20 Dining Room Table Decor Ideas

Serve up serious style with our tips and tricks on how to decorate your dining room table.

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November 20, 2020

By: Maria Conti

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Photo By: Ashley Gilbreath

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Speak to Your Surroundings

Fresh-cut florals and foraged foliage from your own backyard are a failproof way to bring beauty to your dining room table. Interior designer Ashley Gilbreath creates a lush centerpiece in this traditional dining room using glossy leaves and fragrant ivory blooms snipped from the southern magnolia tree on the property. She arranges the branches and blooms in a shimmery mercury glass vase and allows the leaves to overflow in an organic, unfussy fashion that contrasts against the otherwise tailored-and-tidy dining room design.

From: Ashley Gilbreath

Create Cohesion

Take notes from the designers at D2 Interieurs and use a pair of glossy ceramic vessels to bring interest and height to the center of your contemporary dining table. The glazed set pictured above pulls tones from the pink grasscloth wall covering and the inky-teal tones woven throughout the oversized abstract painting to the tabletop. This approach pulls the design together and creates an intentional, effortless look.

From: D2 Interieurs

Find Your Finish

Interior designer Breeze Giannasio uses glamorous gilt accents to warm up the smoky walls, gray-washed wood table and royal blue dining chairs in this contemporary dining room. A golden, geometric cage chandelier is suspended above the streamlined table where three gold-foiled decorative bowls extend across a striped linen runner. The metallic minimalist bowls coordinate with the fixture overhead as well as the framed artwork displayed on the wall behind the table. Use the finish of your wall frames, hardware or light fixtures in your dining room to inspire a similar, pared-down centerpiece at home.

From: Breeze Giannasio

Power in Numbers

Create a cozy and casual table design with a collection of simple accessories. Bria Hammel uses a circular rattan serving tray to corral two glossy-white ceramic vessels at the center of this cottage dining table. She brings height and color to the centerpiece with an arrangement of pink posies. A denim-blue tea towel drapes across the serving tray; stacked blue-and-white plates are on hand for the next meal.

From: Bria Hammel Interiors

Floral Fanfare

Bring whimsy to your dining table with bold, playful and/or unexpected floral centerpieces. Bright-white tulips arranged in a fanlike silhouette line the lacquered dining table in this eclectic dining room by designer Robert Brown. The unconventional blooms work overtime to soften and brighten the otherwise shadowy, sophisticated space. Use Robert’s spirited set-up as your muse to create a similar striking display with a singular bloom of your choice.

Unfussy Ambiance

Ambiance is everything. Follow Natalie Myers’ lead and highlight your modern or contemporary dining room’s streamlined furnishings and finishes with a candlelit table. Skip the blooms and maintain your minimalist aesthetic using a series of geometric lanterns instead. Natalie lines the expansive wood table with three glass-and-brass lanterns that coordinate with the midcentury chandelier overhead and the deco-fan sconces that flank the mirror above the fireplace.

From: Natalie Myers

Jaw-Dropping Juxtaposition

Bring interest to your dining room table with eye-catching accessories that contrast with the overarching style of your space. Suzanne Kasler uses a series of modern and bright-white sculptures to create a dimensional, asymmetrical centerpiece on the mahogany table in this traditional dining room design. The juxtaposition of modern and traditional elements within the space yields a result that feels at once layered, fresh and luxurious.

Draped + Dreamy

Pull off a casual-cool tablescape with accessories you already have on hand. Designer Lindye Galloway drapes a Shibori throw across the reclaimed wood table for a splash of color. Next, she adds a pair of milk glass vessels overflowing with eucalyptus to the center of the table; a wood fruit bowl with nine lemons rounds out the display and brings good luck to the dining space.

From: Lindye Galloway

Dressed to Impress

Never underestimate the power of a good skirt. For your table, that is. Designer Ashley Gilbreath adds softness to this formal dining table with a fitted ivory linen tablecloth with a contrasting blue liner and woven buckle details. Give your dining table a similar facelift with a simple linen cloth or invest in a custom-sewn frock to give your table a more formal and tailored appearance.

From: Ashley Gilbreath

Playful Prints

Put down your brush, roll down your sleeves and step away from the chalk paint, friend! There’s a simpler, mess-free way to incorporate your inherited wooden dining table with your contemporary furnishings. Take a page out of Lotus and Lilac Design’s book and use a punchy, printed table runner to breathe new life into your antique table. The lively, white-and-lime trellis pattern pops against the mahogany table and ties the contrasting elements together in the space.

From: Lotus + Lilac Design Studio

Inspired Arrangement

Use your home’s interior style or architecture to inform your dining table’s floral centerpiece. A display of angular, minimalist-like orchid blooms in a striking, sculptural chrome vessel appears at home at the center of this ultra-modern dining room.

From: EOLO A&I Design

Brighten Up With Blue + White

Blue-and-white pottery saturates this white contemporary dining room with cool color and timeless appeal. Chinoiserie and toile vases line the marble-top buffet, and the imperial pieces extend from the server to the center of the modern chrome-base dining table. A pair of ornate vases nestles against a large serving bowl piled high with lemons. Recreate Mel Bean Interiors’ centerpiece in your contemporary, traditional or transitional dining room with vases from your local thrift shop or antique store.

From: Mel Bean Interiors

Potted + Pretty

Your dining table centerpiece needn’t be fancy or elaborate to make a statement in your space. Case in point: this dreamy transitional table lined with four freshly potted ferns. Their textured foliage and lush color shine against the subdued blue upholstery and aged wood table; the patinaed pots bring an approachable, lived-in quality to the design.

From: Ashley Gilbreath

Low Profile, High Style

Opulent floral arrangements are striking but, sometimes, they tend to get in the way of cross-table conversation. Solution? A low-profile centerpiece like the one featured in this contemporary dining room by Kerra Michele Huerta. The brass trough is layered atop a breezy linen table runner and filled with a texture-rich mix of succulent plants. Achieve the same result with succulents planted in a metal trough or wooden dough bowl on your dining table at home.

From: Kerra Michele Huerta

Fresh + Flashy

Dial up the drama in your dining room with some flashy palm fronds, as seen in this coastal space by Corine Maggio. We’re smitten with this chic centerpiece because it brings movement to the table and is fitting for modern, beachy and Hollywood Regency interiors alike. Use fresh fronds when available or achieve an endless summer by sticking two or three faux palms in a glass vase (with water!) all year round.

From: Corine Maggio

Curves Ahead

Ashley Gilbreath uses three plump vases to line the table in this historic dining room. The circular vessels mirror the tiered iron chandelier overhead and bring visual balance to the otherwise angular furnishings within the space. Balance out the rectangular chairs, table and cabinets in your dining table using a series of curved vases, oval bowls or round trays.

From: Ashley Gilbreath

Cohesive + Collected

An aqua table runner provides a stylish base for a collection of sculptural wood vases and bowls on this eclectic dining room table. Use your table to display a collection of small, similar items like the bohemian vessels pictured above. This concept works well with vases and bowls but can be applied to other objects like seashells, geodes, paperweights and more.

From: Suzanne Childress

Dine by Candlelight

Don’t reserve your treasured candlesticks for special occasions or holidays. Invite drama and glamour to your daily routine by recreating this contrasting candle display by designer Tiffany Brooks. For maximum impact, select candlesticks in varying heights and in a finish that contrasts against the backdrop of your space.

From: Tiffany Brooks

In the Mix

The designers at Forbes + Masters add height and dimension to this dining table with a group of potted moss in petite vessels. The circular vases boast three different finishes and pile together to create interesting asymmetry and texture in the space. Recreate this impactful centerpiece for your contemporary or modern dining room using single-style vessels in a few different scales and finishes.

From: FORBES + MASTERS

Less Is More

Pineapple House Interior Design proves less is much, much more with this minimalist moss centerpiece. The oversized, circular stone vessel creates dreamy contrast against the airy wood table and adds earthy warmth to the otherwise streamlined modern design. Create a stunning focal point for your modern home for a fraction of the price using a stone or cement bowl and faux moss from your local craft store.

From: Pineapple House Interior Design

20 Dining Room Table Decor Ideas

Related To:

Shop This Look

Speak to Your Surroundings

Create Cohesion

Find Your Finish

Power in Numbers

Floral Fanfare

Unfussy Ambiance

Jaw-Dropping Juxtaposition

Draped + Dreamy

Dressed to Impress

Playful Prints

Inspired Arrangement

Brighten Up With Blue + White

Potted + Pretty

Low Profile, High Style

Fresh + Flashy

Curves Ahead

Cohesive + Collected

Dine by Candlelight

In the Mix

Less Is More

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