15 Ways to Make a Statement in Your Dining Room
How do you make your dining room a place for everyday meals — and not just for formal occasions? Add an eye-catching decor detail.
By Sarah Yang
How do you make your dining room a place for everyday meals — and not just for formal occasions? Add an eye-catching decor detail.
Window Treatments
In a Malibu ranch house decorated by Todd Nickey and Amy Kehoe, the pattern of the curtain fabric — Jane Churchill's Rossini (now discontinued) — picks up the paint colors, along with the coppery tones of the Poul Henningsen Artichoke pendant light and the Nickey Kehoe chairs.
Add Interesting Window Treatments
In a Malibu ranch house decorated by Todd Nickey and Amy Kehoe, the pattern of the curtain fabric — Jane Churchill's Rossini (now discontinued) — picks up the paint colors, along with the coppery tones of the Poul Henningsen Artichoke pendant light and the Nickey Kehoe chairs.
Install Incredible Lighting
In a Lake Martin, Alabama, house decorated by Susan Ferrier, the star of the screened dining porch is a chandelier from South of Market in Atlanta.
Don't Forget to Look Up
To make the Tony Duquette chandelier feel more at home, Ruthie Sommers had decorative painter Peter Bolton create an elaborate tree design in gold leaf on the dining room ceiling of a Los Angeles house. Jacaranda and plum trees inspired the vibrant pink Penny Morrison fabric on the front of the chairs and the Claremont floral on the back. Rug from Melrose Carpet.
Include Pops of Color
Vintage Frances Elkins chairs with lemon-yellow vinyl seats brighten the breakfast room in a Charlotte, North Carolina, house decorated by Lindsey Coral Harper. A scenic print by Thom Filicia hangs on a wall painted in Benjamin Moore's Gray Owl. Zebra pendant by Y Lighting. The butler's pantry beyond is lacquered in orange, Benjamin Moore's Oriole, echoing the hue of the dining room's wallpaper.
Go Bold on the Floors
"Midcentury modernism resonates for me," says Jonathan Adler, who paired Warren Platner's 1966 dining table from Design Within Reach with his own Chinese Chippendale chairs in the dining room of a Westchester house. The chandelier is from the 1970s. Curtains are Hinson's Montauk Texture in Aegean, the same fabric used for the living room curtains and ottoman.
Try a Colorful Table
Bright yellow walls — Benjamin Moore's Inner Glow — and an even brighter citron table from HB Home brought the white-and-gray kitchen in a Charlotte, North Carolina, house to life. Designer Lindsey Coral Harper turned wire side tables from ABC Carpet & Home into stools. Dark brown floors were transformed with a large geometric pattern, painted by Jay C. Lohmann. Pendant light from Robert Abbey. Hugo Guinness prints from John Derian.
Apply Pretty Wallpaper
For the dining room of this Massachusetts house, Mary McGee designed a bold lacquered table and contemporary chairs that contrast with the delicate hand-painted Chinese wallpaper by Gracie. Door and transom upholstered in an Edelman leather. Room trim in Benjamin Moore's Ivory White.
Don't Be Afraid to Use Mismatched Chairs
In the breakfast room of her Hollywood Hills farmhouse, Tobi Tobin arranged a trio of vintage chairs, all from different periods. She used simple bamboo shades from Target, painted the walls Farrow & Ball's Lamp Room Gray, "and — voilà — a modern farmhouse!" she says.
Play With Scale
The extra-large Akari lantern by Isamu Noguchi hovers like a full moon in a modern upstate New York house. "The paper shade casts a warm glow over the dining table and creates an intimacy within the larger space," architect Gray Davis says. A 19th-century Dutch armoire, affectionately known as the "barmoire," was outfitted as a bar.
Dare to Use Bold Colors
In a traditional Tudor house decorated by Sara Gilbane in Rye, New York, a pedestal table from Century Furniture is surrounded by dining chairs from Hickory Chair, in a Schumacher mohair-velvet with Carolina Irving's Andaluz on the backs. Rug by Stark.
Add a Patterned Tablecloth
In the dining area of a Palm Beach apartment decorated by T. Keller Donovan, lots of reflection — including Century Furniture's Percier mirrored buffet — expands the space. Lettuce Ware plates by Dodie Thayer are a Palm Beach staple. The sea-grass carpet from Jack Walsh cuts the formality of Gilman's antique gilt mirror. The vintage lantern was in her elevator hall in New York.
Experiment With Art
A 10-foot-long banquette makes the dining area one of the most inviting spots in a Newport Beach, California, cottage decorated by Peter Dunham. Above it hang California plein-air paintings from the owners' collection. How to Marry a Millionaire rush chairs from Hollywood at Home. Molador leather hurricanes with brass base from Mecox.
Play with Pattern
The dining room of a 1980s house in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was so big, it felt more like a conference room. To "bring in the scale," designer Markham Roberts covered the walls in a bold linen print, Bennison's Lorenzo. Chairs from John Rosselli are covered in Pierre Frey's Mercurio velvet.
Choose an Eye-Catching Rug
A beloved dining table was resized by its maker, Alma Allen, to fit the dining room in this Los Angeles house. "It's been with them forever, which we love," says designer Pamela Shamshiri. Hans Wegner's Wishbone chairs pick up on the Asian sensibility. Hanging lantern from Lawson-Fenning. Vintage patchwork rug from Lawrence of La Brea.
Order a Custom Table
To keep a feeling of lightness in the dining area of a Palm Beach maisonette, Mimi McMakin put a glass top on wicker table bases. On the backs of Bungalow 5 chairs, Schumacher's Margate Damask linen is laced with simple white cording for a casual look. The floor is honed Herpel tile, original to the 1920s house.
See More:
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