| Dining Room Decorating![]() Deciding how formal or informal you would like to dining experience to be is one of many preparations you can take to ready yourself for hands on decoration. A house equipped with a kitchen/dining room combo simplifies this step as most combination rooms are informal by design. Sketching a quick floor plan and taking room measurements are great ways to prepare yourself to redecorate the dining room of your home. At this point it would also be a good idea to remind yourself that dining can be an informal or formal experience. Holiday dinners like Thanksgiving and Christmas may require some fine tuning decorations that would be out of place the next week when the family falls back into the normal morning routine and you find yourself eating Corn Flakes while starring at a Pilgrim and Turkey napkin holder. The point is that sometimes a home needs a formal dining room to fit the occasion and sometimes a bare bones dining room will do the job - be prepared to slightly redecorate this room accordingly. For smaller dining room spaces use an open floor plan, and limit the amount of dining room furniture that this room must hold. Consider replacing window sheers with a black-out shade or blinds to further open up space. Mirrors are also terrific "space openers", small restaurants are very aware of this technique and employ it often. Think vertically in your design and conserve as much precious floor space as you can manage, this will help preserve the functionality of the dining room. Dining Room DecorThe dining room is a place for framed art, especially landscapes and still frame pieces. The bright, smiling faces of your family are better suited for a living room, entry way, or family room setting. Framed photographs of nature that integrate with dining room decorations are also welcome candidates inside the dining room. Hanging framed artworks higher (more formal) or lower (more homely) alters the atmosphere inside the dining room as well. Wall color should remain fairly neutral being that this room needs to provide both a formal or informal setting from time to time. The style of the dining room is entirely up to the homeowner. Incorporate an assortment of 3-5 of the Feng Shui elements along with a harmonious collection of Yin and Yang decorations paying special attention to how open the room feels. Populate the room with furniture but definitely do it with a conservative conscience. The dining room rug falls under our radar the majority of the time. No single decoration accessory has more impact on the nature of the dining room experience than the rug but because it tends to fall under our visual radar, we seldom notice its significance. Use a rug as a mechanism to frame the dining room table and bring the colors of the dining room together. Doing so will allow your dining participants to feel closeness and comfortable while enjoying a hearty, home-cooked meal. Dining Room LightingLighting is an area in the dining room that rarely requires much modification. Overhead lighting and windows provide ample amounts of lighting for stuffing our faces. Dimming switches are a romantic's best friend but they are also great in the morning if your job requires you to be up before the sunshine. A dimming switch in the morning can help you gradually transition and prepare for the daylight. Candles offer a similar alternative. Soft candlelight provides the ultimate setting for a romantic experience between two intimate lovers. ![]() | ||||||