Dining room design disaster area - wear your hard hat!
I realized how quickly a room in design transition can go from functional space to storage space. That being said - I need help here. Dining room dimensions are approx. 14' x 11'. Northern exposure with one big window on north side. Clearly I've begun the search for wall color, to no avail. Things that need to stay (at least for now) - table, chairs, rug and installed buffet (which needs a new updated look/color). I am not opposed to painting the chandelier or replacing it with something else (yes that's a monkey in the middle of it) and painting/staining or changing floor underneath rug. Curtains can go too. I've attached pics of connecting rooms (foyer and tv room, which are not entirely finished either) to show you the context for a transitional scheme with a slight modern vibe. Many thanks for any adjustment in direction or advice you might have!
Comments (11)
colonel115
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Why Don't You Use Your Dining Room?
Comments (41)We've been in this house for 26 years and the original kitchen was small and poorly designed with 6 - yep that's right 6 doors or hallway openings. When the 5 of us sat down for meals only the 2 on the end could get up. So we ate in the dining room most nights on a plywood table that DH made until we renovated. Both of us cook and we enjoy having guests so we put on a large addition and at 30 x 18 my kitchen is the largest room in the house and we love it. It mimics our formal dining room with dark cherry cabinets and Oriental rugs on the ceramic. We usually have all our meals there. We've made lighting the candles and saying grace (or a few woods to mark the day's events) a ritual.But there's still nothing like sitting down as a family for meals in the dining room which now has a real table and china cabinet and using the silver and china. There's a different feeling to using the dining room that makes it special. But when we designed our vacation/retirement home in the mts. we made a large great room so it's a combination living - dining- kitchen area....See MoreWhat's on your formal dining room table?
Comments (84)Sophie's mom, that's very elegant and lovely. No sense changing anything that looks that good. Mimi, I think your centerpieces are very nice and imaginative too. You may think you're behind but I disagree; you're way ahead of me. Oh Lynne, what a pretty centerpiece! I've never seen a Talaveras piece quite like that, and the flowers are perfect. Nobody could be depressed at your table! Debi, very pretty. Looks like you are all staged for an open house. Deborah, I really like it. I'm a red and green fan. But hey, whatever we pick there's always something we like better down the line somewhere, and you'll find it. Patricia, thanks for the additional info. Put a plastic bag over the top or a mayonnaise jar over the top and leave for about 2 weeks....then start watering once a week. Nicole, thanks for the rooting instructions! But wouldn't that depend on the weather? Are you saying leave the soil damp for two weeks, or let it dry out? Are there certain months of the year when we can or can't do this? Mari, you should win a prize for most unusual DR furniture. hehe...See MoreFamily Room Disaster
Comments (41)I think gduplessis, celerygirl, and groveraxel covered most of my points. I think I'd get rid of the love seat by the fireplace (so not blocking it), and move the one from the front wall forward until it's a conversational distance from the other couch. The the two make an L that includes TV and fireplace. You can add a small swivel chair by fireplace if space allows. Then I'd make the zone by the front door a different space, rather than the zone by the fireplace as partim did -- it could be a game table with two chairs, or a desk, or a bench with a boot tray... anything you have use for. The room is too long to be treated as one zone, which is why the love seats at either end are barely in shouting distance now....See MoreDining Room Design Help
Comments (13)Hi Christina, I think you've made a good start here! It's a good thing you're starting with fewer items of furniture rather than a whole lot. This way you don't necessarily have to edit out (throw out) stuff if you don't want to. From here on it's a matter of adding the right touches to finish the room. That would be achieved by adding color, texture, scale and personality as well as add a storage piece for more functionality to the space. It can be done in the following way: (a) COLOR - Firstly, the room has no real color scheme - the blue grey and white are not interacting with each other so that the scheme is missing from the color scheme, if that makes sense. As a Designer, walking into this client's (your) room my advice/suggestion would be to paint the dining table a rich glossy black to introduce instant character! Use marine paint then apply a couple of coats of lacquer finish as top coat to prevent wear and tear. This will give your room a big bang for the buck. Next, I would re-upholster the dining chair seats in a black and white pin-striped durable microfiber or sunbrella type fabric I would also replace the curtains with grey curtains - the white looks too stark and does not complement any other color in the room except the white baseboards - and that is not necessarily a good look. (b) SCALE - I would also hang them about 4-6 inches above where they are now - closer to the ceiling - to give the room height and add character. (c) TEXTURE - add natural bamboo simple roman shades on the windows, underneath the curtains. Throw on a table runner in a heavily textured open-weave fabric in off-white or grey. (d) SCALE - I would place a tall oversized vase in a simple style on the tabletop. My suggestion is it should be in clear glass - so as to add another TEXTURE and fill it with flowers or use a clear glass ice bucket filled with fruits such as oranges or pears. (e) FUNCTIONALITY - I would suggest either buy one more of the tall shelves that you have against the wall and stand the two side by side to cover the entire niche. OR buy a more solid looking - wider - Mid-Century Modern style Cabinet with shelves to house all your fine china, along with some books. (f) PERSONALITY - cover one wall in a black and white or grey and white geometric patterned wallpaper to create a feature wall thus giving some much needed character to the space. If you must hang something on the wall, it must be larger in scale - around 30 x 46. Whether it's a simple but elegant mirror - If your'e not planning to add artwork. Also I would switch the chandelier to a modern looking Sputnik-style ceiling light/chandelier (you can google it). The current lighting is a tad lacking in contemporary style or personality. Now you're done :) Hope you have as much fun as I had creating this list. Happy Decorating. Tori TORI BLACK HOMES...See MoreKelly
6 years ago
Manon Floreat
6 years agoWith north facing rooms, it's helpful use warm and saturated wall colors to mitigate the "cold" from the north.
[Colors for North Facing Rooms[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/8-colors-for-north-facing-rooms-stsetivw-vs~1226244)
I see that you have yellow accents in your lovely living room. Perhaps you could consider a golden yellow wall color. You could even paint your sideboard blue to echo the blue in your living room rug.
Michigan Summer Home · More Info
Traditional Dining Room · More Info
Sunny Dining Room · More InfoKelly thanked Manon Floreat
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
6 years agoNot sure how you think that blue rug can stay. The rest works. I lowered the chandelier.
Kelly thanked BeverlyFLADezinerKelly
6 years agoKelly
5 years ago
**UPDATE: been transitioning this small north facing dining room since last February after I got some great ideas on Houzz. It isn't done yet but I'm happy so far - so thank you! Coming back to u for ideas about finishing it off - especially need idea for window treatments, framed painting/print or other wall decor and anything else that pops into your head. Floors need to be refinished at some point but not doing it right now. Walls were painted BM Edgecomb Gray, ceiling- BM 25% Edgecomb Gray, molding- BM Dove White. Buffet was painted to look like wood.
saratogaswizzlestick