Tastes in dining room style are as varied as tastes for the food itself. Depending on personal preferences, individuals may incorporate elements from multiple styles to create a dining room that reflects their unique personality and lifestyle.

Over the centuries, dining spaces became more refined with elaborate furniture, tapestries, and artwork. The Victorian era saw the height of formality, with dining rooms often extravagantly decorated and furnished, elaborate table settings, and strict etiquette governing dining practices. In the U.S., Thomas Jefferson set the standard for the grand dining room.

With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, separate dining rooms became more common in middle-class homes, reflecting a growing emphasis on privacy and family life. The early 20th century saw a move towards more casual dining habits, influenced by changing social norms and the advent of smaller, more intimate family units. Dining rooms in middle-class homes became less formal, often doubling as multipurpose spaces for various activities. The dining room has evolved in recent decades in response to changing lifestyles and architectural trends.

Selecting the Table Shape

While the area and shape of the available space will dictate many decisions, the selection of the table’s shape and style may be the fundamental building block for creating the space’s design. That decision can help you settle on the overall functionality you want for the space.

The rectangular table has been the standard form since the ancients. Over time, it became more extensive and ornate with decorative features. The 20th century saw a variety of dining table shapes and styles emerge, reflecting changing tastes and lifestyles. Rectangular tables remained popular for formal dining rooms, while smaller round or square tables became common in kitchens and breakfast nooks. Round or oval tables promote more interaction because each guest can see everyone’s face.

Additionally, modular and extendable tables have become popular for their versatility and space-saving features, especially in smaller homes and apartments. To make a smaller space look larger, consider a glass-top table. Glass creates the illusion of space and gives a room a light, airy feel.

Dining Room by Michelle Jett

Storage

Furnishings chosen for storage should align with the available space. Fortunately, there’s a wide array of options today. Dining room storage units can cater to diverse needs, holding everything from dinnerware and glassware to table linens, serving utensils, and additional pantry items.

Storage pieces also give you surfaces to display art or other accessories to add personality to your space.

Today’s dining spaces vastly differ from the dark traditional look with intricate moldings, elegant heavy draperies, and large wooden tables. Color is now more common in dining areas. Even a traditional look can have more visual interest with patterns and texture.

The style choices are numerous. You can have the clean lines, minimalist aesthetics, and functionality of modern/contemporary. Or, yes, farmhouse rustic. You may prefer Scandinavian simplicity or an industrial look. There are even more choices with Bohemian, coastal, mid-century modern, eclectic, and traditional.

With so much to consider, professional assistance can help you avoid mistakes. Contact us today to transform your dining space.

Join Our Newsletter

If you enjoyed reading this interior design blog, sign up for our monthly newsletter. They’re never too long and will brighten your day!

The post Explore the Savory Side of Dining Room Design appeared first on Michelle Jett - Decorating Den Interiors.

The client wanted this gathering place to be a showstopper in their open floor plan home. It is one of the first things you see when entering the home. Going bold with black and white wallpaper along with the mustard velvet draperies does the trick. The custom live edge table adds an unusual touch. It all makes for a modern industrial look.

The transformation from a traditional style to a transitional one is shown above. Host chairs in soft navy velvet and side chairs in ivory replaced traditional dining chairs. Lighting was a key component of this update to transitional. The Finhorn Round 15-Light Multi-Drop Pendant has orb-shaped shades covered with small squares of mother of pearl that were painstakingly hand-applied.

The built-in (above) was a natural to be showcased without taking away from the unique windows. To help bring the eye to that wall, a fun two-color wallpaper was used. The two-toned table adds contrast and keeps the room from looking too uniform. A soft watery blue/aqua, pulled from the rug and window treatments, was the backdrop on the walls, which set off the crisp white millwork nicely. It also helped showcase the coved nature of the walls The multi-colored rug adds some visual excitement.

As noted previously, wallpaper is always a great way to add a design element or make a bold statement. In the above left, it is used to frame the stunning buffet with its starburst pattern and make the accessories command attention. This is the alcove adjoining the second-place dining areas shown earlier.

Making a statement with the room above right was the objective. Mission accomplished! The stunning black and white wallpaper pulls your gaze around the entire room and complements the modern artwork. The avant-garde oval table works perfectly in the space to provide maximum seating. How about that innovative ribbon chandelier?

The shape of the table is both a design and function decision. Round ones can foster more conversation among family or friends. A guest is not locked in to talking only with the persons on the right and the left. It’s also often a better game table, too. The one above easily converts from smaller to larger. Don’t leave these photos without noticing how the colors add pizzaz.

Remember to look outside the home for inspiration. This is a small dining area in a waterfront home, so a coastal color palette was a natural choice. The gold chandelier and table and chair legs add glamour without overpowering. The oversized gold and teal abstract piece of artwork is a finishing element that brings harmony into a room packed with visual elegance.

Surely these rooms whet your appetite for a sumptuous dining room makeover. Just click here to get started on your dining room redesign today. We can feast on creative ideas together.

The post Gather ‘Round the Table and Plan a Dining Room Makeover appeared first on Michelle Jett - Decorating Den Interiors.

But when was the last time that you actually retreated to this area of your home? You might’ve talked about gathering in this space with your favorite people, but did you ever make it to this cozy space or did you resort to the living room instead? There’s nothing wrong with getting together on the sofa, of course, but you should certainly make use of your dining area if you have one.

If you’re having a hard time motivating yourself and your guests to sit down at the dining room table and enjoy a meal and conversation, maybe you need to spruce the space up. Here are a few ways to encourage more traffic in your dining room:

1. Add more seating
It’s easy to assume that you only need enough seating to take care of your live-in family members, but that’s likely the reason you don’t make use of this space when guests come around. A larger table with more chairs can solve this problem, but you can also keep a bench nearby to accommodate those who don’t necessarily need to sit at the table, but still want to be a part of the conversation.

2. Consider a new light fixture
Perhaps the reason you’re avoiding the dining room is that it’s dark and gloomy. First, decide how much natural lighting you have available. If your current window treatments are keeping you from embracing the natural sunlight, switch them out for something more flowy and transparent like sheer treatments.

A light fixture upgrade can add a new sense of style to the space.

If your dining room is in the middle of your home with minimal natural lighting, you may consider a new light fixture that gleams down on the middle of the table. This will not only illuminate the space, but it can also be the perfect focal point of the room (as mentioned in the point below.)

3. Create a focal point
Every dining room needs a conversation starter. Sometimes it’s your husband, other times it’s a beautiful piece of artwork, furniture or accessories sitting on the shelf. If you want to make the latter a true statement, find something that brings the room together and intrigues guests from the moment they enter the room until the second they leave.

4. Start from scratch
Sometimes, your dining room needs more than a new table or centerpiece to get the conversation flowing. It may be time to give the entire room a floor-to-ceiling makeover if you want to turn it into a space that’s visited on a more frequent basis. Think new paint color, window treatments, chair cushions, area rugs and other accessories that will make the space feel more complete.

5. Call a personal decorator from Michelle Jett – Decorating Den Interiors to assist with the changes
Your dining room space shouldn’t go to waste. Instead of treating it like an extra coat closet or storage space for holiday decorations, take advantage of the opportunity to gather with the ones you love. Committing to the project is just the first step — once you’re ready to execute your ideas, or run them by a professional, contact a personal decorating consultant from Michelle Jett – Decorating Den Interiors.

He or she will come to your home for a free consultation to evaluate your dining space and offer points of expertise to guide you in the right style direction. You can work together to come up with a theme, pick out decorations and furniture and place everything together like a puzzle based on the allotted space and your style preferences. By the end of the project, your dining room will look good as new and be the only room you want to retreat to in your home.

Are you ready to make a change? Contact a design consultant from Michelle Jett – Decorating Den Interiors today to give your dining room a makeover before the holiday season begins.

<<Back to Blog

The post How to Encourage More Traffic in your Dining Room appeared first on Michelle Jett - Decorating Den Interiors.

No matter what type of adjustments you plan to make, it’s worth contacting a Michelle Jett – Decorating Den Interiors personal decorator for design assistance. He or she can go over the following fall-inspired color themes to prepare for the season ahead:

1. Bronze

Create an elegant and endearing atmosphere in the dining room with bronze hues, as suggested by HGTV. Bronze window treatments and embellishments in the lighting fixtures make a calm yet formal touch. Complement the space with orange and red accents.

2. Amethyst

A touch of purple goes a long way, and amethyst is a rustic approach at using the vibrant color. Whether you’re interested in completely transforming the room by painting the walls, or you’re just looking for a fun color for the throw pillows, lampshade, and area rug, amethyst makes an interesting twist on the traditional take of fall colors.

Paint your walls in a deep shade of amethyst for a warming touch.

3. Yellow

Deep mustard is another rural and toned-down way to make use of a vibrant and inviting color. Elle Decor recommended taking things up a notch by creating a yellow accent floor instead of an accent wall. Of course, you can simply emphasize shades of yellow in decor throughout the room if you’re not interested in replacing the foundation’s color.

4. Gray

Soothing shades of gray create a glorious backdrop to the gleams changing autumn light, according to Better Homes and Gardens. It’s also a neutral route to take, perfect for redesigning the room for the entire year. Bouncing off of the gray, you can accent with deep shades of blue and saffron in your accessories and pieces of wall art.

Just because autumn has already arrived, doesn’t mean you can’t get a late start on decorating! Now’s the perfect time to think about which fall-inspired color theme you’d like to use in the dining room to prepare for the Thanksgiving festivities. Once you have an idea of what you’d like to change, get in contact with a design consultant from Michelle Jett – Decorating Den Interiors. He or she will come over to your home to conduct a free consultation and provide feedback based on your space and ideas. Once you’ve discussed your options, your personal decorator will make sure your design dreams are achieved.

So what are you waiting for? Don’t hesitate to reach out to a professional from Michelle Jett – Decorating Den Interiors today!

<< Back to blog

The post 4 Fall-Inspired Color Themes For Your Dining Room appeared first on Michelle Jett - Decorating Den Interiors.