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Dining Rooms

Dining Rooms

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The Easiest Room to Decorate: The Dining Room

Becky Harris November 4, 2010

Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected." I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.

Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More

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If you suffer from indecision and a lack of confidence in decorating, I recommend starting with your dining room. It's a very simple formula: Table + Chairs + Light Fixture + Dinner = You're Done! The rug, centerpiece, and any side pieces are optional. Get the table first—figure out the size you need and go from there. As long as your table fits in the room with some space to walk around it, you cannot go wrong.

Modern Dining Room by The Brick House

The Brick House

The simplest way to set up a dining room is with a Price Is Right matchy-matchy set. Resist the temptation. Look at how great these shell chairs look with a wooden table and a DIY light fixture over at The Brick House.

Contemporary Living Room by Eck | MacNeely Architects inc.

Eck | MacNeely Architects inc.

This dining area literally uses the bare minimum—just a table and chairs that let the view be the main focus.

Contemporary Dining Room by Amoroso Design

This dining room has beautiful built-ins and trimwork. These details are rectilinear while the table and chandelier bring in circles.

Contemporary Dining Room by Stacie Velten

Here the designer has started with a base of wood with the table and chairs, brought in amber glass in the light fixture, and added steel with the cabinet.

Transitional Dining Room by Elizabeth Dinkel

Elizabeth Dinkel

Because the stone wall provides such gorgeous texture, the simple table and chairs are a great choice.

Contemporary Dining Room by Mark English Architects, AIA

Mark English Architects, AIA

A spare minimal space is perfect for a hefty wood table and sculptural chairs—they really have a chance to shine here. The crisp white pendant seems like an extension of the ceiling.

Contemporary Dining Room by FORMA Design

OK, now we're getting into rug territory. A good guide for getting the rug size right: Push all of the chairs out so that edges of the seats are about one foot away from the edge of the table. Your rug should be at least large enough to extend underneath this area.

Beach Style Dining Room by Frederick + Frederick Architects

Frederick + Frederick Architects

Because this room does not have any sort of hanging light fixture, a tall centerpiece draws the eye up and provides a focal point.

Transitional Dining Room Transitional Dining Room

Here we're getting just a little more complex. The patterned rug is the most eye-catching element in the room, and the upholstered chairs pick up color from the rug. The soft chairs contrast with the large wooden table. Finally, the black ring chandelier brings some of the dark colors from the rug up into the lighter part of the ceiling.

Modern Dining Room by SchappacherWhite Architecture D.P.C.

SchappacherWhite Architecture D.P.C.

Hmmm, a motorcycle in the dining room. Could be a deal-breaker for a couple!

Victorian Dining Room by LDa Architecture & Interiors

LDa Architecture & Interiors

This dining room caused a bit of controversy between the Victorian fans and the Contemporary fans! Personally, I love that the room has a base of original Victorian details, a traditional Venetian Fortuny pendant, and a very contemporary and sculptural table. It's "Massachusetts, meet Italy; Italy, this is Massachusetts! Have a great time getting to know each other!"

Eclectic Dining Room by Vanessa De Vargas

Vanessa De Vargas

If you aren't comfortable with a very spare dining room, perhaps a dining room-slash-library is an idea for you. This is a great spot for getting work done and making good use of the space any time of day.

Modern by decordemon

This dining room is bold and has horizontal tiers: the red stripe of lights, the wide piece of art, the chair tops, the stripe of red from the seats, and finally the Flor tiles. It looks complicated, but sticking to a simple and strict color palette makes it easy to pull a room like this together.

Contemporary Living Room by Garret Cord Werner Architects & Interior Designers

Garret Cord Werner Architects & Interior Designers

If I have said it once, I've said it a hundred times, but have some fun with the chairs you pick! Forget the matchy-matchy sets and go with something you absolutely love. You'll be amazed at the variety of chairs that look great with the big old dining table you inherited from Nana.

Baxton Studio Sparrow Brown and Gravel Wood Modern Dining Chair, Set of 2

Baxton Studio Sparrow Brown and Gravel Wood Modern Dining Chair, Set of 2

$260

Glacier Country Collection Side Chair With Ergonomic Wooden Seat

Glacier Country Collection Side Chair With Ergonomic Wooden Seat

$265

Amorette 1-Light Chrome Glam Lighting Mini Pendant Chandelier With Crystals

Amorette 1-Light Chrome Glam Lighting Mini Pendant Chandelier With Crystals

$63

Azha 3-Light Oil Rubbed Bronze Drum Pendant Chandelier With Crystal Spheres Glam

Azha 3-Light Oil Rubbed Bronze Drum Pendant Chandelier With Crystal Spheres Glam

$173

Mid-Century Fabric & Metal Side Chairs, Set of 2, Gray/Walnut

Mid-Century Fabric & Metal Side Chairs, Set of 2, Gray/Walnut

$165

The Slip Cover Parson Chair, Set of 2, Natural Linen

The Slip Cover Parson Chair, Set of 2, Natural Linen

$286

Comments (17)

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marissa camacho

I have always dreamed of having a huge square dining room table-I think this is an oriental look- but when it finally came time to buy, I found it impractical because it would be quite hard to reach the food if served on the middle of the table. Can you feature square dining tables so I can reconsider the possibility of having my dream come true and not regretting not getting one for the new house we are building?

2 Likes November 9, 2010 at 11:10PM

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ellie48

This is another wonderful post Becky. A client and a designer can shine when it comes to planning a dining room. I don't believe in matchy-matchy either. So many people still do unfortunately. The non-matchy-matchy look is a real fashion look to some and they are not quite there. There are some great pictures in this ideabook. Thank you!!!

1 Like January 24, 2011 at 5:07PM

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Jan Grath

What happen to the wonderful wallpaper prints? I love patterns,it seems that everyone is doing plain, plain, plain... I love the traditional patterns with flowers and branches and birds, is that out of style now?

3 Likes February 19, 2013 at 5:53PM

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