The Recipe for a Timeless Dining Room: Ingredients for an Enduring and Elegant Space
A magnificent example of all the ingredients coming together, executed by Ethan Allen
Do you often feel like everyone else’s dining rooms have some special ingredient that yours doesn’t? Let's make a lasting space that you are proud of for once. To do so, there are crucial elements that will set the foundation for your dining room's style for years to come. In this post, I'll demonstrate how to effortlessly turn your eating area into a chic and refined setting by acquiring these key pieces. Prepare to indulge in a graceful and timeless dining experience!
Dining rooms are spaces where people come together for food and conversation. Certain furniture pieces are essential to furnishing a dining room. Without these pieces, the room won't function. Here are some of those must-have pieces:
The Table
When selecting a timeless dining room table, it's important to choose a well-crafted piece that has simple details. My preference is a Parson-style table with simple lines. For an organic vibe consider opting for a wood grain in oak with a matte, as it adds a touch of texture. However, if a more sophisticated look is what you desire, then a dining table in maple, walnut, or mahogany with a classic satin finish in warm brown tones. For those seeking a bold statement, a high gloss burlwood table has remained a top choice in upscale settings for over seven decades. Alternatively, the opaque black wood table adds a contemporary touch that will remain stylish for decades ahead.
Here are some top styles that will carry you through the trends for decades to come.
The Chairs
Choosing a good chair is essential to what statement your dining room will make to your visitors. They will set the tone as far as style and formality. If you want to add a bit of flair to your room, Captain’s chairs at the heads of the table in a bold color or pattern is always a fun way to accomplish this. When choosing a pattern for upholstered chairs, select a classic pattern in a modern colorway ensuring longevity and a fresh updated look. For a minimalist look, a chair with Japanese or Scandinavian influences is a great staple to any dining room.
Here is an important fact about your dining chair investment-the majority of the time the total cost of dining chairs costs more than the table
The Buffet
In my opinion, a dining room is not a dining room until you have a buffet or small chest to serve as a focal point in the room. Let’s not forget also this essential piece of furniture provides storage and a surface for serving food. It is where much of the room’s layering happens with buffet lamps and décor. This is one of the primary areas I love to tell the room’s story with art and wall decor. When it comes to the buffet or storage cabinet in the dining room this is the one foundational piece that I say go for it if you want to ramp it up. Punch it with color. Pick one with interesting 3D door panels or intricate moldings. Why you ask? It is the focal point of the room!
The Rug
The rug hits several design principles. First, it grounds the room by framing the dining table and chairs. Secondly, a rug can provide texture to the space with natural fibers like jute and seagrasses or hand-knotted and hand-tufted wool rugs. Did you choose a relaxed dining experience for your dining room? Or a more formal, elegant affair? Today Persian and Turkish rugs in modern colorways are great ways to introduce luxury to a refined dining space. I love to do seagrass rugs or jute rugs in more casual dining areas. However, a small-scale pattern rug with a tone-on-tone lends itself to both informal and formal settings providing sophistication to the design.
Rugs are one of my top design elements I believe should be treated as an heirloom. Invest wisely! I proudly can say as an Ethan Allen interior designer our rugs are something to pass down to the next generation.
The Lighting
Like a beautiful statement necklace on a woman’s decolletage, so is the lighting in a dining room. Here is where I recommend leaning into ornamental details like modern crystals, exquisite metalwork, tapered shades, or adorned in beads. As you are selecting your lighting be mindful of the impact the finish has on the aesthetic of the room. Polished finishes are ideal for a clean crisp room. Gold finishes are great for a warm palette, whereas a silver finish is popular for a cool modern palette. Oil-rubbed bronze has been replaced by matte black finishes. My experience is to limit the matte black finishes to the fixed fixtures in the room, for example, the chandelier and wall sconces. If you are adding a few table lamps in the room or adjacent to the dining room then pop a silver or gold finish. This will break up what could be a heavy look otherwise.
Now that you have all the ingredients for an enduring dining room add your final touches with your favorite trending accessories and florals. When you have a timeless dining room, you can gradually update it as your taste changes over time. This allows you to keep your space fresh and exciting without having to start over every few years. You can keep things interesting by changing out old accessories, changing your table linens, or switching out smaller occasional pieces.
What I love about being a timeless interior designer is that my clients reach out every 5 to 10 years wanting a refresh and it is never a total rehaul of their checkbook because they still love the classic pieces they invested in for the space. But, we can do a refresh with a few new modern fabrics or pieces to give it a modernized look.
Follow me for more timeless design tips @tammie.luvs.design
Are you in the weeds on where to start designing your home? Or some guidance to complete a project? If you are in the San Diego area schedule an appointment here. Outside of the San Diego County area contact me for my virtual design services.
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In 2024, dining rooms are back! Whether it is a formal dining room or eat-in dining in the kitchen. A big statement is the trend with color, rich brown wood tones, and large oversized lighting.
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If you are looking to monopolize on the statement dining space. Then my advice is to push the boundaries on scale of your lighting and wall decor in the space. Focus on assuring that the lighting and the wall decor are to scale of one another, too.