As the most used and most frequented by guests room in a home the dining room is often the showcase of your home. Whether full on remodelling or simply sprucing up with a fresh coat of paint or new furnishings some pointers will keep you on track for a final look that you are satisfied with.
Choose a Style
When deciding on colours, materials, and design you need to have a style and purpose in mind.
- What image do you want to give?
- Do you always use the dining room for meals or is it reserved for guests and formal dining?
- Is it typically a gathering spot for company to have tea or coffee as well?
- Does it serve other purposes such as homework table for the children or a work spot in the evening?
Answering these questions will help determine the best style for your usage. If it is a common gathering spot usually a warmer more welcome feel is appropriate than if solely for formal dining with high back wooden chairs and a table that overwhelms the room.
Typically a choice exists between a modern or contemporary style and a natural home style. Glass and metal furniture is hard to get to flow with natural wood floors or stone tile. With natural wood there is more leeway for colour in the walls- pastels being the trend with most popularity. To add the feeling of greater size to the room two tone wall covering or paint with a lighter colour at the top gives the illusion of more space.
If you do want to go with a mix of wood and ultra-modern furnishings go with wood floors in a parquet pattern or diagonal lay of wood flooring. This allows the natural wood beauty without a seeming disparity in style.
For more formal looks go with darker woods like cherry or walnut for floor and furnishings. If you go overboard and colour coordinate floor and furnishings too closely they will tend to blend together too much and instead of formal you will have a sombre appearance. This can be corrected with judicious use of table cloths and perhaps an area rug in under the table and chairs.
Oak, maple, and birch are a warmer more welcoming look. Some care must be taken with them in that they do not mix and match well typically. Maple goes better with a tile or laminate floor than on an oak floor. The warmer natural look serves dining rooms used as gathering areas or limited use work space well. When combined with pastel colour walls it provides an inviting and comfortable place to dine or chat over coffee.
The table is of course the centrepiece of the dining room and in fact the purpose of the room. There are literally hundreds of designs to choose from and can be used to set the tone of the room.
