Jun 1, 20214 min read

Dining Room Decor Ideas

By following a couple of simple guidelines, you can rejuvenate your dining room to make it a comfortable, inviting space for every day of the week and every occasion.

A dining room is where our family and friends gather, sit down, have a good meal and have conversations that can last for hours after a long day. It's where we catch up and hold celebrations for various reasons, and so, it's a pretty special room in a home. Generally, dining rooms aren't too difficult to design, but if you do need a little help here are some pointers for you:

Lighting

Sculptural light fixtures are what many may choose and normally consider as statement pieces for a dining room which help to make it look more stylish and high-end. Unlike other rooms, the ceiling lights can hang low as no one walks under them and they are there mostly to light the table below them. If you have a rectangular or oval table, it is best to go with a light fixture(s) that stretches across the length of the table in some way. That can mean having just one light fixture with many bulbs on it or two or more pendants that sit above it. If you have a square or round table, the best type of lighting would be pendants or circular lights that focus on about the same about of area the table covers.

Tables

Longer linear rooms call for longer rectangular or oval tables and square or round tables are best suited for square rooms or smaller spaces. One thing about round tables is you can fit more chairs around them which is great if you love to entertain or if you have a large family.

Mix & Matching chairs

Matching dining sets are going out of style and the new modern contemporary trend is to mix and match your table and dining chairs – especially chairs. By doing this you create a more colorful and interesting space visually. One way you could do this is to get the same type of chair for your dining table but have them in two or three different colors. Another way to mix and match is to have chairs that are different designs which are multi-functional and can be used in your living room space or home office. There are many ways to make your dining room look more visually interesting and intentional. It’s always great to look at what other people have done for inspiration. Play around a bit, plan and then decide how you want your dining room to look like.

Accessories

Vases, centerpieces, decorative objects and dishes help to personalize your space. Adding too many accessories to your dining room can make it feel cluttered and busy, so it may be best to focus on a small number of accessories that work with your style, color scheme and the shape of your dining table. Round tables tend to look great with one or two accessories while larger long tables may go up to three, depending on the accessories. That is if you are looking for a simplistic day-to-day look.

Nature

It’s always a great idea to add nature to any room in a home, including a dining room. It helps to humanize the space. Depending on the size of your room and how much space you have, large plants would look best in corners or by windows and smaller arrangements would sit on your table and other surfaces you have.

Wall Art

Artwork can immediately change a room once it goes up on a wall. Artwork tells a story that may be connected to you personally or it could just be a perfect fit for your composition and add more life into the room. Find wall art that speaks to you and get something that can ties the room together. The current trends of dining room wall art are dramatic, geometric and abstract art. Wall art adds personality to your space and be sure to choose things you love. You don't want to throw it out in a couple of months. Mirrors are also decorative items you can use as wall decor and are great to reflect more light into a room that doesn't get much natural light.

Rugs

A dining room doesn’t necessarily need a rug, but they can be useful to brighten and warm up a room and contrast against dark floors and furniture. My advice is if you are going to get a rug, get one that is big enough. One way to figure this out is to check how far out your dining chairs move out from under the table when you stand up, add a couple of inches to that, then make measurements of that and you should be fine. It’s always a little uncomfortable when you tuck your chair in and the legs get caught on the rug.