When thinking about how to equip the dining room, people tend to think more in terms of utility. Unlike living rooms, dining rooms tend to be very simple, as people don’t spend a lot of time there.
According to studies, we spend 67 minutes on average eating and drinking. That doesn’t seem a lot, especially when divided into three meals, but does that mean we have to sit in a drab room for our dinner with the family? And what happens when we have guests over?
No, a dining room is not just pure utilitarianism – it is an expression of ourselves, just as much as any room in our home is. And here are a few tips on how to express yourself properly!
Start with the Dining Room Floor Plan
A house is built from the foundation up, not from the roof down.
So is when you want to equip the dining room. Start by creating a floor plan, and you’ll have a much better vision of what the finished product needs to look like. Do you want a large, long rectangular table to enact your wildest high-brow murder house mysteries fantasies with your guests, or do you want a smaller round table just for you and the family to bump elbows and eat in awkward silence?
Whatever you decide to do, the size of your room is going to play a major part in the planning phase. Always remember to plan for what you have, not for what you want; you want to use the space you have efficiently and have enough room for everyone to move around unimpeded.
Think About the Purpose
“It’s a dining room – I eat there”.
Yes, we get it, that is its primary purpose. But, as we said, you might have guests over for dinner, and you can’t just plop them anywhere. What about holidays? Christmas, Thanksgiving?
What we’re saying here is you need to determine not just what you will do in your dining room, but who will be using it, and for how long. How many people will you be seating? Most of the time, it will be just you and your nuclear family, but if you have guests over, you may need more chairs and more tables! No wonder extendable tables are so popular.
Lightning to Set the Mood
When it comes to dining rooms, lighting is very important.
Sure, dinner with candles is very romantic, but do you need that level of romance for a Thursday afternoon meal? Do you also trust your children not to knock over candelabras and spill hot wax all over the table cloth?
In essence, you want versatile lighting here. A standard ceiling fixture is a good call for just regular evening meals, but you can spice things up with lamps strategically placed all over the room, either in corners (think tall lamps) or atop other furniture for softer lighting and a more cozy feel.
In essence, you want enough light for people eating to see well enough, but too much where it hurts the eyes and distracts from the rest of the decor.
Find the Right Furniture
The lighting and the floor set the stage for the room, but you cannot equip the dining room without furniture. The furniture is its heart.
Naturally, the furniture you pick should complement other fixtures in your room. You can paint old kitchen cabinets or buy new ones, but… The most important part, of course, will be your dining table, as the central figure in the room.
Round tables have more versatility, as they can fit just about anywhere. They’re also great in smaller spaces – just make sure the table is large enough to accommodate at least 75 cm of elbow room, or people will feel cramped.
There are plenty of examples of beautiful dining tables of the standard rectangular variety out there that just scream elegance. If you want to feel like Richy Rich when hosting a party, this is the type of table to go for.
With that said, don’t forget about the chairs. Make sure they’re matching the style of the rest of your furniture for a more complete experience of the whole room.
Finally, find a matching rug. You can go without one for a more modern, minimalistic approach, but a nice rug will add a bit of coziness and hominess to the entire room. Just remember – square on square and round on round when matching your rug with the table.
Wrapping Up
If you want to equip the dining room, that’s all the tips we have for you today! When furnishing your rooms remember to add a personal touch to them, but don’t forget the utility part for the best experience!