Home interiors: How to design a delicious dining room
Jennifer Sheahan uses diffused wall lighting to highlight artwork in the dining area of her Rathmines home. Picture: Moya Nolan
Fewer rooms have had such an evolution as the dining room in the past century. The move away from stiff formalities, the rise of apartment living, and the invention of TV dinners have all resulted in a much more casual dining style than our grandparents may have been used to.
Open-plan living, which became so popular in the 1970s, largely did away with separate dining rooms in most homes. With the shift in working patterns over the past four years, many dining areas have further evolved into part-time home offices. Wherever and however you choose to dine, here are my top design considerations that will help you create a space that is both functional and reflects your personal style.
I have an open-plan kitchen-living-dining room (KLD), and I love this style of hosting — informal, close to the kitchen, and cosy. If you, like me, are short on space, I will always advocate for choosing built-in banquette seating. It not only maximises the number of people you can seat around the table, but it also offers extra storage; for this, choose hinged lid seating over drawers as it will be much easier to access the space underneath.
For comfort, add a 100-110-degree slope to the back of the bench seating, or go for cushioned backrests. Before you sign off on the final design of your bench, be sure to consider whether you will be adding cushions to the seats — you don’t want to end up with a bench that’s higher or lower than the dining chairs that will be placed around the rest of the table, so measure and plan this in advance.
When choosing a table in a banquette area, it’s best to go for a round or oval tulip-style table with one central stem, rather than a square with four legs. This will prevent you and your guests from getting bruised knees and stubbed toes! Measure your available space carefully and position the table with enough room for chairs to be pulled out comfortably, and ensure clear walkways without compromising flow.
For those lucky enough to have a separate dining room, consider its size and intended use. If you frequently host large gatherings, go for a large table that comfortably seats all your guests. If you only sometimes host large groups, or if you need to use the space for other things (maybe you need to hang up your laundry there or use it as a home gym sometimes) then extendable tables can free up space and enable additional functionality in the room.
When choosing furniture, round or oval tables tend to foster conversation and intimacy, while rectangular tables provide a more formal setting. Chairs with armrests will provide both formality and comfort but will take up more space than chairs without, so choose whichever option provides adequate seating for your needs.
You will need to leave at least 92cm of clearance between your table and the nearest object, be that a wall or a display cabinet. Lastly, choosing other furniture in your separate dining room should come down to functionality. If you have a lot of space and you like to relax with a drink away from the table after dinner, you could add an area with armchairs and a small table. In general, it’s a good idea to have a unit in the room to store items that you might otherwise frequently have to pop in and out of the kitchen to get — for instance, wine, glassware, table mats, extra cutlery, and bottle openers.
Lighting is a crucial element to get right in dining room design. Dining events are usually meant to be intimate and fun, so your lighting should be relaxing and flattering. If you’re using your dining area for other things, such as working from home, go for layered lighting and leverage dimmer switches to cover all functionalities.
My favourite combination of layered lighting in a dining area is an overhead pendant with a warm bulb which can be dimmed or switched off separately, plus warm wall lighting with the addition of accent lamps if needed in larger rooms.
Pendant lights or chandeliers look great over a dining table, and they can be used to provide task lighting if you’re working at the table, but bright overhead lighting is not flattering so be sure to choose fixtures that provide diffused lighting or leverage dimmer switches here. Wall lights are perfect for dining — the diffused light coming from the side instead of overhead is flattering and adds a touch of elegance. Using wall lights to highlight artwork is a great idea in a dining space as it can highlight a conversation piece.
The colour of your dining room is another key element to creating an atmosphere. In separate dining rooms, I adore warm dark colours to create a cosy mood. In open-plan KLDs, you can zone your dining area by painting the walls a different colour to the rest of the room or even adding wall cladding, which works especially well if the dining area is in a nook. Rugs are great for zoning and for adding colour and texture — go for a short pile fabric that will be easy to keep clean and choose a size that is large enough to easily fit under the table and chairs. Large mirrors, statement artwork, and curated objets d’art all work very well in dining areas — think about displaying items that will show off your personality and act as conversation starters.
The materials you choose for your dining furniture are also important. Wood is timeless and comes in a wide range of colours — dark mahogany is more formal and classic while organically shaped natural wood tabletops with raw edges are very on trend at the moment and add a rustic feel. Metal and glass are sleek and modern, though I personally find them a bit soulless and hard to keep clean. Marble or stone is luxurious and classic — this can chip and stain more easily, but I don’t mind that. I love to see a table colour that contrasts with the surrounding wall colour, such as a dark wooden table in a light room, or a bright marble table in a dark room.
For dining chairs, comfort is paramount. Upholstered chairs will give you both comfort and customisation of textures and colours. Wood with padded seating is classic and comfortable. I opted for transparent chairs — replicas of the Philippe Starck Ghost Chair as they visually reduce clutter in the space (plus they’re super comfy!).
Finally, tablescapes — I could write more on this topic but beautiful crockery, fresh flowers, seasonal centrepieces, and table linens are a perfect opportunity to add personality and elevate the dining experience.
