The dining room is the hub of the home, the place where the family gets together in the evening to share their experiences of the day and a place for entertaining friends and family throughout the year.
If your dining room is looking a little drab and tired, try adopting one of these easy style wins to liven up the room and get the conversation flowing again.c
1. Lighten up
Sometimes all that’s needed to bring life to a tired room is a little more light. Utilising bright, reflective surfaces helps amplify both natural and artificial light and creates the illusion of more space. Choose furniture and accessories with a gloss, metal or glass finish to maximise the effect: this Tulip White Gloss Dining Table is perfect. Introduce sparkle and shine by choosing lights with crystal accents.
A feature light is an easy way to add some pizazz to a dining room that lacks flair. Pick the right light and it will become a focal point for your room, adding interest and definition that will draw the eye away from any dingy furniture. Above the table, consider adding a number of lights in a line – these are not only practical in providing light for the length of your table but they also give you lots of opportunity for design flair. You can choose either matching lights in a row or pick different shapes in the same finish for added interest. Don’t be afraid to vary the heights too, and if a line of lights is too rigid for your liking, you can dot them in an abstract pattern above the table.
2. Overhaul a wall
If your dining room walls are dull and dreary, add some stickers to create a feature wall with a fab, fresh design. Applying wall stickers takes just minutes and will inject a little fun into your living space. Gone are the days of Disney stickarounds dominating the wall sticker market – now, there are hundreds of incredible designs to choose from, with classic Banksy art (like this Balloon Floating wall sticker) being a firm favourite.
If your room is predominantly white, consider painting one of the walls a fresh, bright colour before you add your stickers. If the room is quite small, paint a block of colour in the centre rather than painting right to the edge, leaving a gap of a couple of feet all the way around the edges. This will create the illusion that the room is larger than it actually is.
Rather than just stick your art in the middle of the wall or along the skirting board, think about how it can interact with the furniture in your room. For example, it could butt up to the top of a sideboard, or be placed as a backdrop to a favourite chair or lamp. If you choose a tree sticker, add a couple of hooks in the branches to hang small accessories for a quirky twist.
3. Declutter
There’s no better way to freshen a room than to clear it of all its clutter and tidy the things that you really need away. Rooms littered with bits and pieces look smaller, less inviting and stressful. When you’re going through your stuff, keep in mind that there’s no such thing as organising clutter. Clutter refers to the stuff you don’t use, and this needs binning, not organising! So just hang on to the items you really need, and for everything else, bin it, recycle it or sell it.
In the dining room, a sideboard is the easiest way to tuck all the things you actually need out of sight, behind the doors of a beautiful piece of furniture that adds instant charm to any room lacking character. If your room is small or has little natural light, choose a fresh white gloss finish – it will reflect the light and won’t impose on the space.
4. Update the floor
The floor covering in any dining room has a lot to stand up to and can often end up looking worse for wear. There are a number of ways to easily update your flooring to give it a new lease of life. Consider sitting the dining room table and chairs on a larger rug or easy-to-install carpet tiles in a fresh, bright colour. This will define a conversation area, adding interest and vibrancy to the room. If you have floorboards, consider stencilling around the table area to break up the room and add interesting detail.
5. Accessorise your table
No matter how beautiful your dining table is, it can become a huge block of wood that has the effect of weighing down the rest of the room. To break up the expanse of the table’s surface, add a table centrepiece. A favourite decorating mantra is that there is power in numbers and this is especially true when it comes to the dining table. A single vase looks boring and isolated – a group of vases looks interesting and artistic.
Fill transparent glass containers with unusual stalks or tropical leaves, utilise coloured bottles in shades to coordinate with your room’s décor, display an army of candlesticks with tall, tapered candles instead of the traditional candelabra, or try a number of glass rectangular containers with bright seasonal blooms. These simple touches will make the room feel instantly brighter and lighter with the minimum of effort.
Images sourced via Pinterest: mylovelythings.blogspot.com and tvoydesigner.ru.
