Sophisticated Dining Room Ideas

Do you have a dining room that is lacking some pizzaz? Often a dining room can leave individuals stumped. Once you put a table in the space what else is really needed? I believe every dining room should incorporate a credenza for storage, a rug when it makes sense, a substantially sized light fixture and interesting wall art. These elements will make the room feel complete.

This client in particular wanted to keep their 8 seat table but wanted a more polished dining room. In addition, they have 3 young boys so we needed to keep the design play friendly. See below to see our starting point.

The first thing I wanted to adjust was the corner cabinet and leather chair. I knew more symmetry would go a long way and those two pieces were throwing off the balance of the space. The adjacent room is a school area so we decided we could ditch the leather, supervisor chair since the dining room chairs are a couple feet away.

Wall decor

Often a gallery wall is utilized in a dining room with this amount of wall space but I felt that an oversized piece of art would make a bigger impact. Plus in this particular room there wasn't a light fixture that would impede the line of sight to the main wall. We procured this piece of art from CB2 which beautifully paired with a the mid-century side table beneath.

Credenza

If you're ever stumped on decorating your credenza don't waste your time scrolling Instagram reels. Any side table can easily be decorated with a lamp and a floral arrangement. Plus I love that the lamp adds mood lighting at night time.

Curtains

Also in an effort to soften the room, we added curtains around the large window. Whenever clients have young kids I always hang the curtains slightly above the floor so that little running feet don't accidentally bring down the whole window treatment.

Artwork pairing

Lastly, I added a piece of art on the wall first seen when entering the house. I didn't want this piece to compete with the art above the buffet yet I wanted it to set the tone for the dining space. This canvas by Chelsea McShane was the perfect color scheme to pair with the larger artwork!

When it comes to decorating dining rooms, I say don't overthink it. Add window treatments for warmth and search for sizable art pieces that you absolutely love. This will elevate any table plus reflect your style in a simplified way.

What's your favorite element of this dining room transformation? I love how a few adjustments made this room sing!

Sincerely,

HMD