Create your Gathering Spot

If the last year has taught us anything, it has taught us that home is truly where the heart is... and your home should be a placed filled with tranquility, balance, and most importantly; be a reflection of your personality. What better room to start with than the Dining Room.... or better yet... Gathering Spot to ensure that your space is filled with all the above.

Whether you are starting with a blank slate and empty room without a table and chairs, or you are attempting to update your dining space with décor only and feel confident with the furniture as-is, we wanted to reach out and give you a couple starting points to ensure you don't wind up in the same position in a couple months and hopelessly tearing things apart.

No matter which way you look at it, your dining room becomes a gathering spot for so many memories, and we want to make sure there is a constant feeling of comfort whenever you go into this place and take away some of the formality and instead add some familiarity.

When picking dining room furniture, opt for a Balanced Style. Don't get stuck in one style or color.

Typically when I go to a design appointment in someone's home and hear their unhappiness with their current décor or furniture its due to them going to far in one "direction" (only going for the same home style).

Its important to also recognize the age and character of the home itself. If you are living in a 1930's bungalow, it will be a challenge to go too far away from your Craftsman home. Even if you love industrial décor, your home's personality does not and no matter what you do, if you do not plan on moving or building a new home, you are stuck with the age and personality of your current home, so try to layer and balance décor styles that compliment your home and do not fight it. If you have a craftsman home (which you are very lucky if you do! I love these personality filled homes!) choose a style such as modern farmhouse, rustic, and a touch of craftsman to balance out your rooms.

Love the look of modern farmhouse? Its ok to NOT throw black + white + shiplap over everything and still achieve a modern farmhouse look and feel. Bringing in color will bring in warmth and bringing in different textures and tones will actually make some of them stand out more than if you had gone with a singular home style/décor.

Dining Room Furniture:

Javadi Sideboard
Mila Counter Stool
Mila Dining Chair

How to take your Current Style + Evolve

Updating textures + tones can quickly elevate your current furniture + space

Not everyone has a never ending budget when deciding to elevate their look and I love to try to take a home's current state (in this case most likely table and chairs) and add décor to it or possibly just change one element of the furniture rather than tossing the entire initial idea. If you have good standard dinner plates try adding a pop of color in a fun salad/lunch plate for a layering effect that both updates + doesn't cause you to have to start all over. Or add in new chargers or placemats + napkins. If you have matching dining table and chair set, you may want to play with layers and textures and add in a bench where 2-3 of the chairs used to be, or switch out rustic looking chairs for wicker chairs to get a softer look without having to replace the table.

Rugs are one of the easiest items to update and achieve a full new look without blowing the budget. A rug gives purposes and definition to the dining space itself. Be careful not to err on the side of going too small and measure to make sure that it feels like the right size for the space with the chairs pushed in or pulled out. A good rule of thumb is to measure 24 - 30 inches beyond the edge off each side of the table for the rug to lay.