33 Dining Room Decorating Ideas You Have to Try

Create the ultimate gathering spot for breaking bread and chatting about the day's adventures. Steal our favorite ideas to design a dining room that's made for sharing with family and friends.

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December 01, 2020

By: Chelsey Bowen

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Eclectically Glamorous

Upgrade your dining table with distinctly different chairs. Elegantly tufted side chairs provide a sophisticated balance to the custom-designed host and hostess chairs. The tall wingback chairs are upholstered in two fabrics — a textured neutral and a gray marble — and help bring the soaring room to scale. Tiered coco bead chandeliers and the vintage Turkish rug add to the devil-may-care allure of the room.

From: Blackband Design

Opt for a Balanced Style

Modernize your dining room with Industrial-style lighting. Balance the streamlined look by mixing in natural furnishings, like distressed wood tables and wicker chairs. Black-and-white photographs hung gallery-style add a personal touch to the room.

Mid-Mod Love

When working with a tight spot, maximize your dining space with a banquette and pedestal table. This playful space mixes a banquette in bright, retro hues and graphic pillows with a white tulip table. An Eames-inspired side chair adds an extra seat without taking up a lot of space.

From: Alison Damonte

Lively Midcentury Modern

Patterned wallpaper, vibrant shades and a bold glass light fixture add life to this dining room featuring a clean, midcentury modern table.

From: Casagrande Studio

Hello, Minimalism

Take an uncomplicated approach to your dining room. Here, wood and iron combine in sleek, simple lines for a dining table that pairs beautifully with textured-filled chairs in leather and sheepskin. Industrial vintage lighting is painted matte black to illuminate the dining room, while an oversized round mirror sits seamlessly on the wall to visually expand the bright white space.

Enchanted Setting

For an instant focal point, cover one wall in wallpaper. Pretty flora and fauna wallpaper brings an epic sense of whimsy and romance to this dining room. Chairs with elegant details, like tufting and nailhead trim, pull their hues from the wall to create a cohesive color palette.

From: Lotus + Lilac Design Studio

Don't Forget the Ceiling

If the ceiling is a room's "fifth wall," then consider adding adding color or perhaps wallpaper to the ceiling. Gold-and-green wallpaper is a pretty visual surprise on this dining room ceiling.

Also See: 8 Reasons Designers Are Painting Ceilings

From: ReeceNichols Real Estate and Luxury Portfolio International®

Time for a Clean Slate

Declutter! We know your secret (because it's ours, too). The seldom-used dining room becomes a catchall space full of shopping bags, your stack of unread books and that project you're going to get to this week. One of the first steps is clearing off all the randomness so you enjoy the dining room underneath the piles.

From: SHM ARCHITECTS

Punctuated With Pattern

Try two different fabrics on the same chair for an entirely one-of-a-kind touch. Delicate meets rustic in these dining chairs, which have seats upholstered in distressed leather and backs covered in a soft gingham. Floral curtains soften the bay window and bring a coziness to the space, which has a dose of the exotic in its beaded turquoise chandelier.

From: Kandrac & Kole Interior Designs, Inc.

Pleasing Variation

Break up your design style with something unexpected. The all-white cottage kitchen and dining room gets a spark of industrial style through the galvanized chairs and oversized chrome pendants. The chic juxtaposition is all-together appealing.

From: Chango and Co.

Two-in-One Design

Embrace the versatility of slipcovers. Tailored white slipcovers create a casual coastal feel in this dining room when paired with the farmhouse table and a trio of industrial-inspired pendants. When a more sophisticated look is required (or you're just ready to switch it up), the linen slipcovers are removed to uncover tufted gray armchairs that have a decidedly more formal feel.

Taking in the View

If you're fortunate enough to have a stunning natural backdrop, take advantage of it. In this relaxing waterfront space, simple plastic chairs and a streamlined table create chic minimalist style without distracting from the beautiful surroundings. Intriguing pendants add light and airy texture overhead.

From: Urban Dwellings

Light and Warm

For a more intimate setting, choose a round table instead of a long oval or rectangular option. This circular table centers the dining room and is large enough to seat eight. A liberal application of white, from the walls to the chairs and beaded chandelier, keeps the heavy use of richly stained wood from feeling too dark.

From: sKout

Casually Artistic

Include a conversation starter. Bold red chair frames grab their hue from the eye-catching abstract artwork holding centerstage above the built-in buffet. The rest of the color palette is tempered by soft grays and whites to balance out the space. A nubby woven rug brings warm texture underfoot.

From: Caitlin Murray

A Place for the Whole Family

Make the most of a great room. This farmhouse-inspired dining room opens up to the kitchen and living room so they all work as one big flowing family space where everyone can gather. The extra-long weathered gray table is surrounded by Parsons and caneback chairs to create a casual and inviting environment. A homey-meets-glam vibe is achieved on the chandelier through a rustic copper finish.

Nook + Banquette = Perfection

Tackle an unusual layout with creativity. Custom-painted walls help to define this open space as a separate dining room. However, the real problem solver is the floating banquette, which not only ensures plenty of seating, but gives the entire space an airy quality. A trio of white chairs add a midcentury modern flourish around the oval table.

From: Allison Crawford

Intimate Gathering

A dining spot that snuggles up to a roaring fireplace on chilly nights sounds like heaven to us. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the space with natural light during the day, then evenings turn into a cozy fireside retreat for sharing a meal. Woven chairs add tactile appeal to the smooth wood-and-metal table, which is flanked by comfy linen-wrapped armchairs.

From: Jaclyn Joslin

Create a Cultivated Exhibit

Turn a blank wall into an art gallery. Mix and match different frames in various shapes and frame styles to create a captivating display. Fill with sketches, photos and prints that bring your personality into your family's favorite gathering place.

From: Terracotta Design Build

Provincial Charm

Take advantage of the architectural details of your room. This set-back nook in the dining area is outfitted with floating shelves to display the homeowner's collection of glass bottles and teacups, as well as favorite entertaining pieces. The knotty pine table with low, rush-seat chairs add to the country appeal of the space.

From: Katherine Carter Design

A Case of the Blues

The dining room is the ideal space to lean into elegance. Soaring, curved walls and a painted ceiling set the tone for this majestic room where a massive crystal chandelier is a glittering focal point.

Collected Over Time

Go on, indulge in antiques. Take pleasure in the hunt and start collecting pieces — a variety of chairs, the just-right buffet, a showstopping chandelier — to create a dining room that showcases your love for a sampling of looks that are always in style.

From: Drake + Frye Home

Brilliant Illuminations

To really get your dinner guests chatting, opt for a conversation-starting light fixture. Here, oversized spherical pendants take this dining room with its streamlined wood table and classic white armchairs to the next level. The punched metal material diffuses light through the room for a luminous effect.

From: Blackband Design

Blending Design

Mix it up — your styles, that is. This dining room is grounded by a classic Persian rug and then layered in a variety of design styles. The chunky wood table with mirrored base and cane-back chairs with chrome frames combine modern and vintage aesthetics, while the swirling light fixture has a particularly contemporary vibe. Not to be left out, traditional style makes an appearance in the gold-framed portrait.

From: Antonio Martins

Relaxed and Rustic

Anchor your dining room with an area rug that completes the look. In this open dining room, muted brick, warm wood tones and matte black combine for a timeworn yet fresh feel. The woven blue-and-white rug adds just the right color and pattern to inject the space with liveliness and movement.

Classic Composition

Display your collection of vintage dishes. The hallway leading into this traditional dining room is painted a deep blue, perfectly accenting the arrangement of vintage transferware.

Room for More

Benches are perfect for accommodating more people. Whether you have a larger family or your kids constantly have friends over, opting for benches over chairs means everyone always has a seat. The only thing we can't promise is whether they fight over who gets to sit in the leather captain's chairs in this tone-on-tone dining room.

From: Ashley HomeStore

A Note of Grandeur

This dining room proves that it's okay to get a little moody. Navy grasscloth above the wainscoting adds textural depth that's balanced by the soft gray palette found in the table and zigzag chairs. Ready to infuse the room with added drama is the exaggerated candelabra-style chandelier.

From: Linc Thelen Design

Farmhouse Finery

Turn a classic design technique on its head. Instead of keeping the molding and wainscoting a traditional white, they are painted a soft taupe to create a subtle contrast against the white walls. A natural wood dining table is surrounded by black metal chairs outfitted with tan cushions to maximize comfort. Overhead, a brass chandelier nods to the vintage feel of the space while being oh-so-current.

At Your Service

Make room for a buffet. This hardworking piece of furniture provides essential storage, a pretty tabletop for displaying and a serving space when entertaining. This black buffet with its brass knobs and natural wood top pops off the bright white wainscoting and anchors the rich teal walls.

Modern Americana

Have one element that showcases full-on color. There's only so much you can do with a rustic log cabin's wood-and-chink walls, but your decor can tell an entirely different story. Blue-and-white graphic curtains dress the windows in this dining space, but the real showstoppers are the cherry red chairs. Though country in style, their distinct hue nods to the contemporary.

From: Gina Sims

Hang Drapes High

Tiffany Brooks, designer and host of HGTV Smart Home 2020, suggests using floor-to-ceiling drapes. "It just adds that much more fun and personality," she says. "Especially if you have a taller ceiling and a tall room, it tends to make the space feel grand." Custom drapery with flat black hardware flank the historic windows in this dining room.

Also See: Budget Dining Room Design Tips

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Great Visuals

Don't be afraid to combine patterns. Ikat chairs and modern floral wallpaper live harmoniously in this eclectic dining room because hues of yellow and brown wind through each motif. Robin's egg blue moldings may seem like an unexpected choice, but they lighten and curb the exciting patterns.

Lush Finish

Add natural elements and life into your dining room with houseplants. Succulents are easy to care for and make the perfect centerpiece year-round.