Entertaining In Style, How To Choose The Perfect Dining Furniture - By: Tina M

Staying in is becoming the new going out, in a recession we still want the company of family & friends, but not everyone wants to go to a restaurant to catch up. Witness the rising popularity of Come Dine With Me, as well as Master Chef, & celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsey & Jamie Oliver to see that entertaining at home is fast becoming a must-do. Entertaining at home can also be more relaxed & fun, as well as easy on the wallet, and sometimes the food is even better!

Whether you have a separate dining room, or a dining area in your main living area, or a large eat in kitchen putting some effort into having the right dining furniture is always good, & shows your guests you care, especially as it’s often the main area guests spend time in. These days nearly everyone has a well thought out kitchen, it’s the first thing we change when we move into a new home, so creating a fabulous dining area to entertain in style is the next logical step.

First the practicalities. Are your diners family, including young children? You might want to avoid sharp glass or metal edges & go for a round or oval dining table, or a wooden dining table. Round dining tables take up more space but are great for entertaining, allowing conversation (and wine) to flow freely. A pedestal table like the Eero Saarinen Tulip table is great because guests can be spaced out or closer together without worrying about table legs getting in the way. Round dining tables are not usually extendable though, so you will be limited in the number of guests you can seat.

How easy to clean & indestructible does your dining table & chairs need to be? Marble tables aren’t great for children as marble stains easily. Wood veneers & lacquer table tops can be easily scratched & tricky to repair. One way of having the best of both worlds however, is to use a very large, flattened out cardboard box to make an exact template of the top of your table, & get your local window specialist to make a glass top that fits exactly on top of your table, so the finish is visible but cant be damaged. This will usually only work on a fixed size dining table though, not an extending dining table.

The next thing to consider is the size of your dining table. Are your dinner parties always the same six people, or are they welcome all comers affairs? If the number of guests fluctuates it’s a good idea to look at extending dining tables, which are widely available, to allow for all possibilities. Spare/extra dining chairs should be stackable too, so they don’t take up tons of room when they are not in use.

Your dining table needs to be the right size for the area it is in from an aesthetic point of view too. A huge dining table that dominates the room it is in won’t look right, & a tiny dining table in a large space will also look out of place. If you have a large space to fill a round dining table will take up more room, & you can always introduce other dining furniture like a sideboard, bookcase or china cabinet if you have extra room.

If you need a larger table sometimes then an extending dining table is your best bet. When it is fully extended it will probably look a little large for the space, but that is usually unavoidable. As long as you can shift some of the nearby furniture away when you need to, & diners can come & go without making all of the other diners get up you should be fine.

The style you choose matters too. If your home is sleek & modern dining furniture needs to work with that, even if you do have a separate dining room introducing an entirely new theme won’t look or feel right.

Your dining table & chairs need to not only suit your overall decor, but also be appropriate for the area they are in. For example high back fully upholstered dining chairs in an eat in kitchen probably won’t work well, unless it is a large designer kitchen with minimal clutter & a huge space for dining. Equally, a well loved wooden farmhouse table in a formal dining room will look out of place.

Next, think about your dining table & chairs together. Do you want matching dining chairs & table? A whole matching set can look perfect in a formal dining room, & a large enough dining room an take darker woods & antiques, or even black gloss lacquer, as well as plush fabrics like velvet & brocades if you want.

But for more contemporary dining why not use some imagination & mix things around a bit? Put some brightly coloured perspex or leather dining chairs with a glass dining table, or some classy upholstered white dining chairs with your wooden table. The chairs don’t need to be all one colour, either, you could have two, or even three different colours, maybe alternating black & white, or colours that pick up other elements in the room. Bright colour dining chairs can look really good in a light, modern dining room or family kitchen. If the space is an open plan living/dining area more neutral colours & a glass dining table, especially a pedestal table or one with thin legs may be more suitable, although of course it all depends on the other colours in the room.

As well as a dining table & chairs you may want to consider buying a sideboard. Not only are sideboards a decorative piece of furniture they are a perfect place to display special accessories, whether that’s silver framed family photos, a beautiful table lamp or a vase of flowers. If the top is protected they can also be a handy place to put snacks, drinks & serving dishes too.

Sideboards are also useful for storing glasses, plates & cutlery as well as decanters, serving dishes & bottles, & provide a good amount of storage in a fairly small & unobtrusive place & can give you somewhere to tidy away the items that reside on your dining table day to day, like newspapers, homework etc before visitors arrive.

Last but not least to finish off a dining room or dining area you will need the right lighting. Having dimmers or some soft lighting rather than your usual lighting really sets the tone & is very important. A table lamp on a corner table or sideboard, or a floor lamp in the corner will both provide beautiful ambient light if your ceiling lighting isn’t suitable, especially if you choose a lampshade designed to provide some form of lighting effect, whether that’s reflections from crystal dancing on the wall or light shining through a patterned, cut-out light shade. Add some candles & make sure the lighting is sufficient but not too much.

Don’t forget to add the little extras either. A beautiful wall mirror will bring extra light into the room, & give an illusion of more space, as well
as look wonderful at night. Good quality linen napkins add instant class, as does a lovely silver ice bucket. Flowers are usually a must, especially if the vase they are in is a good one, but if they are in the middle of the table it might be better to have a lovely Murano glass bowl guests don’t have to peer around.

Be sure that after you have finished furnishing your dining room or dining area its an accurate reflection of who you are, & what your home is. Whilst you may be tempted to copy a look from glossy decorating magazines it is you & your home your guests are there for, not someone else’s.

About the Author

For a high quality Italian dining table look no further than Go Modern. Go Modern have a large range of dining room furniture in modern styles, including dining tables & dining chairs.

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