How to Decorate a Stylish Formal Dining Room
Are you planning to decorate a stylish dining room in your home, but don’t know where to start? Here are a few suggestions I have for you to consider when decorating and planning a stylish dining room for your home.
The first step in decorating any space of your home is to always check for dimensions, and in this case we are evaluating the dining room. As you may already know, dining room tables come in various shapes and sizes, and depending on your preference you will need to determine whether you will use a round, oval, squared or rectangular table. Factoring this into your space dimensions will then give you a general idea of whether or not you have the space needed for your chosen dining room table and any other key furnishings that you plan to add in for more functionality and beauty into your new dining room space.
Round Table w/Simple Chandelier
Rectangle Dining Table w/Chandelier
Once you have determine the size of your dining room space, you can start shopping for those furniture pieces. Design style will depend greatly on a few key pieces that you select. If you are struggling with this area, I do offer a Glam Style Quiz that can help you determine what design preferences you may have. You will want to then use one of your large furniture pieces as a statement piece; so pay close attention to this when selecting because it will determine your focal point.
Here is a designer tip: Decide whether you want your dining table, lighting or piece of art to stand out most. That way, as you select your other pieces, they can compliment one another rather than compete with each other.
If you choose to have a beautiful hanging chandelier, you want to make sure you have clearance between the dining room table to the bottom of the chandelier. It should be at the least 30- 42” above table. Anything lower will block your view and will only look odd. Another thing to consider when selecting your chandelier is to also account for the width of your chandelier to your table; clearance of your chandelier should be around 12-18” within the perimeter of table. This gives your dining room some good balance and will make sense in your space. Otherwise, the overhead of your dining room will seem top heavy, and you wouldn’t want that hanging over your shoulders anyway.
So moving forward, it’s now time to select your dining room chairs. It would seem like a no brainer, but yet you also have to be careful. One of the things to keep in mind here is just to make sure chairs will easily fit; whether you go for 4-8 chairs or more. A good way to figure out how many chairs can fit around a table is to account 24” per person around the perimeter of your table. Let’s not forget the height of your selected dining room chairs. Standard dining room chairs are about 18” high from the seat, and dining room tables are about 30” in height. I say this only to point out that sometimes side chairs can appear to be meant for dining. They can sometimes have arms that are slightly higher, making it difficult to go under your table. So as long as you keep this in mind and be sure to measure if you choose to go this route, otherwise you should be fine.
Symmetrical Room
Now that you have selected most of your key furniture pieces for your space, it’s time for the best part. This is where your style will come through. Whether selecting wall art, or some home accents that you will love, and choosing a color palette that will pull everything together. You can choose a neutral color palette or decide to go bold with dark rich colors and patterns. It’s all up to you. If room allows, make sure to also add a sideboard. They can be very stylish and add texture, yet they are a very functional piece since they do provide maximum storage for cutlery, dishes, and the sorts.
As your adding any other home accents and decor, placement of these pieces are key in styling the space. There is so much variety that goes into play. If you like symmetry, just make sure to add balance on each side, but if you like a little asymmetry, a good rule of thumb is to think in odd number groupings.
Wall Art Decor with Bold Color/Neutral Rug for Balance
Finally, choose a rug that will pull it all together and anchor the room. Sometimes I will choose a rug that has a pop of color if the room is pretty neutral. However, if the room already has a lot of patterns and textures, I opt to choose a neutral rug to balance everything out. And there you have it! A stylish formal dining room that you and your guest can enjoy.
Art & Wall Panels that Compliment Dining Space
