How to design a one-of-a-kind dining room

Create the Perfect Mood and Setting

While social gatherings at home—which usually take place in the living room and the outdoors—can be abuzz with conversations, mingling and activity among guests, once everyone gathers around the dining table for a meal, it’s a more intimate and personal affair. To set the perfect mood in your dining room design, consider the space you’re designating for it to echo the sentiment and setting you’re trying to create. This one-of-a-kind dining room has been cordoned off from the rest of the house with glass sliding doors—allowing natural light to seep in—creating an air of openness and oneness with the home, while also making it quieter and more private.

Determine the Function of Your Dining Room Design

When you’re planning your dining room interior design, it’s important to spend some time understanding the role it will serve in your home—how many family members will it seat everyday? How much time will everyone spend in the room? What are everyone’s eating habits and preferences? Will you be hosting a lot of social gatherings, and if so, will they be large groups? Based on all the choices you’ll begin to understand with these questions, you can start building a one-of-a-kind dining room design in the right size and perfect spot in the home, with the exact pieces of furniture and materials you’ll need.

Incorporate Unique Details and Conversation Starters

Create interesting focal points in the room that will immediately draw attention—this will inevitably work as quick conversation starters or talking points with your guests (especially when hosting larger groups with a mix of friends). From a unique piece of art to an eclectic accessory or even a custom furniture piece or souvenir from your last holiday, a one-of-a-kind dining room design should evoke curiosity and spark interest at first sight.
 

Style Tip: The intricate details in any space tells the story of the personality of the homeowner, thereby, possibly, revealing their interests, memories and, even, hobbies. This creates a sense of familiarity and connection, which will make the room more welcoming for anyone who walks into it.

Don’t be Afraid to Mix and Pair Bold Colours and Textures

Pairing colours, textures and prints not only make a space unique, but also creates a mood that’s refreshing and out of the ordinary. Whether it’s colour blocking your walls, pairing prints on your furnishings with a bold wallpaper or rug, or even breaking the rules by not sticking to a uniform texture or pattern in a room, you can create a one-of-a-kind dining room interior design that’s high on visual drama while still being aesthetic and stylish. For more inspiration on achieving this look, consult a comprehensive dining room guide that offers tips on mixing and matching elements effectively.

Customise the Furniture of Your Dining Room Décor

When we think of a one-of-a-kind dining room, we think of a space like none other—something that’s out of the ordinary with an aesthetic everyone immediately wants to emulate. And, nothing is more unique than custom-built furniture that blends your personal style with the preferences and purpose it will serve. While we usually think of long, rectangular dining tables in an opulent dining space, this grand eight-seater round furniture set with quilted leather chairs not only looks regal but also allows closeness and a direct view of everyone seated at the table.

Add Elements of Your Personal Style in Your Dining Room Design

Your home should be an extension of who you are along with the rest of the family that lives in it. At the end of the day, you should surround yourself with pieces that spark joy, recall fond memories and give you an overall sense of happiness and calm. Whether it’s the first piece of art you purchased, a canvas painted by a loved one or a blown up picture of your most memorable holiday location you’ve visited, your walls can serve as a place to hang frames that tell your story. Similarly, all the other areas around your one-of-a-kind dining room will serve as the perfect spot to showcase souvenirs, antiques, heritage pieces passed down by ancestors for generations and other unique accessories that echo your life together as a family.

Find the Right Lighting for Your Dining Room Interior Design

The right lighting can immediately tie a room together—even if it’s a small-space dining room with very little natural light. Be it from the ample doors and windows in a room or even through strategically placed light fixtures fitted around the space, not only will your lighting create the perfect mood but also open up the entire area. For a more intimate, cozy gathering, dimmer floor lamps and candles around the room will create a softer radiance; while a dining table placed next to a large window or row of doors overlooking the view outside will be the perfect spot for a sunny, lively brunch.

The Art of Placing Lights Above a Dining Table

After scouring though multiple catalogues, magazines, mood boards and Pinterest, you’ve zeroed in on buying the perfect light fixture to hang above your dining table to create your one-of-a-kind dining room. But, now comes the tricky bit—at what distance should you hang it? How high is too high? What should you do to avoid having that dreaded overhead bad lightning situation that’s the stuff of photographic nightmares? The general rule is less theory and more art—observe the space around you taking eye level (while standing and sitting) into consideration and begin to understand the rest of the table’s proportions and seating plan.