Nothing in my house is matchy-matchy LOL.

We have an oak clawfoot table in our dining room - right now with oak chairs. However, a few months ago I found my dream chairs - some painted/distressed cane back chairs. My plan is to use them with the clawfoot table (which will remain in it's original stained finish). I have an antique chest in the room and a bow-front china cabinet - which are all also oak. I have another chest that I will be painting and am toying with the idea of moving that piece into the dining room in place of the stained chest. I'm thinking I may need another piece of painted furniture along with the chairs. I'm waiting till I find a new sofa as the dining room opens to the living room and we will paint and redecorate all at once.

I think the fabric host chairs are a good idea. Could you search for vintage pieces to use with the table and chairs? Or consider painting a piece to use in the room?

tina

I think the dining room is one of the places where a matched set of pieces can work really well together, so if the matching china cabinet is the best option, that's fine. The potential issue is later if you want to add another piece and it is the only non matching one.

The mix of upholstered chairs will give you a bit of variation.

I didn't look at your choices, I am speaking theoretically here.

I prefer low cabinets in the DR as opposed to curios or china cabinets, a side board or buffet can hold some dishes and it leaves the wall above open for art or a mirror. I'm not against the matchiness, since I know that finding the right piece to blend in can sometimes be difficult.
I like your choice of chairs with that table, I couldn't see the curio on it's own or other offerings in that line, when I clicked on dining room storage.

Mitch - I was thinking that w/the curio being 80 inches high - 6.5 feet high that even w/9 foot ceilings that it is a pretty tall piece and with my wall being 11 feet and the curio only being 44 long - I may have too much empty wall space. I could put mirrors, pictures,etc. which I'm sure would help.
Here's another link:
http://www.arhaus.com/furniture/dining-room-furniture/dining-storage/30LEICURMOC/

My table, chairs and hutch are a matched set. I also have two other furniture pieces in the room that are not matching but similar in style and color.
The more formal you want the dining room to be, the more the matchy the furniture should be. A matching sets speaks formality to me. If the dining room is more casual than I wouldnt match pieces. JMHO

We have an antique set that is all matched. I usually prefer a "collected over time" look, but in DR's I usually like matched sets better. There are always exceptions, though!

Like Mitch, I prefer low pieces in dining rooms, especially smaller dining rooms. Having a lower piece provides a terrific opportunity to add art above it which I much prefer to seeing someone's china collection towering over me. I tend to like mixed furnishings better than matched, but both can look good. I don't think mixed is less formal than matched as long as all of the pieces are formal.

I really like the new table and chairs. I like the matching curio too--so if you like it--I'd say get it!

I think the sale ends today - but, they run sales all the time, so I may have some time to keep thinking about it. They do make a buffet that would coordinate w/the furniture, but I would like a glass area to display my favorite things and some china.
If I buy the curio - this set will run me over 5K..I like it alot - but, I'm not sure that I LOVE IT...though, I just want to get my house DONE...
I do have a lady from Decorating Den coming next week, maybe another set of eyes in the space will help me decide. I would guess they will push thier furniture, but if I already have most of the dining room, she may not have anything to coordinate w/it.

For 5K, I'd have to LOOOOOOVE it to pieces!
Wait til you are really sure & tickled to bits.
FWIW, my DR pieces match each other but don't "match" the rest of my house.

My DR furniture matches, but that's because it was inherited. None of my other furniture matches.

Like Tina, I also have an oak antique claw foot oak table and an oak bow front china. Even though my room is small, I have other collected antique oak pieces and a brass antique onyx stand in the room - to me the common denominator of oak for all but one piece lends a certain 'matchiness', which I find warm and cozy.
Seems it makes less sense to me for you to find another piece just to avoid a current trend unless you find something else that you just love.

Put in only what you like, not just what is part of a set. My dining table is one I inherited from my ex-MIL (my ex used to say it was one of a kind, handmade, blah blah. Then I had a friend who had exactly the same"one of a kind" antique!!!). My chairs were free on CL (they replaced other chairs that had been given to me by a friend). My buffet is a free dresser from CL that I painted and changed the hardware on. Love it! My old house's dining room has 2 built-in corner cabinets with glass doors. Love those too. I collect and replace things as I find others that I like. I don't care about trends. Just do whatever YOU like!!!!

Amen to rafor. When it's an especially formal setting match-y match-y works well. When it's more casual, blend-y blend-y's good. I don't match in dining rooms. Or any room.

~Jeana

My vote is for no matchy matchy.

The only thing matching in my DR are our chairs. They came with DH, are over 30 years old, Italian provincial, and are solid wood. Buffet is mirrored and table has parsons legs with glass top. It's casual formal.

Ohhhhhh, I only do matchy/matchy. Let's see....the room is full of plants - I'd say that's matchy/matchy - leaves and dirt, green. Lots of antiques - rustic wood - everything was a tree once - that matches. Even a fountain, but part of it's knarley wood.

It's also my "Wolf Room" with lots of expensive originals of paintings, alabaster statues, some prints....I try to only decorate with wolf "stuff" so that matches too.

Obviously, I don't do formal entertaining (although I have fed up to 50 people out of that room). I'm a firm believer that if you like it and it gives you warm fuzzies, put it in there, match or no match. I bet if YOU like it, your guests will too.

I decided to get the curio/china cupboard.

I stopped at Arhaus and looked for other pieces that could coordinate and thought - just get the darn piece then get another lower piece that doesn't match. So I ordered it.

It really isn't as big as I thought, and they only had a few left in stock. I can always add a mismatched piece as an accent and w/my room being on the small side I didn't want too many mismatched pieces. I thought I wanted a low piece to put dramatic lamps on, then realized that my chandelier is so pretty and dramatic, that additional lamps will take away from the chandy...

Thanks for everyone's help !
Next I have to look for a rug, drapes and accessories. Maybe the lady from decorating den can help me w/colors, fabrics...

in our formal dining room, i bought a cherry table and chairs and china cabinet years ago when furnishing our 1st dining room- it's beautiful furniture! i added a harden server that doesn't 'match' but is traditional style and a similar tone of wood---i added a cart that had been my parents' that is fine---don't love it but it's functional. lots of pieces could go in my dining room---and if we move again, i might find other little pieces to swap in- but i think in a dining room it's very pretty when pieces 'match' and it's an easy purchase-as long as you like it!

roco0101 - Would love to see pics of your room! :)

I've looked at the title of this thread too often and chuckled to myself when I've thought about my DR. I wasn't going to post becuase I haven't put any thought into my DR. I think that the buffet may be cherry. The DR table and chairs are antiques from DH's grandmother that are in dire need of refinishing. The piano that is stuffed in there is who knows what and the Beermeister is black and tucked (hidden) in the corner.

roco0101 - LOL! I would also love to see pics of your room.

Nothing in my house is matchy/matchy ... my mind doesn't compute or ever think in terms of matchy/matchy. Just what I like and if it fits the space.

I'd love to see the "Wolf Room" too, roco!