Dining Room Solutions

The holidays are fast approaching and that causes us to look around our home with a critical eye. Often the dining room is a space that seems to fall short of our expectations and if our dining room is small we tend to think, “There is not much that can be done to this small space.” When the holidays are over we move onto other things and the dining room once again becomes a “one of these days” project that never really happens. What if this year we actually did decorate the dining room for good? What if we made the dining room so nice we wanted to use it more often? Here are a few tips to make your dining room so inviting you will want to use it year-round somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Small space
The dining room in this home is small and very unusual. Since this is an open concept home there is no real definition for the dining room. A chandelier hung strangely far out into the room so we would have to fix that and the table that the homeowners had was too big and awkward for the space.

• Change the floor
The house was wall to wall carpet that needed to be replaced. We replaced it with engineered hardwood. The tendency when looking at new hardwood is to try to match other wood tones in the space but that is not my approach. I like spaces to stay light bright and airy so I choose floors that are on the medium to light side. In this case we chose tannish light oak flooring from Naturally Aged that worked well with the kitchen tile. The house stayed light and bright just as it was with the crème carpet but the better investment of hardwood looked amazing!

• Wall color
The house needed a fresh coat of paint and we chose Biscuit 6112. This is a neutral tannish golden color with a touch of peach. These tones looked great with the wood floor and the furniture. The new color warmed and brightened the space.

• Make the china hutch pop
The dining room had an unusual niche and the homeowner’s china hutch fit the space perfectly. However, the china hutch needed a little pop. In order to make a china hutch pop it needs a backdrop of color. This particular china hutch had mirrors but it was not enough. We need to see the teal color in the case. We purchased inexpensive teal plates to place along the back plate groove. Once the color is in place, everything that is in front of the color will stand out and pop! This is so simple to do and so inexpensive. This can be done in any china hutch and will always bring the china hutch to life.

• Bench
The dining room had very little definition and the table that the homeowner owned was too big and outdated for the space. We replaced all the dining room furniture except the china hutch. We had to save space and we were inspired by banquette seating like you see in restaurants. We placed a 72” upholstered bench along the back wall to act as a banquette. This allows people to slide in on one side of the table rather than make room for chairs to pull out. This bench is moveable and very comfortable. This is a great space saving application for any small space and upholstered benches can be custom made or found online at many retailers.

• Pedestal table
The key to making the banquette bench work comfortably is to purchase a pedestal table. This allows people to slide in with nothing in the way of their feet and knees. We purchased four chairs to fill in the rest of the table. Seven people can sit at this table comfortably.

• Large Art
We hung one large piece of art on the largest wall over the bench. This is the focal point so we wanted it to pop! In small spaces the natural inclination of most people would be to fill a small space with small things. However, in a small space larger items and less of them makes a big visual impression and provides a clean uncluttered look.

• Lighting
We removed the chandelier and installed LED Flex lighting. This type of lighting provided us with six lights that we could direct anywhere and they do not produce heat. Also, we did not have to worry about centering the table or fixing a hole in the ceiling!!
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Before and After Pics Below