Dining Room Design Help

kkaew816

Hello- I'm needing some help with decorating my dining room- specifically on the walls. It is open to the dining but closed off from the kitchen. My husband and I have talked about painting it- but so far have been happy with beige- so color suggestions also welcome.

I've decorated one wall with canvas prints and a side table which I like. There are 3 other walls I don't like- one has a mirror, one has a piece of art I don't like (but my husband's aunt painted it so it has to stay somewhere in the house!), and the other small wall has a decorative wine rack. 

I really like the mirror- but the rest of the wall seems bare- any ideas? What about the other 2 walls? Ideas there?

Pics will be attached in a reply to the post.

Thanks for your help!

kkaew816

Here are some pictures!

BlueBirdMB

First off, it really visually bothers me that the table isn't centered with the light fixture.  The light fixture is centered in the room, so the table should be centered with it.  You could make things look much nicer also with an updated light fixture- something more appropriate for a dining room and more decorative.  

It looks like your wall hangings, specifically the one over the side board, are hung too high.  Wall hangings should be at eye level.  It's a common mistake to hang them too high.  You'll see less empty space if you hang them correctly.

I'd take down whatever you have now on either side of the window and instead get a better window treatment that will make a statement.  Then see if you want to add something more to the wall.  It's a sliding glass door, correct?  I'd add a valance for a window treatment.  Do you sew at all?  It's very easy to make a good window valance.

I'd focus attention on the wall with the mirror.  The mirror is too small for the wall.  You could hang other things with the mirror, but I think having one larger piece would create more of an impact.  Go to HomeGoods and look at their canvases.  You can get some great, large artwork at very reasonable prices.

But before you get into window treatments and artwork, decide on a color palate.  The only color choice isn't your wall color- in fact, I much prefer a neutral wall with color in the accessories.  Pick a color scheme- anything will go with beige- and stick with it.  Try shopping for fabrics first (ones you may want to use for a window treatment and maybe a table runner).  Don't rule out things like shower curtains or sheets for fabric or simply for color inspiration.  

For example, let's say you like the fabric below.  You could use it for a valance and table runner.  Then choose a piece of art that includes some of these colors (it can include other colors too.  Don't be too literal).  Then you could accessorize with some blue and green pieces on your side  board and one in the center of your table.  

Good luck!  Hopefully this will give you a place to begin.

kkaew816

Great tips and ideas- thank you!

I agree with the position of our table- we had it centered with the light but that puts it in the way of the door to our kitchen and our toddler kept running into it (I think the dining room was 'added' after the house was built so the spacing is weird- maybe eventually we will move the fixture)

The window is a long window- the window treatment came with the house and we never got around to changing it- I like the idea of a valance- I don't sew but my mom does!

Thanks again- I feel like I have a place to start!

alxsa24

I agree with @bluebirdMB I would get some art work that eye level and choose a theme. The window treatments aren't too bad, but that cover that's on the windows. I would remove to get some light and open that space. I love that idea that you have with the little round half table and artwork. If you can go to homegoods and get a buffet table or something for more storage and you can play with the idea of serving in this area to define "dining space". New light fixture is a must! I had to play around with my dining room when I moved into my home. It's so close to the front door

Erikan73

If you don't use the door to the kitchen and you have the room to store it, I would take it down. I wouldn't get rid of it because some day you may want to put it back up. I think if you got some type of scones to hang on each side of the mirror, that would help to fill in the space. The window treatment isn't doing much for the room or the window. Changing up the window treatment would be an easy way to bring in a punch of color without having to go through the work of painting the room since you do like the color.

rajrangjaipur

Hey @kkaew816 ! It's a great thing that you are decorating your dinning room. As you are thinking about painting the walls, then I would suggest you should go with some light color shades because your grey wall color seems dull. A mix of Off-white and Ivory would look good and also goes with your brown furnitures. These lights colors will reflect your personality and will tell a lot about you. So, go with these lights shades to brighten up your dinning room.

Now, for the wall decor, I think mirror will be too small. You can decorate this one side wall with floral design wallpapers or tree wallpapers that will fill the complete wall space and also give a magnificent look.
Decorate the rest two walls with beautiful wall paintings or handing items to create a balance between all the three walls and space.

For the decorations, you can shop from Rajrang which is a reliable site for the home decor and home furnishing products. You can buy some wall traditional decor items from the store like wall painting, Toran and pink tapestry to decorate your dinning room & give it a tradtional look.