Make the Dining Room More Fun
Lose the fancy tablecloth and bring in dishes, cushions and placemats with personality
Remember the days of super formal dining rooms, the ones you were scared to step foot in? Thankfully, they’re less and less common, replaced by spaces more casual and family-friendly. The secret to these laid-back spaces is really all in the furnishings and the details: replacing stiff chairs with banquettes, mixing colorful placemats with your stainless steel, or using stain-resistant upholstery so the kids can slurp their spaghetti. It’s also about a sense of humor, and unexpected touches that will have people smiling throughout dinner.
Whether you’re transitioning from a formal space to a casual one, or wishing to add more light-hearted details to your already-relaxed dining area, these products and ideas will help you get on your way.
Whether you’re transitioning from a formal space to a casual one, or wishing to add more light-hearted details to your already-relaxed dining area, these products and ideas will help you get on your way.
Ladies-In-Waiting Dinner Plate
A bare, natural table is the perfect setting for some fun, and dinner plates are a great way to kick off a chill attitude. These Ladies-In-Waiting dinner plates from Anthropologie are sure to get your guests giggling.
Consider swapping out your stuffy dining table for something more relaxed, like this traditional set in a light wood stain. It’s a plus if your dining area and kitchen connect as one open space: It helps keep everyone together while dinner is prepared.
Oasis Dessert Plates
Angel food cake on fish-motif dessert plates from West Elm? Why not! The juxtaposition is perfectly goofy.
Great Moustaches Mug
No need for the formal coffee cup and saucer at the casual dining table. Mix it up a bit with something really unexpected, like the Great Moustaches mug from Paper Source.
Tied cushions are a quick and inexpensive solution to making your dining table more relaxed. Choose a contemporary fabric in a bright shade to add some light to the room. Your tablescape can carry the theme from there.
Placemats – Orange Birds
Placemats can change the entire personality of your table. These Orange Birds placemats from Art House Meath are sure to add color and spunk.
AphroChic - The Beat Placemat
Geometric designs are great contemporary accents that make any dinnerware pop. I like this Beat placemat from AphroChic.
Donkey Products Knigge Rich Placemats (set of 2)
Make fun of your disregard for formal settings in an obvious way with this blueprint placemat. Just don’t invite Emily Post to dinner!
If your budget allows, consider a more contemporary dining set. This will instantly update your space and give it a more relaxed aura. These furnishings are often much more kid-friendly than traditional ones, and the little ones don’t always want to be relegated to the kids’ table. If ketchup hits one of those white chairs, it will disappear with the swipe of a napkin.
Custom Personalized Plate
Now that you’ve invited the kids, make it as fun for them as at-home dining has now become to you. These personalized plates from an artist on Etsy might finally help them give a little thought to their meal.
Modern-twist Placemat: Kat in the City
What’s better than a spill-resistant placemat that also lets your kids draw on it? Potentially nothing. Your kids will be entertained for hours (or at least a few sacred minutes).
Going more casual does not mean you have to lose all the glamour. The key is getting the balance between the elegant and the everyday, like a fabulous chandelier mixed with a natural wood table.
Combine a traditional table with banquette seating. Your dining area will suddenly become the hippest booth in town.
Lilliput Salt and Pepper Shaker Set by Alessi
The final touches: small details with big senses of humor, like salt and pepper shakers. The Lilliput Salt and Pepper Shaker set features magnetic feet so they can walk along the metal pole.
Sharks Salt and Pepper Shakers
These shark salt and pepper shakers crack me up. How funny to find one hiding behind the orange juice. Surprise!
More: How to Make a Kid-Friendly Chalkboard Tabletop
Sit Pretty With Mismatched Chairs
Cozy Up to a Loveseat at the Table
Unconventional Dining Room Seating
More: How to Make a Kid-Friendly Chalkboard Tabletop
Sit Pretty With Mismatched Chairs
Cozy Up to a Loveseat at the Table
Unconventional Dining Room Seating