A dining room is often seen as the heart of a home for entertaining. You use it for game nights, family dinners, celebrations, and many other occasions. Because of this, the design and feel of the dining room is important.
If you are looking to design a brand-new dining room or improve the one you have, here are a few tips you can use to make the most out of the space.
Materials
The first thing you need to do is decide on the materials you will include; do you want wood, steel, or marble? Do you want to go out and shop timber dining chairs or have a steel dining room table frame made?
The materials you choose will influence how the space feels, as timber and wood will create a warm feel, while metal and stone will create a more futuristic and industrial look.
Style
Next, you need to decide on the style of dining room you want. While this will usually match the rest of your home, maybe you want to try something new such as going for something more classic or modern.
Style and materials go hand-in-hand, almost as if you are choosing wooden furniture, you are most likely not going for an industrial look, and if you want an industrial look, wooden furniture won’t be on your radar.
Function
While this may seem like a silly point, you need to decide on the function of your dining room. Is it going to be used for dinner every night, or is it somewhere you will only use for special occasions or when you have guests over?
If it is a more casual space, you don’t want it to feel stretched and sterile; however, if it is a more formal area, then you want your guests and family to feel it.
Size
The size of the room will have a major impact on what you can and can’t include, as well as the overall feel of the room. First off, ensure that you can fit a table with the desired amount of chairs around it, and then work from there.
One mistake many people make is that they want to add bookcases, a chest of drawers, or something similar to the dining room, as well as the table and chairs. If the room is too small, you can make it feel very cramped and uncomfortable if there are too many pieces of furniture in it.
Layout
The layout of your dining room will be determined by the size and shape of the room, as well as its location relative to other rooms. If you have a standard, separate dining room area, you may be a bit more constrained when it comes to what you can and can’t do.
However, if you have an open-plan dining room and living room, you are able to be a bit more creative in how you create each space and how they interact with each other.
Pathways
Much like when you design any room, you need to be aware of pathways. In interior design, a pathway/pathways are where people are going to walk or where you want people to walk, and are determined by where you place the furniture.
In a dining room, you want to ensure that it is easy to get in and out of every seat, as well as easy to get to a serving station or something similar that you may have.
Simplicity
One of the first things you should do when designing a dining room is to keep it as simple as possible at first. This logic applies to every room, but a basic design allows you to see where you can and can’t add more furniture.
Don’t forget that you can make a simple dining room look far more detailed and sophisticated by using art and indoor plants.
Type of Table
Once you are ready to choose furniture, you will need to pick the type and style of table for your dining room. You can choose from an oval, rectangular, square, round, corner or edge table.
When it comes to smaller rooms, a corner or round table often works better as they generally have a smaller footprint in a room but still offer seating for 4-6 people. If your room is larger, any style should fit unless your room is an unusual shape.
Open-Plan
If you have an open-plan dining room and living room, you may want to design your dining room in a way that either incorporates the other space or separates the two areas completely.
Having a more open design allows you to interact with guests more easily, but a separate design will create a space that is more intimate.
Lighting
Finally, many experts agree that every dining room needs some form of overhead lighting. Most people want to see what they are eating, but overhead lighting also creates the most light, meaning you only need a lamp or two.
If the room has a nice, big window or two, place the table in a way that allows the most light to reach it. This will make the room feel extra cosy, especially in the Winter.
