Dining Room: Making The Most Of Being The Host*

Interior design is definitely not an easy field to master. Those at the top of this field often spend many years studying before they can start working, and will spend even longer still on their passion before they can be considered great. Of course, though, there isn’t often room for this in the modern home, with the prices of designers going through the roof, and most homeowners being short on time. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring one of the most important rooms of all, along with some of the ways that you can nail the way that it looks.

Decor –

 

 

To begin, it’s time to think about the basic style you’d like to go for in your dining room. Nowadays, options from most eras and influences are acceptable, with fashion leaning towards anything which is visually appealing rather than set rules. This means that you could have a cottage, ultra modern, or retro theme, and your room wouldn’t stick out. Of course, though, you will need to choose the basic components to get started.

The easiest place to start with this will be the walls, as this gives you a great place to start establishing your theme. It’s always nice to have some color in this part of a room, but you will have to make sure that this is done tastefully, as this could make your room very overwhelming. A lot of people will choose to have one wall which uses a brighter color, along with the rest of the walls being neutral. If you’re feeling brave, wallpaper can add a great element to most styles, especially those inspired by vintage classics.

Once you have your walls figured out, it will be time to move onto the floor, and you have a few more options here. In most rooms, wooden floors will look great, as long as they are kept in good condition. This can be great if you already have floorboards beneath the existing flooring in the room. Alternatively, if you don’t have existing wood, laminate or tile flooring can also be great. It’s best to avoid carpet in a room where you will be eating, as it can become very unhygienic when exposed to food.

Along with your floors and walls, there will be loads of additional features which can be used to capture the spirit of the style you have in mind. A clock, for example, can be an easy way to express yourself in a room. Along with this, though, framed photos and artwork, ornaments, and other small collectables can all make great additions to a space like this. Of course, to make this work as well as it can, it’s always worth looking for options which sit within the same styles. With all of this prepared, you will be ready to move onto the furniture you will be keeping in the room.

Furniture –

 

 

A dining room won’t be very good for its main role without a good table in place to seat all of the guests you could be hosting in your home. Choosing a piece like this should be nice and easy, and there are loads of different options out there to make it easier. If you find yourself struggling to match a table to the theme you have chosen, it could be worth exploring the more basic options which don’t have extreme features. While this will make the table itself a little less interesting, it will give you a chance to go a little wilder with the other elements.

To give your basic table a little more character, chairs can be a great way to add a splash of color to the room. Fabric and upholstered dining chairs create a unique look, while also being very comfortable to sit on, making them perfect for anyone new to interior design. Using inspiration from websites like Pinterest, it should be nice and easy to choose chairs which fall into your style category. Of course, though, seeing pieces in the flesh will also help you a lot.

Moving away from the eating area, a lot of people will like to use rooms like this as additional storage for things like plates, non-perishable foods, and even pots and pans. To make this possible, larger furniture will often be installed. A sideboard is a great way to go with this, as they can often be found to match a wide variety of different themes, from the very oldest to the modern and bold. Alternatively, a filled bookcase could also look great filling this sort of space.

Nowadays, there are loads of small storage options out there which are designed to make life just a little bit easier. Stores like Ikea are perfect for choosing this part of the room, as they have huge amounts of unique and varied pieces on offer. This gives you an incredibly easy route when it comes to discovering options which match best with the other furniture you already have. Achieving continuity like this will feel very good, leaving you to think about how the room might feel to your guests.

The Atmosphere –

 

 

Smell is a huge part of a human’s sensory array, being responsible for things like taste and being tied to your memories very tightly. Using this to your advantage, you can shape the way that a room feels to guests, giving your home an alternative feel. Of course, you won’t want to have heavy scents in a room like this. Instead, to make sure that it smells as good as possible, introducing some freshly baked bread or another foodie infusion before people arrive will make the entire house irresistible.

Along with smell, the sounds you hear in a place can also have a big impact on the atmosphere felt there. Of course, in most cases, music will be enough to achieve the feeling you want, but you’ll need to have a good system in place if you want to handle it with ease. If you have a smartphone, a streaming device, like a Chromecast Audio, can give you complete wireless control over any speakers. Enabling you to use Spotify throughout your home without the need for dedicated sound systems, this sort of product is great for those on a strict budget.

Finally, as the last sense to consider, you’ve been working very hard to make sure that this room looks as good as possible. There are some easy ways to improve this, though, and it only takes some simple psychology. Humans are very good at picking up patterns in shapes, colors, and even numbers, giving you an excellent tool to start with. Going from light to dark is usually much more pleasing than having a random mishmash of shades, as it follows a natural feel which is comfortable to process in the mind. Along with using methods like this, a lot of people will also like to go with their gut, testing out different formations for their furniture and decorations until they find the option which they like the most.

Hopefully, with all of this in mind, it should start to get a lot easier to create a dining room which captures the imaginations of all of your guests. Of course, there are plenty of rooms in the home, and they will all require a delicate and intricate touch if you want them to reflect your desires. In a world of expensive interior designers, using resources like the Internet to support you through DIY could be the only option you have.

Love,

*This is a collaborative post