Chair & Table Design

Dining Room Inspiration – Set 3

Mealtime is perhaps the longest span of time that members of a family spend togethor these days. For this period of time the dining room becomes the centre of family life. A well designed dining room not only tackles the functional aspect of serving and dining food, it also encourages conversation among family members.

In this post, we look at another set of inspirational dining rooms…

Designing your Dining Room

Many homeowners want beautiful, functional spaces in their homes. Designing your dining room can be a challenge depending on its formality, the number of guests you expect to entertain, and the type of dining that will take place.

Designing Your Dining Room: Basic Considerations

Before picking out wall colors and ordering a new table and chairs, it is important to consider the basics of interior design

as they apply to a dining room. The basic room you have to work with as well as how you plan to use it are crucial factors when designing your dining room.

Size

The size of the room helps dictate the colors and furnishings that are most suitable. A very small dining room, for example, would feel cluttered and overcrowded when paired with dark, heavy furniture, dark walls, and heavy drapes. Large rooms, on the other hand, will feel empty if the table is tiny and there are no other furnishings, particularly if the window is bright and airy and the walls are light-colored. If the room is very small, consider adding an additional window or wall cutout to enhance the space – windows that open into the kitchen are especially valuable and efficient. To shrink a large room to a more manageable size, add tall plants, rich drapes, or additional pieces of furniture (a china cabinet for example).

Formality

A formal dining room meant for use only on special occasions needs different design consideration than an informal eatery. While candid family pictures may be appropriate for a casual setting, a formal portrait is a better accent in a formal room. Furthermore, a crystal chandelier is out of place in an informal room, while generic floor lamps are not suitable for a fine dining room. Choosing the formality of the room will help determine these basic interior design choices.

Frequency

Designing your dining room can be an expensive project, and before you choose to create an opulent formal setting, consider how frequently you will use it. If the dining room is pressed into service regularly for Sunday dinners, dinner parties, and holiday gatherings, it may be well worth it to seek professional advice, whereas if it is to be a casual or less frequently used room, your personal preferences may be all the design consultation you need.

Accessibility

One often overlooked consideration when designing dining rooms is accessibility. Naturally, there should be easy access to the kitchen, and if you plan on extensive entertaining it should be accessible to other gathering areas as well ( living room, home theater, etc.). Furthermore, the dining room should be near a bathroom for convenience.

Not only does a dining room need to be accessible to other parts of the house, but it should be roomy enough that guests do not need to vacate their chairs to let other people pass or to retrieve dishes from a cabinet.

Furniture

The first consideration for dining room furniture should be the number of necessary chairs. Nothing will destroy a carefully designed dining room more quickly than importing folding chairs when extra seats are needed. Table size is also a factor: be sure to leave at least 24 inches of clearance around the perimeter of the room (while the chairs are in place around the table) to allow guests to move about freely.Additional furniture in a dining room is a matter of personal preference. Many people choose to incorporate china cabinets into the décor to highlight fine china and crystal, and a wine rack would certainly not be out of place. When adding these extra pieces, however, always consider the available space and whether they will make the room uncomfortably crowded.

Lighting

Lighting is a crucial consideration when designing your dining room. Guests should have adequate light to appreciate the food without squinting, but the light should not be so harsh as to glare off a white tablecloth or dishes. Chandeliers are common fixtures in dining rooms, and they can be purchased in a variety of designs and styles to match any level of formality. When choosing lighting fixtures, take into account the presence of natural light: if you plan on hosting dinner parties, avoid western-facing windows that would focus the setting sun into your guests’ eyes.

There are those who would trade anything to have a separate dining room, others pooh-pooh the one they have as a wasted bit of space and shut the door.

The first group has nothing to envy since there are myriad ways to forge comfortable, part-time dining areas in other rooms. The naysayers can take heart, too. With some adjustments, their forlorn rooms can be made as satisfying as mom¡¯s home cooking.
                                   

Almost any space can be transformed into a spectacular
dining room.

This article provides decorating ideas to suit your taste as well as the size and style of your dining room:

Glamorous Dining Spaces
Add a dash of glam to your dining area by employing some easy tricks of the trade.

Creating a Modern Dining Room
Ultra-modern decor in a dining area can create a feeling of drama and luxury. Explore modern dining room decorating ideas that fit your lifestyle.

Traditional and Formal
Those who enjoy throwing formal dinner parties and hosting holiday banquets at home often long for a traditional dining room that can handle all the accessories needed for large-scale entertaining. Find out how to create a traditional, formal dining area.

Romance and Color
Create an atmosphere perfect for intimate dinners for two, or host creative and inspired wine dinners with friends in a colorful, romantic room. Find out how by reading this article.
Any room with a few square feet to spare such as family rooms and dens ¡ª particularly those lined with books or French doors ¡ª make spectacular mealtime settings. Position a table to one side of the room, figuring about 8 square feet for a table for 4, plus around 36 inches for the chair pull-out. Or hire a carpenter to build a stationary bench flush against the wall. Place a skinny pine table in front and ladder-back chairs opposite.
Tuck a drop-leaf table that¡¯s ready to do double duty in a spacious entry hall. One moment it¡¯s a hall table, the next it seats special guests. The round table beside the family room sofa? A romantic oasis. Cover the table with a colored cloth, pull up some seats, and light the fire.
Diverse chair styles add drama: wing chairs, love seats, and even ottomans (as long as they roll). Flexible dining should be as easy as pie. Collect benches that slide or feather-light wicker chairs to nestle up to a salvaged garden table.

Add drama to a dining room with diverse chair styles, paint, and fabric.

Storage? In addition to cabinetry, consider plate racks, wall shelves, and corner china cupboards. All these use little space while providing handy inches.
Reinvent forlorn dining rooms with suitable furnishings, paint, and fabric. The right table ¡ª set on a bright area rug or centered on a window ¡ª can be your anchor. A round table, the favorite for conversation, softens a boxy room; a small square table does well in tight quarters; long farmhouse-type tables work best in rectangular rooms. And for ambience find a stunning electric or candle-holding chandelier.

Warm colors stimulate conversation. Paint walls a soft red, or cover them with a richly textured or patterned wallcovering. Soft contemporary hues like hydrangea-purple and pistachio-green teamed with crisp white moldings will imbue the room with a Monet-garden air. Slipcover dining chairs, or add simple seat cushions in a contrasting color or a pleasing floral pattern.
Whether you dream of a glamorous, modern, traditional, or romantic look for your dining room, this article has the decorating tips to help you achieve your goal. On the next page, learn how to make your dining room gleam with glamor.