How To Create A Traditional Dining Room

Sitting down to a delicious meal in a beautifully designed, refined traditional dining room is one of the real pleasures of life, and with this handy guide, you and your family will soon be eating amidst the rich tones and timeless charm of a traditional dining area.

Of course, no traditional dining room would be complete without a beautiful dining set as a centrepiece. There are many woods that are used to create dining tables, so it's worth thinking about what effect each timber might have. Pine, although mainly used in modern, Scandinavian inspired pieces, is also used for traditional pieces, and looks especially good when it has been stained and lacquered. Oak is the classic choice for an old-style dining table, as its natural colouring and grain are the epitomy of traditional style.

This room uses frame wainscoting to break up the walls

For the full traditional dining experience, you'll need a dining table, dining chairs, a sideboard, and maybe even a console table or display cabinet, depending on how much space you have.

Once you've chosen your furniture, consider the type of decor you would like to go for. Within the traditional style, there are many options, and many possibilities to create something special. For an opulent, time-honoured look, why not consider wainscoting the lower part of the walls? If you're designing your room around a wooden dining set, you can use wainscoting to complement the wood - if your table is oak, oak wainscoting will allow the timber's distinctive grain to be the defining presence in the room. By reducing wall space, the impact of wallpaper is reduced, so that you can choose a bold pattern without it overwhelming the room.

The look of this room is defined by its stylish
stained and lacquered oak furniture

If you're still looking for information, check out this great guide to creating a traditional dining room from hgtv.com

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Top Tips For A Modern Dining Room

A modern family dining room serves many purposes, from cosy family meals to kids doing their homework to dinner parties and more formal entertainments, so the design of the room is more important than ever. We take a look at some simple ideas to help you to create a room that is both efficient and stylish, and which meets all the needs of a modern family.

The key to the contemporary look lies in making sure that the room is clutter-free, so it's important to select some stylish storage so that all your family's belongings can be kept neatly packed away. If your room is small, try a slim sideboard, while if you have the luxury of space, you can bring a bit of personality to the room by arranging ornaments and accessories on bookshelves and display cabinets.

This room has been carefully designed
for practicality and style

One of the most important aspects of a modern dining room is its multifunctionality, so it's a good idea to consider the different uses to which your dining room may be put. Think extra storage for kids' homework stuff, or a 'family' tablecloth that you don't mind them drawing on.

If your dining room links two other rooms, and sees a lot of foot traffic, you could consider an extendable dining table, which can be placed against the wall for normal use and pulled out, extended and dressed for dinner parties sunday roasts. This look also maximises space, helping to keep contemporary furniture looking its best.

If you have a large home, with plenty of space in the garage, why not purchase some extra matching seating, and even an extra dining table so that you can cater for very large gatherings in style.

Remember, it can be easy for clutter to build up as various members of the family deposit their belongings on surfaces. In order to prevent this, consider investing in some extra storage for your hall, so that everybody has a drawer and nothing ends up being left in the dining room.

Once you've taken into account the practical aspects of your dining room, it's time to get down to the business of decorating. The classic contemporary look calls for white walls and window frames, although you can experiment with bold modern colours like olive green, cimarron red, or slate blue. One of the advantages of opting for a plain white look is the opportunity to choose several sets of ornaments and accessories, including curtains, tablecloths, napkins and vases to show off different looks.

Any lighting scheme in a dining room must help to set the scene. Try installing recessed halogen spotlights in the ceiling, angling several onto the table for a pool of light.

Recessed halogen spotlights can
really make a difference

If you're looking for further inspiration, why not check out Channel4.com's guide to contemporary dining rooms, which has some beautiful designs to get your imagination going.

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How To Turn Your Dining Room French

Think of a French dining room, and what comes to mind? Furniture that is somehow comfortable, rustic and effortlessly chic all at the same time, carefully chosen colours that create an environment that is perfect for long conversations over bottles of wine. If this sounds like heaven to you, why not consider creating your own French-influenced dining room, and bringing some of that unique continental charm to your home.

The centrepiece of any dining room is the dining table and chairs, and to get that distinctive French look, you'll want to go for elegant high-backed chairs to really get that sense of chic. For the table, you have a choice - if you are after the look of a sophisticated Parisian apartment, then go for a dining table with slender legs and a delicate design, and accessorise with matching occasional tables and sideboards on which to place lamps and flowing plants. If you crave the rustic French countryside style of a Provence cottage, then go for a rustic table that accentuates the natural beauty of the wood - distressed furniture can help you to get that lived in look without having to pay the high prices of antiques.

This room uses pale tones and a simple
chandelier to maximise space

Once you've got your furniture sorted out, you'll want to think about the decor. French-style dining rooms can, if they are small, benefit from a traditional lemon yellow or powder blue, which will maximise the light and evoke the sense of space found in a refined French apartment. If your room is larger, why not go for something bold and daring like vertical stripes or even a trompe l'oeil painting (although with this you'll want to go to a professional, as an amateurish attempt is a real fashion faux-pas)

This room uses a rustic dining table to create
a relaxed yet stylish atmosphere

The crowning touch to a French-inspired dining room will be a chandelier, although that doesn't mean you should forget about subtlety. Pick a lighting centrepiece that is in keeping with the scale of the room - a small glass chandelier can be an imposing presence simply because it is the source of light, whatever you do don't go too big, otherwise the sense of space will be lost.

Once you've successfully incorporated a French influence into your dining room, you'll want the food to match. Check out the BBC's piece on the differences between French and British cookery, and create some marvellous dishes to serve to your friends and family.

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How to Create a Contemporary Dining Room

In the age of the celebrity chef, the pressure to create sumptuous restaurant quality meals means that even the most friendly dinner party is expected to be a dazzling culinary display in a sophisticated, stylish setting. If you want your dinner parties to be fondly remembered, it's important to make sure that your dining room is up to scratch, and one of the best ways to ensure that your dining area inspires relaxed conversation is to go for a sleek, elegant contemporary look that will also help your food to look irresistible.

A contemporary dining room is defined by its fresh and innovative approach to colour, texture and space, which makes it hard to successfully navigate the huge range of modern dining room furniture and accessories. That's why we've provided this guide, which is intended to help you to achieve a contemporary look that is warm, inviting, and which suits your individual tastes and personality.

Colour

Contemporary style demands an intelligent approach to colour, a departure from the norm. Try using bold, unusual colours with modern ideas like feature walls to really give your dining room that cutting-edge feel. If you need some inspiration, check out Fired Earth's stunning range of wall colours, specially selected by Kevin MacLeod, architect, designer, and presenter of Channel 4's Grand Designs.

Texture

This room uses a wooden dining table to
bring warmth to its contemporary look

Use of texture can really make an impact - when you think of a contemporary styled dining room, you may get an image of sleek, glass or metal furniture and unbroken straight lines, but in recent years, designers have incorporated the more warm, soft and inviting textures of more traditional materials such as solid oak, pine or ash. This allows you to build your dining room around a wooden dining table, for a great combination of traditional character and contemporary design, saving more modern textures such as metal or glass for other items and accessories, providing variety.

Space

The fabric blind used on this window
maximises the light

The use of space is really what defines contemporary style, with a focus on clean, uncluttered surroundings and the creative use of lighting. Use sideboards or chests to provide enough storage to keep your surfaces clear, and make sure you get curtains or blinds that allow you to maximise the light that comes from your windows, but which also look good when drawn. Make sure that you choose a lighting scheme that keeps the ceiling clear - think recessed halogen spotlights and carefully positioned low level lighting.

If you need a little extra inspiration, Channel4.com have a great gallery of contemporary dining room design ideas, which is well worth a look.

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Tips to Make the Most of your Dining Room

TV shows like Come Dine With Me and Masterchef have sparked off a surge of enthusiasm for dinner parties, but with their emphasis on Michelin star quality food and super-stylish surroundings they have also increased the pressure that hosts are under to deliver an unforgettable evening.

The pressure to create
restaurant-quality meals is on

In fact, the Telegraph reports that researchers have found that 57 per cent of people find that inviting friends for a dinner party is more nerve-racking than commuting to work, while a quarter said it was more stressful than a job interview.

The number one fear is that dishes will go wrong, with the number two spot taken by a fear that guests will not enjoy themselves. Fear number three is that their choice of decor will be mocked.

Jim Haynes, host of a supper club, estimates that he has invited up to 130,000 people round for dinner over the last 30 years. He says: 'People shouldn't stress when hosting friends for dinner. The key is to have a nice environment and guests who want to be there.'

That's where this guide comes in - if you can get the decor and furnishings right, then you will be taking a significant stress off your shoulders and will be able to concentrate on creating some delectable dishes with which to wow your guests.

1: Pick a Colour Scheme

There's nothing worse than sitting down to dine in a room that is filled with clashing colours that make you want to keep your head down. That's why it's important to select a palette of complementary colours for the walls, curtains and even tablecloths, napkins and other textiles.

You don't want to end up with a room like this

2: Choose the right furniture

The dining table is the most important piece you will have to choose, so make sure that you find the right one for you. You may want to invest in an extending dining table in order to accommodate more guests, but remember to get extra matching dining chairs, as mismatched chairs can stick out and ruin the carefully designed look of your dining room. Pair the table with a matching sideboard to provide great-looking storage.

3: Get the lighting right

Too much light and your guests will be dazzled, too little and conversation gets tricky as people peer through the murk. Dining room lighting is a real chance to get creative - to make sure that the table is well lit, you can choose a centrepiece chandelier style light for the centre of the room, hanging down over the table to provide a pool of light. Choose some warm-toned lamps to place in strategic corners of the room to pick out the details of your decor for maximum style points.

This room gets everything right, from colour to lighting scheme.

4: Accessorise!

With your dining room decorated, furnished and lit, you'll want to make sure that the details are right - choose a stylish bread bowl for the centre of the table, and pick some stylish wall art. You can also select some attractive plants to help keep the atmosphere fresh and to break up the lines of the room.

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