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Your dining room sets the stage for a beautiful home. You may have only one or you may have a formal dining room and a casual, every-day one. Sometimes it’s called a breakfast nook.
In my home, I have two dining rooms – one formal and one casual. We don’t use the formal dining room as often as we should. However, it is the first room you see when you enter our home.
In my case, the entire house is judged by that first room which is the dining room. It makes the first impression. So how do we make it lovely? Keep reading. 😉
Pretty Dining Rooms Show Your Family Love
Your dining room shows how much you care about the way your home looks, not just to guests, but more importantly to your family. Family meal time is important for connection and showing honor. It is one of my 7 Steps to a Lovely Home.
Decorating this glorious room is essential! Your family is worth it. Don’t use your dining room as a catch-all for junk mail and clutter. Use your dining table to make memories of love and laughter for both family and friends.
Dining Rooms Bring People Together
Decorating is really all about layering. The decorating process can happen quickly or evolve over time.
Remember This:
The purpose of a dining room,
no matter how grand or how modest,
is..
to bring people you love together whether our budget is big or small.
My 7 Joyful Steps for a Lovely Dining Room:
1. Determine Your Style & Design the Space
What is your style? Are you traditional or modern, French country or farmhouse? If you are unsure, think about how you like to dress. Are you traditionally conservative, frilly and feminine or glamourous chic?
Use Pinterest to create a “Dining Rooms I Love” board with inspiration from others. It can be a public board for the world to see or a secret board for your eyes only.
Your dining room can be formal or casual. The great news is that my 7 steps work for any style and any budget!
Make a plan, then decorate.
Don’t make the mistake of jumping in head first into decorating before you design a plan. You could end up frustrated, overwhelmed and waste a lot of money on pieces that don’t work.
Do a simple sketch of your space. Paper and pencil too is fine, or use an online tool. My favorite online planner is Wayfair’s Room Planner.
Include only major pieces like furniture, rugs and mirrors, even if you haven’t purchased them. There’s no need to show everything, just focus on the windows, doors and wall placement in relation to the furnishings.
THE most important thing to know when planning your dining room is the shape. Most dining rooms are either rectangular or square. If your space is rectangular, I recommend a dining table that is rectangle.
If your space is square, either a square table but my preference is a round table. Round tables just make happier conversations. They feel more casual and cozy.
Let’s talk about color
The best decorators recommend having a primary color, secondary color, and small doses of an accent.
Color brings cohesiveness to your home, just like flooring and design style. You don’t want your home to look choppy and every room look completely different. The brain craves symmetry and order. It brings peace to a home.
My Primary Color: Whites, Creams & Metallics
For example, my home colors…
Your primary color is going to fill the majority of your home, so I recommend making it neutral. It will make your home feel more light and airy. If you want a dramatic look, then by all means go for the bold colors like navy.
The great things about neutrals, including metallics, is that they can work as a unit and can all be primary. This includes grays and browns. I don’t recommend painting your walls brown, but shades of brown in flooring, baskets and furniture add warmth.
Metallics work as neturals in lighting, hardware, picture frames, candlesticks & trays and add a touch of elegance and glamour to a home.
My Secondary Color: Pink
Your secondary color should be the color that makes your heart skip a beat when you see it. Pink has been that color for me for decades now.
Pink is soft and pretty. It’s feminine and romantic. It looks beautiful with white and cream. It looks gorgeous with gold or silver. I’m especially grateful that I live in a home with 3 men, and they allow me to decorate with pink. It makes me love them even more. 🙂
Use your secondary color in small decor like pillows, flowers, wall art, an accent chair or table. Have fun with it!
My Accent Color: Green
Your accent color should just be a pop of color here and there in a room. For most of my life, I would not have said “green” is a color that I would use in decorating. Then, one day it hit me…
Since every room needs something living or faux to feel alive, plants and flowers all have the color green!
Lucky for me, green is on the opposite side of the color wheel from pink. That is why they look so darn good together. They compliment each other!
Remember in selecting colors for your home, make the majority of the colors neutrals and then your secondary and accent color can be in varying shades of that color. Think of the paint swatches from your paint store.
Also, this does not mean you can never have any other colors in your home and it still be a “lovely home”. Please!! I have touches of blues and yellows here and there. Your home should be filled with all the things you love. There are no set rules when it comes to styling your home.
Take BEFORE photos! I can’t tell you how many people tell me, “Oh, I wish I had taken photos of my room before to see the transformation!” After you complete the 7 Steps email me your before & after photos! I can’t wait to see them.
2. Paint, Lighting & Flooring
The next step is to decide on the shell of your dining room – the walls, ceiling & floors. It’s much easier to start with the outside and work your way into the room after these basics are complete.
If you have a brand new home and all of these are exactly how you want them, lucky you! You can skip to the next step. I will mention this is the time to make any repairs to your dining room, whether it’s replace old windows or repair damaged flooring.
Give Your Walls a Blank Canvas
For all the rest of us, we may need to change the paint color, a light fixture or ceiling fan, along with the flooring. The first two are relatively inexpensive, but flooring can be pricey.
For the best long-term investment of time and money, I recommend painting your dining room a neutral color like white, cream or light gray. These colors will give your wall art a blank canvas. Your dining room will be brighter and feel bigger. We recently painted our dark gray dining room to my favorite dining room paint color – Sherwin Williams Alabaster White. It’s the perfect creamy white without being yellow or dingy.
Say “No” to Wallpaper!
When we built our first home in 1995, wallpaper was all the rage. After a decade of looking at a wall of flowers, we decided it was time for a change. Looking back, I’m not sure what I was thinking when I chose that pattern. It’s kind of like looking back at some of our old hairstyles. Yikes!
Removing that wallpaper was one of the worst experiences of my decorating life. It was arduous to get off. I made a promise to myself that never again would I fall in love with wallpaper. Paint is cheap, and if you don’t like the color you can easily change it.
Add Some Bling & Take Some Risks
Light fixtures are a different story. They are the jewelry of the room. Like jewelry, you can spend a little or a lot. It’s okay to take some risks with lighting and show your personality. It’s okay to be a little trendy. It can all be easily changed.
The focal point of the dining room should always be the table accented with beautiful lighting. Shop my favorite Wayfair chandeliers.
And Say “No” to Carpet!
Stains and spills are just a part of eating, especially if you have young children. Don’t put carpet in your dining room!
The most practical flooring for dining rooms is hardwood or waterproof luxury vinyl tile aka LVT. I especially love bamboo wood flooring because it’s the most durable, eco-friendly and sustainable hardwood available.
I’ve used both wood and vinyl and it all depends on your budget. LVT holds up great and looks so much like hardwood that is a great place to save so you can put your money into other furnishings. Use the same flooring from your entry or foyer to create a continuous flow. This will make your home feel bigger.
If have old carpet already and can’t afford to replace at this time, make a priority in your budget to save for this over time. It’s worth it!
3. Add Rugs, Blinds/Shutters and/or Curtains
Now it’s time to add softness to the floors and windows. I do not have rugs under my dining tables because we prefer to sweep versus vacuum that area.
However, a large area rug under the dining table can look lovely and will help anchor the room. This is my favorite Wayfair rug. We have two of these in our home and we love it so much!
To bring in the most light, I like to keep these windows the least covered as possible. Natural light makes your dining room feel larger and more joyful. If you need privacy or there is too much sunlight, I recommend 2” Faux Wood Blinds or Plantation Shutters.
To soften your dining room, a gorgeous set of curtains is the perfect choice. Use the longest panels you can hang to make your ceilings appear higher. I always use at least 96” panels in length. I love these Dupioni Silk Curtains from Wayfair.
4. The Large Lovelies
Your dining room will be lovely no matter your budget. Stick with me and I’ll show you how. Let’s start with the major players for this room.
The Dining Room Table & Chairs
You should put the majority of your budget into your table and chairs, not the buffet, china cabinet or dishes. Make sure the table is sturdy and the seats are comfortable. Decide if you want to seat 4, 6, 8, or 10 people.
Remember, rectangle rooms need rectangle tables. Square rooms look better with round or square tables. Make sure to allow enough room around the table for the chair to pull out easily and give people walking distance around when people are seated. Measure your room before you buy.
Haverty’s Furniture
If you already have a table you love that’s great. If you are looking to buy now, I recommend Haverty’s Furniture. My formal and casual dining room furniture was purchase at Haverty’s.
Wayfair
My first choice for a nationwide online furniture store is Wayfair. As they advertise, they have zillions of things for the home from over 5,000 brands. Their customer service is exceptional. Plus, free delivery!! This distressed dining table from Wayfair is a great option for a French country look.
Used Furniture
For used dining room tables, Facebook Marketplace is a great place to look. Remember, you can always paint your existing table or a used table that you’re not in love with the color you want. We cherish all our vintage painted lovelies like this China cabinet from New Beginnings Furniture.
Buffets, Sideboards, China Cabinets & More
I don’t love matchy, matchy. For a more interesting dining room, don’t match all the furniture. This rule applies for the other rooms in your home as well. Let’s add your own personality and style.
I recommend if you have room for a buffet, sideboard or china cabinet, to consider adding a vintage piece. Mixing the old with the new is my speciality. It adds character.
You don’t want a room with all antiques. Then it would feel like your grandmother’s house. But you don’t want all new either. I love mixing French country with a touch of modern glam.
New Beginnings Furniture
My heart skips a beat everytime I enter my local used furniture store in Hendersonville, TN. They specialize is finding unique vintage pieces. They paint the furniture and distress it for a truly one-of-a-kind look. One of the greatest features they have is they can deliver locally and ship nationwide!
I have literally purchased at least 20 pieces from them – from buffets, tables, bedroom sets, dressers and entry tables. Their dressers can be used for so many things like media consoles, buffets and more.
Remember, less is more in a dining room when it comes to furniture. If you have room for a buffet, I do recommend that piece because it’s pretty and practical. A buffet is gorgeous for serving and great for storage. We use our buffet for desserts. I like to keep it styled with pretty cake plates.
Every beautiful buffet needs a gorgeous mirror behind it…
Large Mirrors & Wall Art
Now that the large pieces of furniture are in place, you can fill the walls with pieces that work. Some people are scared to even put a nail hole in their walls for fear of making a mistake. Others put too many in all the wrong places. Let me help you do it right.
Mirrors are one of my favorite ways to add light and create the illusion of a larger space! It brings the outdoors in and adds elegance, especially if you have a stunning chandelier in its reflection.
We have our buffet and this large gold Wayfair mirror directly across the room from our dining room windows. Make sure when you decide to place a mirror, the opposing view is a beautiful reflection. It could be another room or a pretty view from outside.
You can also find great vintage mirrors on Facebook Marketplace. Use search keywords like “large mirror”, “vintage mirror”, “ornate mirror”, “gold mirror”, etc.
Hanging a gorgeous family portrait in your dining room is a perfect way to personalize the space . We use Easy Canvas Prints for budget-friendly family photos. You can customize the size to perfect fit.
I recommend one extra large single print like the 30×40” size on a wall in the dining room over a bunch of little ones. It’s more striking and creates a focal point for that wall.
For our latest photo by Misty Westebee Photography, I made the image black and white through PicMonkey. It was more dramatic and I didn’t want the colors in the photo to compete with the colors in the room.
Remember less is more. You don’t want to cover every inch of your dining room with art and decor. Many times one large piece of art is all that a wall needs.
Some my favorite wall art finds for the dining room include personalized signs by AR Workshop and scripture art.
Chandelier Love
Awe, the glorious chandelier! It’s my favorite piece in our dining room. Obviously, you need lighting in your dining area. Why not make it beautiful?
But if you’re like me, for years I didn’t think I wanted a chandelier in my home. I thought they were too old fashioned. My, how times have changed! Currently, I have 8 chandeliers in our home, including one in my laundry room.
When my style changed to French country, I fell in love with them. When I started shopping for them, they were either too expensive or I couldn’t find styles I loved. The process was exhausting and frustrating.
But then came Wayfair…
Wayfair has become my go-to for all my chandeliers. They are stunning and are delivered to your door for free. You have the option to add installation to your order.
It’s a decorators dream. Shop my 7 Favorite Wayfair Chandeliers.
Adding a chandelier to your dining room along with a beautiful large mirror that will reflect its light will leave you breathless. Trust me. It’s worth it!
Your home will instantly be more lovely. It’s a big WOW and a big WIN!
5. Setting a Beautiful Table & Styling Side Pieces
Now, for the best part of decorating a dining room…drum roll please!….setting a beautiful table! My friend, Jenna Rummel, owner of Chic Artique, is the queen on styling a beautiful table.
But for many women, it feels like the most intimidating. I’m here to show it it’s not something to fear. The most important thing to remember is that your dining room table is for eating and entertaining. It’s not for piling up with mail and clutter.
Easy, Breezy Table Settings
Yes, there are situations because of space, the kids may have to use the table for homework or arts and crafts. If this is the case in your family, design a system where the table can be cleared before dinner.
Ideally, if you have only one dining table, see if there is a way to purchase a desk for homework and bill paying and a folding table for arts & crafts, puzzles, etc. This way you can maintain a more visually appealing dining room on a regular basis.
We keep both our dining tables set with placemats and dishes along with faux floral centerpieces. It’s super easy to create and always makes our home look lovely.
Find out how easy it is to set your dining room table in my guide How to Set a Lovely Table in 7 Steps.
The Corners, Styling Side Pieces & the Finishing Touches
Now that your table is set, styling your larger pieces of furniture is a labor of love. People often ask what is the difference between a buffet and sideboard?
They are the same thing. When used in a dining room, it’s called a buffet. When it’s used in a living room, it’s a sideboard. So we are going to call them buffets since we are talking about the dining room.
Buffets are ideal for storing linens, table cloths, napkins rings, china along with serving dishes and trays. You can also use them for seasonal decor. You can find great new options like this Wayfair buffet sideboard available in three colors.
We love our gorgeous buffet from New Beginnings. It’s painted Blackberry House Paint in Warm Milk – the perfect creamy white. We also have a china cabinet from New Beginnings in the same color.
I recommend styling your buffet with a theme either for displaying serving pieces you love or adding buffet lamps, a floral arrangement and candlesticks.
We use ours for desserts and keep the cake plate on display year round. You could do the same with horderves or appetizer trays. It makes hosting parties a breeze when these pieces are ready to be filled with delicious cakes, cookies and gourmet treats.
China cabinets have come and gone in popularity. I love mine because it’s not enormous in size like some on the market. Mine’s interesting detail just makes me smile just to see the history this vintage piece must have had.
Style your China cabinet with your prettiest dishes. Like tea cups and saucers, vintage bowls, vases and China, of course. Pieces you don’t use every day, but are special to you. This Wayfair China cabinet below is a great option because it lights up.
Now for the Corners
Now it’s time to decide about the corners. You do not need to put something in every corner of your dining room.
If the room is small, I would put nothing in the corners. If your dining room is medium to large, a cute accent table is sweet. I really love my vintage table from New Beginnings. It’s great for holding dessert plates and a cute vignette of 3.
In decorating, vignettes are a small grouping of items that tell a story and add charm. Try mixing a small family photo on a stack of meaningful books, add a candle along with a plant or pretty faux flower. Read how in my post The Magic Rule of 3 in Home Decorating.
My three favorite stores for the best finds for small dining room decor are Hobby Lobby, Kirklands & Pier 1.
Living or Faux Florals & Plants
Flowers are near and dear to my heart.? Every room needs to have something living (or faux – which sounds better than fake!).
Nothing is more lovely in a home than fresh flowers. Pick up your favorites from your local shop or grocer! Pop them straight into a vase, or rearrange them for a more personalized design.
I especially love to find single color roses, peonies or hydrangeas. They look beautiful in a large vase with eucalyptus. Fresh flowers are especially charming cut short in small vases.
If you have a cutting garden, that’s even better. During the summer time, my limelight hydrangeas are in full bloom and perfect for cutting.
In addition to flowers, add in a large living plant in a corner. It will add height and life to the room without making it overly cluttered. I really love the selection at Lowes or support your local greenhouse. We love this World Market Faux Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree. I added it to this French wicker basket from Hobby Lobby with some Spanish moss (pictured above right corner).
Finding the Right Faux
“Faux” actually means “false” in French. Faux flowers are not what they used to be. They are so life-like and beautiful. These flowers are one of my favorite ways to bring life and beauty into a room.
The prettiest colors (in my opinion) are white, cream, pink, blush and coral. These colors look the most real without being too bold.
The best sources for arranged faux florals is Hobby Lobby. I especially love their floral stems. Even if you are not a floral designer, you can make these flowers look lovely in simple arrangements.
Some of Hobby Lobby’s roses totally look and feel like the real deal. My faux floral favs include peonies, roses, ranunculus and hydrangeas. Add in some greenery like eucalyptus, boxwood, lamb’s ear or moss to complete the look.
One of the prettiest stems from Hobby Lobby are the white ranunculus. Because they have 5-7 blooms per stem, you simply cut the stems to the best length and place in your vase. My all-time favorite container for florals is this pretty white pitcher on Amazon. A beautiful centerpiece is that easy!
Brighten any room with just 1 or 2 stems. I did that with my dining room table. Instead of one large centerpiece, I found this inexpensive solution, using 4 glass bottles with burlap twine and added coral ranunculus.
Hobby Lobby also has bouquets in their wedding aisle that can be used in your favorite vessel or vase. These are my favorite containers.
If you don’t have the time to devote to plants, shop the incredible selection of faux greenery and plants at Hobby Lobby or Home Goods.
6. Make it Personal
Your dining room, like your home, should reflect you and your family. It should not look like anyone else’s. Your dining room will be more lovely if it reflects the colors, dishes, flowers and heirlooms you love.
You don’t have to add dozens of family photos, just one large canvas print, like we mentioned above, will due.
Special Family Heirlooms
The dining room is the perfect place to display a couple family heirlooms. On our buffet, I have a vintage cake stand from my maternal grandmother. She received it as a wedding gift in 1925. You can see it above with the blackberry tarts.
In our china cabinet, I have my mom’s wedding china and the tea set we used for our daughter’s wedding. On our wall is a yellow platter (above) my Grandmother Gaiche used to serve spaghetti to my Italian grandfather.
Find something special to your family’s history – a vase, a serving piece or a pretty plate you can hang on the wall.
Make it a conversation starter for the room, and always something to honor your family’s past. It will make your children more respectful of their heritage.
But remember, less is more. Don’t overdo it. Clutter is the enemy to great decorating.
And always, always – add a touch of whimsy! Every room in your home should have something that makes you grin. We love little birds. Something small, but whimsical. 🙂
7. Sweets, Sounds & Seasonality
After every meal, whether it is lunch or dinner, our family loves to have something sweet. It’s amazing how a little bite of chocolate is “the icing on the cake” of a great meal. My favorite is a bit-size Almond Joy. Read 20 Questions with Buffie to find out more about me.
For dinner parties, these desserts rock:
- Outrageous Brownies by Ina Garten
- Coconut Cupcakes by Ina Garten
- We Take the Cake Pink Layer Cake by Williams Sonoma
- Loveless Cafe Banana Pudding
Music Makes Everything Better
Soft music playing in the background is great for relaxing and digestion, especially classical, soft jazz and other easy listening tunes. This makes dinner parties even more special.
For fun parties, peppy music is a must. You home will feel dull without it. Good music puts people in better moods. They will open up to more conversations. The atmosphere of your home will just be happier!
Amazon Echo Plus
Filling your dining room with beautiful music is another secret to a lovely home. To quote one of my favorite singers, James Ingram, “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” My current favorite way is using Amazon Echo Plus.
This hands-free device will stream your music playlists and songs with ease with 360° audio. With premium Dolby speakers, you can choose from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM and more.
My favorite everyday playlist is the Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe. For parties, I love Ina Garten’s Love Songs.
Take an Honest Look & Review Seasonally
You did it! Now, take a step back for an honest look around your dining room. Ask yourself these 7 questions:
- Is it lovely & inviting?
- Does it make you smile?
- Is it livable & functional with good flow?
- Uncluttered? Enough breathing room?
- Is it the right balance of space?
- Do I truly love everything in this space?
If you answered “no” to any of these questions, make a change now. If it feels cluttered, take some things away. Get rid of items that don’t work or make a plan to replace them as your budget allows.
Now is the time to make adjustments. Don’t procrastinate. We have more rooms to decorate. 😉
Mix up your dining room with the season and holidays. For spring, I love adding faux cherry blossoms in big vases. In the fall, adding in white and gold pumpkins mixed with fall leaves and amber dishes makes it warm and inviting. See my post Fall Decorating Ideas Using Pink & Gold.
At Christmas, we max out the gold dishes and sparkle decor along with twinkle lights and mercury glass ornaments. We especially love these mercury glass candle holders from Amazon.
Your dining room will be a place of beautiful memories, family mealtimes, holiday gatherings and laughter-filled game nights.
It’s a room you will be proud to open for parties and special occasions. It’s worth making it lovely.
Let’s review!
- Determine Your Style & Design the Space – Get inspired using Pinterest or your favorite magazine. Layout your dining room on paper or online.
- Unify Paint, Lighting & Flooring – This is the makeup and jewelry of a beautiful dining room.
- Add Style to Floors & Windows – Like any great wardrobe, it starts with a perfect foundation with the right rug and window treatments.
- The Large Lovelies – Your dining room table is the most important piece of furniture to connect your family.
- Setting a Beautiful Table & Styling Side Pieces – Follow my steps on How to Set a Lovely Table.
- Make it Personal – This is your home, not your neighbors. Show your personality, your style, and the things your family loves.
- Sweets, Sounds & Seasonality– Your dining room should delight all the senses. Add simple, elegant seasonal changes to keep it fresh and inviting.
I’m here for YOU! Send your decorating questions to buffie@buffieshomedecorating.com.
Much love & joy,
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How to Set a Lovely Table in 7 Joyful Steps