I don’t know about you, but when people visit my home, I want them to feel at home. I want my living room to invite them to kick off their shoes and curl up with a cup of coffee, and if they’re staying the night, I hope the bedroom is a relaxing place that promotes a wonderful night’s sleep. Even the bathroom adds to the cozy feeling you create in your home. From the foamy soap at the sink to the pretty hand towels you provide, the powder room can be quite as charming as any other room in the house. One room that is sometimes overlooked when it comes to cozy is the dining room. If you’re like me, I often shut the door and forget about it until I have to host more people than will fit around the kitchen table, and to be honest, it shows. My dining room just isn’t somewhere I want to sit and visit so I’m dreaming of how to make it more inviting and, to be honest, more useful. While I’m focusing on clearing out the clutter in my home, I’m also going to be working to create a cozy and comfortable space in our dining room. Join me in following the simple tips below, and we’ll create a comfortable, cozy place for our family and friends.
5 Tips for Creating a Cozy Dining Room
- First, focus on function. When it comes to creating a cozy dining room, you have to think about what the room is actually used for. It should be a space that works for your daily needs and not just for special occasions. My dining room isn’t used daily, but I really would like it to be. One of the reasons we don’t use it is because, while our dining table is a beautiful antique from generations gone by, the chairs haven’t held up as well as the table. We need new ones because let’s face it: no one wants to sit in sagging seats. Perhaps our table would look lovely paired with velvet dining chairs at CFS, and the comfortable chairs would encourage everyone to sit and visit instead of eat and run.
- Next, add storage. We are blessed to have beautiful antique sideboards and a large china cabinet, which provide extra storage for dishes, linens, and serving pieces. Our china cabinet has lights in it to help showcase special pieces, like the tea set my husband brought me from Ukraine while we were dating, and it also helps keep all of our crystal and china dust-free. With the right storage, your dining room will be a cozy and comfortable space that is also well organized, which will make you feel better about the space, too.
- Focus on creating an inviting space with decor that isn’t stuffy. This is a little tricky for me because our dining room is very formal, but I grew up in an old home with a formal dining room we used daily. With a little inspiration from Pinterest, I plan to add a few more modern touches that I hope will help make it a bit more relaxed while keeping its original elegance. One way I hope to soften the space is through the use of textiles, which I hope will also tie the decor together.
- Warm up your lighting. Lighting sets the mood in any room, and the dining room is no exception. Choose soft, warm lighting instead of overhead harsh lighting. A chandelier or a pendant light works really well here, and you can add sconces or table lamps for even more ambient lighting. I think it’s time to update the chandelier in our dining room. It’s a bit dated. Don’t forget candles either, as they offer a flickering warm glow that can make your meals feel special. The good news is you don’t have to worry about melting wax. Battery-powered candles flicker like the real things these days!
- Finally, make it easy to use. The dining room should have an easy flow. If you’re serving from a sideboard, make sure there is plenty of room for people to maneuver. Does the room have more than one entrance? Keep the flow going and work people through the room from one side to the other. Be sure there isn’t too much furniture for the space so people don’t feel cramped. And, remember: the most important person to make it easy for is you! If you feel it’s more trouble than it’s worth to use the room, you never will. Find the system that works for you with serving so you can make the most of the cozy space you create.
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