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Rug Refinement
Placing a rug under the table can provide a visual anchor in a dining room. Particularly in an open floor plan, a rug helps define the dining space and separate it from the rest of the room. Here, bloggers at A Beautiful Mess chose to incorporate not one but two Persian-style rugs.
Country Comfort
A rustic table can work well in a casual dining room or an eat-in kitchen. To amp up the cozy quotient, plop a pillow or custom-made cushion on each chair, and drape a faux fur throw over the bench.
Dramatic Artwork
Bold is the watchword in Home Made By Carmona’s dining room. Dark blue walls lend elegance to the dining space, while a gallery display of generously sized framed artwork adds interest to the walls.
The Perfect Paper
Today’s wallpaper comes in a variety of modern, elegant, and playful designs. In this dining room by In Honor of Design, a gold-and-cream-colored wallpaper from Hygge & West both sets the stage and steals the show.
Related: 7 Reasons to Reconsider Wallpaper
An Assortment of Chairs
There’s a time and a place for being matchy-matchy, but the dining room doesn’t have to be one of them. Here, traditional dining room chairs and woven side chairs coexist beautifully.
Focus on the Table
If it has the right bones, a lackluster garage sale find can be transformed into a stellar dining table. Follow the lead of the blogger at Cherished Bliss by painting and distressing a worse-for-wear table to create a focal point for your dining room. Chalk paint, a belt sander, and a free afternoon are pretty much all you need to do the job.
A Touch of Vintage
Decorating this dining room was a treat for the brains behind Passionshake—and the results are a treat for the eyes. Vintage and modern elements merge in a delightful mélange of styles.
Related: 10 Vintage Decorating Ideas We Were Wrong to Abandon
A Softer Bench
If you like the look of bench seating but not the feel of a hard slab of wood, this dining room decorating idea from StoneGable Blog may be just what you need. For comfort and a softer appearance, a wooden bench is dressed in a skirted cushion, and the rest of the seating options are equally plush.
Mixing Patterns
Why be boring when you can make a statement? That’s the principle behind this dining room at The Gathered Home. The rug, curtains, and dining chair cushions each bring a different pattern into the mix, while the dark walls and black chairs bestow a sense of unity.
Spoiled for Color
The explosion of color in this blue dining room feels cheerful but not childish. Warmth and sophistication emanate from the wood chairs and the dining table base that echo the fireplace surround.
A Sense of Order
Everything has its place in this well-planned dining room. With a bar cart and a coffee station standing sentry along the wall, both aperitifs and after-dinner coffee are within easy reach.
White and Wood
The combination of white and raw wood evokes the simple beauty of farmhouse living. Here, the blogger at The Lily Pad Cottage plays up the theme with a collection of herbs in woven baskets.
Brightness Underfoot
The dignified silhouette of Danish midcentury-style furniture stands out against the playful pattern of a colorful rug, creating a grown-up dining room that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Related: 10 Area Rugs You Can Actually Afford
Color on Color
There’s no reason to shy away from color in the dining room. Choose colors that play off each other—warm blue and pink work well together—to avoid visual chaos.
Sleek and Space-Saving
An Art Deco archway in this Brooklyn home, renovated through Sweeten, opens onto an urbane dining area. The slender legs on the dining table and chairs take up minimal visual space, preventing the room from appearing cluttered.
Related: 10 Decorating Mistakes That Make Your House Look Smaller
Close the Door
A pocket door blocks out kitchen noise and clutter without taking up the floor space that a traditional door would require.
Modern Lines
When it came time to update their home, a comfortable and inviting dining room was a priority for these homeowners who entertain frequently. Their calm, dignified dining area would look entirely at home in a high-end furniture gallery.
Space Smart
Many dining room tables seat at least six people, but if your family is small or if you don’t host big sit-down dinners, there’s no reason to spring for lots of seating. Particularly if the dimensions of your dining area are restricted, consider a small table with an extra leaf that will give you space when you really need it.
Playful in Pink
No, pink isn’t everyone’s first pick for the dining room, but Exuberant Pink by Sherwin-Williams strikes a surprisingly sophisticated pose in this dining room.
Claim a Space
If you don’t have a dedicated dining room, you can put one wherever you want. When centered on top of a textured rug, this dining set becomes a room unto itself in a wide-open entryway.
Kitschy and Cute
With Grandma’s dishes in the china cabinet and faux fur on the midcentury-style chairs, different decades collide harmoniously in this white dining room. The disparate elements are unified by the monochromatic color scheme.
Flexible Seating
A bench may be one of the most space-smart seating options around, and it’s especially well suited to a long farmhouse table. With a bench, you can squeeze in more diners than you could with individual dining room chairs, and it adds a rustic charm.
Better with Banquettes
The benefits of a banquette can’t be overstated. They’re not only cushy and comfortable, but many can also be customized to provide storage for linens, cutlery, and so much more right below the seat. Genius!
Breezy Style
Beachy vibes abound in this seagrass-hued dining room. The addition of natural textures like wood and wicker amp up the beach house aesthetic.
The Timeless Appeal of Wainscoting
Clad in board-and-batten, this two-tone dining room is as simple as it is stunning, a lovely mix of modern and traditional.
Spotlight on the Centerpiece
A large floral arrangement is nice for special occasions, but for everyday a few branches in a vase make an excellent centerpiece. If greenery is too tall to see over, remove it from the dining room table before you sit down to eat.
Consider Pastels
Though they’re not often seen in the dining room, pastels can bring a refreshing and tranquil vibe to a room that’s often considered stilted and stuffy.
Drink Up
A well-stocked bar behind the dining room table means cocktail hour can blend seamlessly into dinnertime.
On the Map
If you love eating your way through cuisines from around the world, a map on a dining room wall can encourage you to learn where your ingredients hail from and marvel at the diversity on your plate.
A Shiplap Canvas
Shiplap and hardwood floors provide an earthy palette for a white dining table, chairs, and trim in this modern and eclectic dining room at A Beautiful Mess.
Related: 17 Times Shiplap Made the Room
Stripes Aplenty
From the board-and-batten walls to the spindle-back chairs, wooden floorboards, and bold, stripey rug, lines abound in this dining room. The motif welds together the many elements of the space and energizes the design.
Related: 10 Doable Designs for a DIY Rug
A Green Thumb
Plants, plants, and more plants enliven this sunny dining room. Broad, dramatic leaves catch the eye, and an array of succulents on the wall serve as artwork.
Light the Way
A deconstructed chandelier helps define the dining area in this open floor plan space. Consisting of a cluster of pendant lights hung at different lengths, the “fixture” is a work of art unto itself.
In the Round
A sunny nook has just enough space for a round table set atop a round rug, giving a family of four a bright, attractive spot for comfortable dinners at home.
Rugged Yet Refined
While the antler chandelier and large dining table bring to mind a hunting lodge, the geometric artwork and upholstered dining chairs hint at softness and sophistication. A warm, rich wall color—Sierra Redwood from Sherwin-Williams—pulls it all together.
Related: The New Neutrals: 9 Colors You Can Trust for Today’s Home
The Personal Touch
Put a selection of your favorite treasures on display in the dining room. Here, the blogger at Lolly Jane installed farmhouse-style shelves and gathered together evocative items, focusing on clean whites and pops of light aqua that echo the shade of the colorful pendant.
A Multipurpose Space
This blogger transformed a seldom-used formal dining room into a multipurpose space, part library, part dining room. Built-in shelves accommodate books and give the room a cozy vibe, while a small round dining table fits in comfortably, allowing the space to continue to serve its original function when needed.
Red, White, and Blue
Country style and love of country meet in this farmhouse-inspired dining room. A frame made from 1×4 scrap wood sits on top of an American flag (an antique market find) for patriotic flair.
A Dark Accent
It’s incredible what a coat of dark paint and a fiddle-leaf fig can do for a room. If you’re reluctant to cover all four walls with a bold navy or black paint, choose just one wall and make it the focal point. A sideboard, artwork, and other decorative elements can provide even more emphasis.
Comfort and Color
Add a splash of color and a welcome element of comfort to your dining chairs by providing each one with a lumbar pillow. This little bit of support will encourage guests to linger after dinner and make conversation more enjoyable.
