offers a useful checklist without pretending to supply specifications she did not publish. Before selecting paint, inspect the wall after every mounted item is removed. Record all visible holes, anchor damage, and caulk problems so color judgments are made on a repaired surface. Before committing to printed yardage, examine the sample for the contrast and saturation you actually want. If the print seems washed out, revise the design rather than assuming a different room color will solve it.
Then consider the fabric width in relation to the panel layout. A wider option may let a sewer avoid a center join and the pattern matching that accompanies it. That benefit has to be weighed using the project’s own window dimensions, panel plan, and budget, none of which Linauer reports here. Her account demonstrates the reason for her choice, not a universal calculation of savings.
The status of the room at the end of the report
At the close of the September 15 update, the dining room remained mid-renovation. Wall repair was still ahead, paint samples had not yet been documented, and the chandelier clay was expected rather than installed. The updated fabric had arrived and given Linauer a more confident direction for the curtains, but the finished drapery and completed room were not shown as final outcomes.
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For the complete first-person account, read “Dining Room Progress And New, Updated Drapery Fabric”. The post is best understood as a dated decision record: remove fixtures, confront the wall damage they reveal, revise a print that looked washed out, and select an extra-wide substrate to simplify the curtain construction.
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