At a Glance:
Consider Your Dining Room Design Style
Dining Room Furniture Selection and Placement
Dining Room Lighting that Sets the Mood
Dining Room Color Palette and Wall Decor
Functional and Stylish Dining Room Storage
Personal Touches and Centerpieces
If your dining room decor feels a little drab, it might be time to transform it and give your at-home dining experience a boost of festivity. You might think the trick to designing a dining space that feels fresh means following the latest trends, but the reality is if you follow some basic rules, you’ll always be able to redo your dining room no matter what’s trending.
There are plenty of designer secrets to share, and we’re revealing them for you in this guide to styling a dining room. Use these dining room ideas—combined with your own personal style—to revamp your space and create a welcoming and comfortable area for every dining occasion.
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For a dose of style inspiration, explore dining room furniture from our wide selection here at Ken's Appliance.
Shop NowConsider Your Dining Room Design Style
Homeowners always want to know what is on-trend and are constantly chasing design styles like modern farmhouse and minimalism. The reality is that you don’t have to follow popular styles and can design a dining room that matches your personal preferences. You can create a formal dining room that is packed with antiques or look for unique dining tables that aren’t found anywhere else. There are also dining room collections that are creative and diverse, which are an easy way for homeowners to create a cohesive vision without having to shop piece by piece.
One thing to consider is whether your dining room style matches the rest of your home. Overall, we recommend it does, since it will create a sense of flow from one room to another. Spend some time looking online for dining room inspiration and visiting furniture stores to find your aesthetic. This can help you choose a style you love.
For a Farmhouse Dining Room: Flexsteel Plymouth Dining Room Set
Shop This Flexsteel Dining Room Set
This dining room set highlights how the pieces you choose can contribute to your style and the vibes you create for the room. It would look perfect if you were creating a farmhouse dining room with a touch of a rustic feel. The table and chairs have a lived-in appeal, but they are actually durable and easy to maintain. This gives you the best of both when shopping for furniture.
Dining Room Furniture Selection and Placement
Even if you choose a minimalist or oversized design style, you still need to be cognizant of the furniture size you choose. Consider the number of people who will use your dining area at any given time—plus a few extra seats for guests. You also want to make sure your dining tables and chairs go together. Dining could be uncomfortable if your chairs are too high or too low.
Once you figure out the practicalities of the seating arrangements, you can start to get creative. For instance, consider seating benches instead of traditional chairs for a family feel, or invest in a mix-and-match chairs that add a sense of whimsy. Your goal is to optimize your seating and layout in a manner that encourages conversation and flow.
And don’t forget about area rugs! They’re a great way to define a dining space and add warmth, and they can also serve to echo motifs and patterns to tie a room together. Decide whether you want the rug to match your seating or contrast against it. If you use the dining room daily, keep durability in mind; low-pile rugs are easier to maintain than shaggy rugs, and white, beige, and other neutral rugs will require more care since stains show easier.
For Dining Rooms with Plenty of Guests: Signature Design by Ashley® Myshanna Antiqued Gray Dining Extension Table
Shop This Signature Design by Ashley Table
This extendable dining table is great for everyday use. You can use the smaller table for your daily meals with your family and then extend the piece when you have friends or family over with enough room for eight people to gather around. This is a great example of dining room furniture that works with a variety of layouts since the leaves can be take off to make more room for more intimate dining settings. Additionally, the long, rectangular build works better with areas than round tables.
Featured Signature Design by Ashley Myshanna review: “I've had a lot of compliments from friends and family. It is a very nice table with a nice perfect bench! I suggest cleaning it only with wood oil to preserve the wood shine! Very happy with my choice!”
Dining Room Lighting that Sets the Mood
Good lighting is essential for creating ambiance, and with the right choice, you can create a warm, cozy space that your guests don’t want to leave. For example, a chandelier is a great way to light up a whole room for a family dinner, but wall sconces can add a softer light to set the mood for after-dinner drinks.
Look at the existing lighting in your dining room and the placement of outlets to see where you can add lamps. Depending on where the power source is, you can create special moments, such as a floor lamp in a dark corner to give the space life.
To further increase the flexibility of your dining room lighting, incorporate dimmers that can adjust the lighting intensity. This allows you to change your lighting depending on the holiday, guests, mood, and chosen food.
Play with Light: Benchcraft® Luvoni White/Dark Charcoal Gray Rectangular Dining Room Table
As you explore different dining room ideas, consider how your furniture will impact your lighting. For example, did you know darker furniture absorb light while lighter pieces reflect it? If you pick up a table like this one, the lighting will bounce off the faux Carrara marble and brighten up the space. You can experiment with different lighting options until you find a room layout you like.
Featured Benchcraft Luvoni review: “It is the perfect height for me. It is easy to clean. It is a nice change from a circular table.”
Dining Room Color Palette and Wall Decor
While your top priority might be looking for the right furniture, the most successful dining room ideas focus on the big-picture elements of design. For example, you need to develop a color scheme early on that matches your preferences for the room. This will help you choose everything from chairs to wall decor. From there, the pieces you incorporate will dictate the mood of the space, whether it’s light and airy, dark and moody, cheery and bold, or an eclectic mix of all your favorite emotions.
It’s okay to be dramatic in your dining room design. You can develop accent walls, ceiling wallpapers, or paint techniques that add visual interest to the space. You can also use mirrors, artwork, and decorative shelves to enhance the dining room's aesthetic. You can be as creative as you want with your dining room paint colors and other elements of this space.
Use Neutral Canvases: homestyles® Cambridge Whitewash Upholstered Dining Chairs
Shop These homestyles Dining Chairs
A neutral color palette in your tables and chairs will allow you to play with more dramatic colors in your wall art, area rugs, and other creative choices. The high-quality upholstery on this pair of dining room chairs provides support for your guests so they can enjoy comfortable seating until the meal is done. Our design choice for these gorgeous pieces? Try a daring floral print in pastels, pinks, and greens for a modern take on cottage design, or keep it simple and sleek with black, gold, and white accents.
Functional and Stylish Dining Room Storage
Don’t be afraid to whip out the fancy china when the moment is right! When it’s not in use, these pieces make beautiful accents in the dining room, and they provide another opportunity to add stylish storage. This is a great trick if you have a large dining room and are wondering how to give it balance.
If this is the case for your home, try to incorporate storage solutions that match your design. You can invest in cabinetry and pantries that can store glassware and other decorative items. These pieces maximize vertical space through the use of shelves, drawers, and other storage elements.
Store with Style: Signature Design by Ashley® Elinmore Brown/Gold Accent Cabinet
Shop This Signature Design by Ashley Dining Buffet
This dining room cabinet is a great example of fashionable storage. You have three separate areas to store your formal plates and glassware, while still embracing modern dining room design. The layout includes a lower cabinet, which allows you to place lamps, centerpieces, and other mementos on top. While this creation is quintessential mid-century modern, the geometry and use of metallics can also be played up with neutrals or contrasting patterns for an eclectic feel full of energy.
Featured Signature Design by Ashley Elinmore review: “A beautiful cabinet for the price. Heavy and solid.”
Personal Touches and Centerpieces
Finally, fill your dining room with personal elements like family heirlooms or sentimental pieces that reflect who you are. You can also find creative centerpieces like floral arrangements, candles, and decorative bowls that match the season. Fill your table with gourds and fall leaves around Thanksgiving and then replace them with boughs of holly during Christmas. This allows your dining room to match the current season.
For a Bay Window, for a Table: Benchcraft® Flaybern Large Light Brown Dining Upholstered Bench
Shop This Benchcraft Dining Room Bench
This dining room bench is a great option if you are looking for dining room ideas that match your personality. It offers guests a creative seating option and is more intimate than simply using chairs. When not in use, use this as a stunning place to put seasonal décor, alongside a bay window, or even fitted with decorative seat cushions for a quick and easy way to give a dining room new visual interest.
You don’t have to follow a certain trend or dining room design style in order to transform your space. Instead, you can choose creative pieces and unique items that turn your everyday meals into fun experiences. Once you have the practical elements of seating arrangements and lighting figured out, the sky is the limit for your creativity. Bring your vision to Ken’s, and let our design experts help you find all the right dining room selections to make every meal magical.
Why Trust Ken’s?
Ken's has been a trusted source of home furnishings in the Grand Island area since 1962. With nearly 60 years of experience in the community, customers have come to rely on us for all their home needs. We offer a wide selection of furniture, premium mattresses, and high-quality appliances. Our knowledgeable sales team will help you find the perfect items for your home. And once the sale is made, we are there for you with installation services and an experienced parts and service department.
We are routinely recognized by both the Grand Island community as well as the industry for our commitment to excellence. We are proud to be BrandSource Dealer of the Year for 2014 and Best of Grand Island for Appliances since 2022. We also received Fan Favorite in Grand Island for Mattresses in 2022. Shop local at Ken's Grand Island, NE! We look forward to servicing you and providing the quality products your home needs.
Shop Dining Room Furniture at Ken’s
At Ken’s, we pride ourselves on being more than just a store - we are your total home solution. Having served Grand Island for so many years, it matters to us that we only provide the best products. Shop dining room furniture online or visit us today at Grand Island, NE showroom. Our experts are always available to help you come up with dining room ideas for your space, whether you call us or use our online text feature. Contact us today!
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