New This Week: 5 Soft and Stylish Dining Rooms

1. Welcoming Wood

Designer: Debbie Turner of Debbie Cahill Turner Design
Location: Edmonds, Washington
Size: 180 square feet (17 square meters); 12 by 15 feet

Homeowners’ request. A clean style with lots of light. “The home had thin round columns, walls were painted gold and the ceiling inset was a golden brown color,” says designer Debbie Turner, who used Houzz ideabooks to collaborate with her clients. “We replaced the painted round columns with custom wood columns in interesting wood finishes to give the illusion of trees. We painted the walls and ceilings in a light paint color to open up the space and make it seem bigger and brighter. The fabrics brought in the colors of the surrounding trees, water and sky.”

Main feature. “We hired a custom cabinetmaker and woodworker to build the new square columns, the cabinet and casing in the niche,” Turner says. “The niche is a focal point that draws your eye into the space. We wanted the niche to have the same architectural details as the arched openings and columns you pass through to enter the room. This helped tie the space together.”

Other special features. “The wood species of the columns, niche cabinet and casing around the niche are made of anigre wood with figured anigre and maple burl highlights,” Turner says. Plato quartzite tops the niche cabinet.

Designer tip. “Replacing the round columns with the custom anigre wood columns changed the feel of the room,” Turner says. “The new columns were bigger in scale than the original ones and really elevated the dining room’s presence in the home. By using a patterned rug to anchor the room it also connects all the different design pieces together, especially when dealing with simple and neutral colors and natural finishes. Rugs add that warm and comfortable feeling that is often lacking in a home with all wood flooring. They also cut down on the sound in the house.”

“Uh-oh” moment. “The window looks at the side of the garage,” Turner says. “We needed the light that comes in from the window but did not want to look at the side of the garage. We hired a stained glass studio to do a custom leaded glass window to hide the garage. It obscured it for the most part but not fully on really bright days. We ended up adding sheers to our draperies to hide it when needed.”

2. Light and Airy

Designer: Melissa Holt of Cabana Rehab Interiors
Location: San Jose, California
Size: 143 square feet (13 square meters); 11 by 13 feet

Homeowner’s request. “The space previously lacked any personality and had wall-to-wall mirrors on the back wall,” designer Melissa Holt says. “We wanted to reimagine the space to feel light and bright but — since it’s a smaller space — to still have a lot of visual interest.”

Main feature. “I always love to install a large light fixture, and in this dining space it really steals the show,” Holt says. “The airiness of the fixture in a brass tone above a heavier dark marble table is the perfect contrast to make this room have a personality.”

Other special features. To differentiate the dining space from the adjoining living room, Holt added board-and-batten siding to the bottom third of the room and painted it in Swiss Coffee by Kelly-Moore. The wall above is Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore that’s been lightened by 50%.

Designer tip. “Don’t be afraid of large-scale lighting,” Holt says. “It will make a statement and ironically make the room feel larger, not smaller as you would imagine.”

“Uh-oh” moment. “In order to have a successful outcome for a board-and-batten wall treatment, it’s important to have some serious math skills to figure out the placement,” Holt says. “As with any project, the devil is in the details, and trim work detail like this takes a lot of preparation before anything is even installed.”

Shop for dining room furnishings

3. Fresh and Functional

Designer: Cooper Johnson Smith Architects
Builder: Kenneth Keating of Camlin Custom Homes
Location: Palmetto, Florida
Size: 211 square feet (20 square meters); 12 feet 8 inches by 16 feet 8 inches

Homeowners’ request. The architect’s vision was to provide natural light in the space. “We used Houzz to guide us from the very beginning of this project, from designing with the architect to the finishing touches such as paint colors,” builder Kenneth Keating says.

Main feature. “The views from the large bank of windows into the enclosed Key West-style courtyard and pool area — this offers the homeowner the ability to dine indoors while still enjoying the bright, airy atmosphere of the outdoor living,” Keating says.

Other special features. Wire-brushed, pickled white oak floors. Walls are painted in Reserved White by Sherwin-Williams.

Designer tip. “Using the large, rustic, rectangular light fixture helped soften and center the space and create warmth with light,” Keating says.

“Uh-oh” moment. “Designing the home itself was challenging due to the long, narrow shape of the lot,” Keating says. “Maximizing waterfront views while keeping the house open and easy to navigate proved challenging — the dining room especially, as it was located in the center of the home between the kitchen, living and the bedroom suite. Giving the dining room expansive views of the outdoor living helped make the space feel intentional and open.”

Chandelier: Lumiere four-light in weathered oak and oil-rubbed bronze, Feiss

5. Neat and Neutral

Designer: Melanie Millner of The Design Atelier
Location: Atlanta
Size: 150 square feet (14 square meters)

Homeowners’ request. A comfortable spot to gather as a family or use for casual entertaining.

Main feature. “This room has great light as it is surrounded by windows and glass doors,” designer Melanie Millner says. “With three sets of French doors, it feels connected to the outdoor living spaces. We used this pedestal-base dining table with rounded edges to keep an open traffic pattern around the room.”

Other special features. “We used a neutral palette that feels cohesive with the entire home,” Millner says. “Benjamin Moore White Dove was used on the walls, ceiling and trim. We used a sheer drapery around the perimeter of the room to create softness, and two potted fiddle leaf figs to create symmetry and bring the outdoors in. The dining table is the central piece that brings it all together. We paired a hammered nickel base with a custom walnut top to pick up on the walnut elements used throughout the interiors.

“This room gets heavy foot traffic, so it was important to the homeowner to use an area rug that would be durable and beautiful,” Millner says. “We selected an indoor-outdoor polypropylene rug that could withstand heavy wear and tear.”

Designer tip. “​There is a formal dining room in the home, so we wanted this space to feel comfortable and casual,” Millner says. “The homeowner requested bench-style seating, so we introduced an upholstered banquette. Mixing this in with traditional dining chairs gives the homeowner flexibility for a gathering of any size.”

More on Houzz
Key Measurements for Planning the Perfect Dining Room
The 10 Most Popular Dining Rooms So Far in 2020
Get more dining room ideas
Find an interior designer near you
Shop for dining room furniture