Decorating Tips for the Smaller Dining Room
Small room decorating always presents an interesting challenge. In a small home, you must make sure the room functions for its intended purpose, as well as serving other functions. There are several factors you must consider when choosing the right furniture, but if you follow these simple suggestions, you will have a room that is not only beautiful, but one that functions well for you on many levels. Keep these tips in mind when selecting your dining room furniture:
- Size and Shape: Heavy, ornate furniture tends to be chunky and take up not only actual space, but visual space as well. Square or round tables will take up a bit more room, but work well if your room is square. Most rooms are not perfectly square but tend to be rectangular. If this is the case with your dining room, you will have more room if you use a rectangular shaped dining table. The table should be able to expand to hold the highest number of guests you anticipate at special occasions, but it does not have to stay that size all year. Select a table that has extensions for when you need them, but can stay at a smaller size the rest of the time.
- Style and Materials: You may have a traditional style in your home and feel you must bring heavy, traditional pieces into the dining room as well. That is not the case. If you have dark woods throughout the rest of the home, you can still stay with the darker woods, but streamline the style. Smooth, sleek lines are visually less obtrusive and create a softer look. They will appear to take up less space in your room than the exact sized overly ornate piece. Another great look for a small room is glass. Being able to see through the glass opens up the room tremendously as it gives the eye so much more to see.
- Seating: For years, the furniture manufacturers have led us to believe that you must buy dining “sets”. They told us the chairs “went” with the table. Ask any designer if she buys “sets” and you will hear a resounding “No”! You may find a table you like, but the chairs that are with it just don’t work for you. Chairs are a very individual type of furniture. People have different needs. Some want more structure and support; others want a certain look and feel to them. Don’t let a manufacturer dictate what you buy. Once you find a table you love, then find chairs you love too. A few things to keep in mind are, just like with the table, size, shape and materials.
- Storage: If your room is large enough to hold more than just the table and chairs, then storage is your next item. Unlike the traditional china cabinet or buffet, you want to think double-duty. Since your dining table may also be used as a work surface in your smaller home, you may want a place nearby to store items you will need while working at the table. A small credenza with both open space for showing off your china and closed cabinets for storing your work supplies is a perfect fit for your situation.
With the beautiful styles of furniture available to you today, it’s easy to find the perfect furniture to fit your needs and lifestyle. If you keep these simple rules in mind, you will end up with a room that is beautiful, functional and totally “you”.