How to Decorate a Dining Room in 2022 (7 tips)

How to decorate a dining room 

What are important things to consider when decorating a dining room and how do you make the most out of your space?

You might have a large dining room and want to know how to make it seem more cozy, or have a small dining room that you want to seem bigger?

In this article we share our 7 best tips of what to think about.

7 tips for decorating your dining room 

1) Make a plan before you start

Before you start the project of decorating your dining room we recommend you to make a plan and consider your needs and your vision of the room. Consider which colors, materials, size of dining table and how many chairs you need and can fit in the room. It can help to create a moodboard to make it easier to make decisions on which furniture and interior style to go with. Especially if you are multiple people in the family that want different things. 

Questions to ask yourself are for example if the dining room is a place that you are going to work from, and use as a home office, or if it is purely for dinners. Maybe your kids can use it as a study when it is not dinner time? In that case you might need a storage unit to put the homework, papers or computers when not in use. 

Another thing to consider is of course the style of the room. Which color scale and type of materials do you like? Do you want paintings to hang on the walls? Measure your dining room table and make sure that you have space for chairs and to be able to walk around the table. Based on how large the dining room is, you might want to choose a rectangular, oval or round dining table.

2) Choose the right colors

Colors are an important part of decorating any room and have a lot of influence in how you will perceive the room. Think about how the colors of the walls affect the dining room. If you have a small space that you want to feel bigger you would want to use light colors and vice versa. A large room will feel more cozy and intimate when you choose darker colors for the walls. 

3) Placement of the dining table

There are a few interior principles that are important when decorating your dining room, for example where you place your dining table. It is a good idea to have the dining table close to the kitchen to make it easy to walk back and forth during dinner parties. If you have a large dining room you can place the dining table in the middle of the room which will create balance and harmony. Make sure to place the dining table close to a window if possible to get natural light.  

4) Storage

Don’t forget storage units when decorating the room. You can use them for things you don’t want on the dining table during dinners and also for tableware and porcelain for special occasions. A side table can be used for storage as well as a place to put candles and flowers to create that cozy, harmonious feeling in the dining room. 

Display cabinets can be used as an additional space for storage to the kitchen. In the display cabinets you will put wine glasses, napkins, serving plates, vases and porcelain. Drink cabinets are also perfect for storage in the dining room.

5) Don’t forget the walls

Paintings are a great way to enhance the vibe you want to create in the dining room. Are you looking for a dynamic, abstract and colorful painting or an oil landscape painting in a harmonious shade of colors? A great idea is to have similar colors in the painting as the furniture and rest of the room, for a complete look. 

When hanging your art on the walls in the dining room, think about not placing them too high up. You want to be able to see and enjoy the painting from sitting down at the dinner table. Choose one large painting or multiple smaller ones. If you have multiple paintings we recommend you to put them close to each other and not spread across the room. 

If the dining room is small you can also use mirrors to make the room seem bigger. Just make sure that it is not in front of the guests but a bit from the dining room table. This is because we don’t want the guests to see themselves when eating, but rather focus on the conversation around the dining table.

6) Fireplace

An open fireplace in the dining room is perfect to create a cozy environment and that extra touch to a room. It is perfect for a large dining room that has a lot of free space.

The open fire gives the whole room an amazing light that candles can create. If you have the possibility to add a sofa or armchair and a side table in front of the fireplace that is even better.

Add a coffee table and use that part of the room to serve drinks and snacks before the main dinner. This will make you guests relax after a long dinner and invites for long conversations in front of the fire.

7) Pick the right chairs

The dining room chairs are almost the most important part of the dining room. They have to be both comfortable and stylish. You can choose a material that reflects the style in the rest of the room. Just imagine how different it feels to sit on a leather chair, a rustic oak chair or an elegant chair covered with linen fabric. 

An important thing to consider when choosing dining room chairs is that the guests are going to sit there for long periods of time. Therefore you of course would want the chairs to be as comfortable as possible.