Use Your Dining Room Again


By Paul Miller

Interior Designer


Though they inspire romance, most dining rooms get very little use. Especially for those who either purchased formal furniture earlier in life or who inherited it from family, it can feel like their dining room harkens back to an era of fancy dinner parties with jiggly aspic on fine china. It can seem dated, fussy, or like a lot of work. Many clients say that they only use the dining room once or twice a year, for those holidays when folks come home for Passover, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.

I believe the dining room needs to be thought of differently - and enjoyed with love regularly. I also think that while more casual trappings do make a dining room more approachable, the lack of them should not hinder a person from making the most of this part of their home. Here are some tactics I recommend to clients who find it challenging to get excited about using this space more often.

 

Dinner For Four

Some people feel that their dining table is too large to use when only having one other couple over to dinner. However, with some dramatic flourishes, the scale can work to your advantage. My favorite tactic is to turn the ends of the table into garden-like scapes, massing plants, flowers, and lanterns to create a sense of romance and intimacy.

 
How to set a large table for four dinner party guests. Bunch your plants or use twigs and greenery at each end of a long table to fill up space and make friends feel cozy. This table scape shows you how to throw a dinner party for four people at a b…
 

The plants can be borrowed from elsewhere in the house or, in their stead, generous clippings from shrubbery and trees can be arranged in tall vessels for a similar effect. This approach works because it uses a little bit of stagecraft to make the dinner feel all the more unique and cozy.

Mis-matched dish ware and dishes are charming in this autumn table scape. Use a scarf, Turkish towel, or cozy blanket to set the tone for an intimate party for four of your closest friends. How to use natural leaves and feathers in simple vases and …
Light candles for immediately setting the scene for your dinner guests. Don’t be overwhelmed by hosting a fabulous dinner party. These tips and tricks will help you create the best place setting tablescape and dinner party for friends.

In the setting above, we leaned into an autumnal vibe, using moody green votive holders, dishes with a leafy print, ringtail pheasant feathers and dried garden flowers. A vintage woven horse blanket doubles as a rustic runner to add texture and pattern.

Note that in all of the styled photographs in this post, we have made room for candles. If it is stated nowhere else in this post, let me clear that no one is going to really warm up to your dining room unless the overhead light is on a dimmer and you use candles for flickering shadows and warm pools of light.

 

Go For JoY

For those holding onto elegant, heirloom furnishings, it can be hard to see beyond the known table dressings, that pair of simple candlesticks with an unassuming (and maybe underwhelming) flower arrangement. Making a space our own is a lot about thinking outside of conventional norms. Start by embracing the carefree spirit of eclectic design.

 
Designer how-to tips on how to set the table for a dinner or brunch party. Don’t worry if you don’t have enough matched dishes to go around. Mix and match the colors and patterns for a collage of dish ware. Throw a dinner party with regular casual p…
 

Dress the table in joyfully patterned table clothes and napkins, mixed sets of dishes and glasses, an array of sunny flower arrangements and candles in assorted holders. Less structure and more variety and color will take the chill off even the most refined dining room furnishings. The good news is, dressing the table is a great way to explore your personal style. It may even lead you to other, more permanently bold choices, like painting that dark old furniture a fun color or going for it with a splashy wallpaper. Even if this is not the outcome, you’ll have created memorable, magical meals.

Bird plates and fancy china at the same table. Mix and match bohemian style makes a formal table or event more approachable and fun. When you let go of the rules, your guests will have a great time.
Designer tips on the perfect dinner party. Use fresh flowers to make your guests feel special. Mix and match your place settings to accommodate a large crowd. No matter what, have fun!

In the setting above, we used a large scale print for the table cloth, vintage luncheon napkins for coasters, and a mix of vases to hold the ever-joyful sunflower and other sprigs of color from the garden. Note that the glassware is fairly casual and that the dishes are not all matched. While this table design evokes a feeling of summer, it would perhaps be even more satisfying in the long, grey weeks of mid-winter.

 

Lean Into The Elegance

How to roll a napkin for an easy dinner party. Order in for an easy no stress way to have people over for dinner to enjoy your fancy china.
Go all out in maximalist style. How to throw a no-stress dinner or lunch party for good friends. The best no cook dinner party on fancy special bone wedding china.

Obviously, another option is to embrace the formal connotations of your heirlooms. No need to shove things away between the holidays. Throw a dinner party for a friend on one of their big birthdays or mark a summer or winter solstice with flare. Too often what is missing from our grab-and-go, casual modern lives are reasons to dress up in style.

That doesn’t mean you have to have the kitchen skills of Ina Garten to create a swanky, vintage meal. Ordering takeout from your favorite local kitchen is effortlessly elegant on your grandmother’s china. We styled (and enjoyed) simple sushi in the traditional setting above. Modern touches like the grey marble serving board, along with punchy red napkins, keep the setting warm and happy.

 

Lived In By Design

The best approach to make sure you will use the dining room is to design it with everyday use in mind. Offset formal dining room furnishings you may have inherited with airy paint choices, dynamic wallpaper, vibrant art, or unexpected lighting. Or if just starting out, consider furniture with an earthier finish and more densely padded chairs that invite guests to stay past the meal for long conversations and games. With the right relaxed design choices, the dining room can become a favorite everyday space on your home.

 

Want more useful tips? See our previous post in this series - 6 Ways To Steer Clear Of Trend Dead Ends.

If you are interested in our design services, please tell us about your project!