You may have noticed with our articles that we’re slowly working our way around the house and providing interior decorating tips for each room. Today, we continue our decorator series by exploring the options for dining room décor. If entertaining is your thing, then you really want to create a space that gets everyone in a party mood. Below we outline the many ways you can design a space that will have your guests raving about the ambience of your dining room!
Lighting
One of the most important features of any house is lighting. The dining room is the place you can be a bit more creative with lighting fixtures. Because you want to create an inviting space where friends and family will sit for hours enjoying your food and hospitality, you need to pick lighting that is gentle and atmospheric. First, you need to consider a feature light over the dining table. Ensure your pendant light or chandelier is on a dimmer or you have low wattage bulbs with a warm tone. Harsh bright cool white lighting can make anyone feel uncomfortable and on display. If you have a sideboard, look at incorporating a pair of table lamps. Table lamps are perfect ambient lighting and those with fabric lampshades help to soften the space.
Dining Table Setting
When choosing a dining table setting, you need to consider how many family members you have and how many people you will be entertaining on a regular basis. This, combined with the size of your dining space, will determine how big your setting will be. On average, you need to allow 500mm per person on the table and 900mm space between the dining table and the wall. This will allow everyone around the table enough elbow room. If you wish to not be restricted by the number of chairs you have, consider benches along the long sides of your table.
Sideboard
If you have the space, a sideboard or buffet is a must for any dining room. A place where you can store platters, wine glasses and table linen means your entertaining homewares are at your fingertips and it frees up space in your kitchen cupboards for appliances and other everyday products. You can also utilise your sideboard while you are entertaining for bottles of wine, decanters, food, extra glassware or anything else that doesn’t fit on the table while you are entertaining. As mentioned above, you can have table lamps placed on either side of the sideboard to help create an ambient mood. This can also be achieved by using candle holders or hurricanes. Pottery Barn has a great selection.
Wall treatment
Not only is a dining room a great space to show off your personality through lighting, but it is a wonderful area to show off artwork, create statement walls or hang a gorgeous mirror. An oversized artwork is perfect for the space. You can place it on a wall by itself (depending on the size) or over the sideboard to create a story. Another option is wallpaper. If you have a designated dining room that is not open plan, wallpaper can work well. Like artwork, wallpaper is a statement piece. Depending on the wallpaper design, you may choose to hang a mirror and not an artwork. A mirror will reflect light and the wallpaper pattern. Depending on your style, the mirror you choose could be a simple bevelled edge or something with an ornate gold frame.
Curtains
If you have the space and either side windows or doors, the dining room is the perfect place for curtains. Whether you are going for a minimalist Scandinavian look or a more opulent concept, curtains can really soften a dining room, assist with noise reduction and help keep the space at an optimum temperature. There are many curtain designs to choose from and depending on your taste, it can range from a contemporary s-fold sheer curtain to a solid curtain with a swags-and-tails frame. For more information on window treatments, please visit our advice page shortly for a whole article on the topic.
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