The famous adage goes; the way to the heart is through the stomach. So if the stomach is happy, the heart is happy.
This makes the dining room a critical area in the home because it’s where you fulfill the stomach’s needs. If you can find the right dining room design ideas, you’re already on the way to a happy heart. Remember that the dining area is also where you entertain your guests. Thus, a stale dining room can harm both your stomach and your image.
Fortunately, you don’t need a Master’s degree to face-lift your dining room or re-do it altogether to create a more attractive place to enjoy meals with family and friends. The following are seven dining room design ideas that you can even DIY.
1. You need a good floor plan
Not all homes can accommodate an expansive dining area with banquettes and large dinner parties. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t create a functional dining room where you can have a good time with your family and friends. The key is to design within your means.
If you have a small home with tiny spaces, find a dining room floor plan that reflects intimacy and coziness. For instance, you can combine the dining and living rooms. However, if space isn’t a problem, feel free to create a banquette hall or breakfast and dining nooks close to the kitchen.
2. Pick colors carefully
We always encourage people to use bright, vibrant colors in the dining room. Bright colors bring a sense of energy, which is critical during family meals. Bright colors also make the area feel joyful and welcoming. Thus, yellow, white, and serene blue or green are excellent color choices for the dining room.
However, keep in mind that several factors may affect the eventual color choice. The size of the room is especially a major factor. For smaller rooms, white tends to work best as it makes the room look expansive. Then spice things up with accessories. Larger dining rooms can do with any bright colors.
3. Pick the right furniture
Furniture play a critical role in tying up spaces. Thus, you must pick the correct furniture to complement your other dining room design ideas. The furniture must complement the color palette of the room while also working in unison with adjacent spaces, such as the kitchen and living room.
One trick that always works is round tables in smaller spaces and rectangular tables in larger dining areas. A key advantage of round edges is that it makes it easier to get around. Meanwhile, rectangular furniture fill up spaces more appropriately. Make sure the dining chairs match the pattern of the dining table.
4. Create a theme
The biggest challenge in interior decoration is tying things together. It’s an arduous task because often, you’re dealing with dozens of unique items with different shapes, colors, textures, materials, and so forth. It’s easy to end in chaos rather than a home.
One way to get out of the problem is to design around a theme. In the dining room, the best theme is minimalist. This isn’t the living area where you can have all kinds of throws and rugs. Instead, you want to keep things simple. Even if you love chandeliers, accept they only work well in large dining areas. For smaller areas, a family portrait is more than sufficient.
5. Dining room lighting
Unfortunately, the dining room doesn’t allow much leeway when it comes to experimentation with lighting. It’s one of the reasons most families choose to go with essential lighting. There are a few options, nonetheless. For example, we’ve already mentioned chandeliers. If you have a large dining room, chandelier lighting would be an excellent choice.
However, if chandeliers aren’t an option, consider pendant lighting to high-point your centerpiece. Alternatively, use simple scones around an artwork or wall art. Another option that tends to work exceptionally well in small rooms is floor lamps.
6. Make it versatile
This last point may attract a bit of debate. However, if you look around, you’ll find that the modern dining room is no longer just a place for dinner-time delicacies and Sunday treats with family and friends. Instead, most families now design their dining areas such that they serve multiple other functions.
For instance, the dining room doubles up as a library in some homes, with a bookshelf on one wall. Meanwhile, in others, it doubles as a children’s study area. It’s a trend you may want to pick up on, especially if you’re already short on space within the home.
Summary
Hopefully, you’ve picked up enough dining room design ideas to turn your dining area into a valuable, functional area of the home.
