Casual, informal or formal dining room - Decor, Lifestyle

Dining rooms may not be an element in modern home designs, but they're still very much a part of many homes. A special place to dine, wine and chat.

Gleaming hardwood floors and cottage-style furniture set the tone for a casual family dining room.

Gathering the family together for meals is a tradition and a part of South African culture that will endure despite what leading designers have to say.

In today's electronic age, where too much time is spent in solitary confinement with devices that simulate the real world, and not enough time is spent in face-to-face communication, the dining room offers a place for everyone to get together to discuss day-to-day life in the real world.?

Before designing or decorating a dining room, take the time to assess your family?s entertaining and dining lifestyle.

Don't overspend on a lavish, formal dining table and chairs if your lifestyle is more the occasional family dinner.

Also consider the design of your home and decorate a dining room to tie in with the existing style.?

Comfort

Design your dining room to be comfortable and choose a table and chairs that are either formal or casual, depending on the design of the room.

A more casual setting will incorporate dining chairs that have a low profile and upholstered seating, or creative slipcovers, in materials ranging from cane to plastic, whereas an informal style will require dining chairs with elegant style and form.?

Formal or informal, this dining room is ready for any event. Light and bright for a family breakfast, switch on the chandelier and dress up the table for a special occasion.

In a casual dining room, lighter colours will convey relaxed, cosy interiors and darker and deeper colours are best for an informal space.

For a dining room that needs to combine an element of both formal and informal dining, consider using neutral colours such as beige, taupe, light brown, grey, cream and white, with black or white accents to help dress the space up or down.

The easier you make your dining room adaptable, the more likely you will be to entertain and truly enjoy your dining room.

Change of setting

The ability to change your setting based on your entertaining lifestyle and family?s daily life is important.

For ideas on how to decorate your versatile dining room, look to fine furnishings, magazines and online designers.

You will be surprised what inspiration you can get from surfing the Internet.

It's so easy to transform a table with creative place settings, candle holders and table linen to bring about formality or casual aesthetics.

Dining for a small family, although the space would allow for a larger table and more chairs, this elegant space is given shine with black gloss lacquer.

If you are entertaining friends or have planned a special occasion, white table settings, a linen table cloth with attractive candle holders and centrepiece can transform your casual dining table.

Create attractive floors

Whether your dining space is a formal or casual dining space, flooring should be easy to clean.

Where rugs are placed under the table, choose area rugs with low pile that can disguise stains.??

When decorating a dining room try to include a decorative rug or mat for under the table, especially if you have laminate floors.

The perfect rug can effectively define a dining space in an open-plan design, and can quite as easily transform the look and feel of a dining room.

The size of the room or space will determine how large a rug should be, but the rug should be larger than your dining table and allow for chairs to be pulled out.

The lighting that you choose for a dining room is just as important as the furniture and will determine how you and your guests enjoy your meal.

If you're uncertain as to what style or colours to choose for an area rug, choose a few colours already in the room and bring them into the carpet or rug.

This will unite the room and keep it from looking too busy for the eye.

In an open plan space, use colours from adjoining spaces for a rug.

Multifunctional space

For many homes, the dining room needs to be dual-purpose and serve as both a formal and casual dining room.

Designing and decorating a dining room to be versatile allows for an easy transition when the occasion arises. ?

In most homes a single dining room needs to be able to be versatile and serve for casual meals and formal entertaining.?

The lighting should feel welcoming and enhance the decor of the room, whether you choose a crystal chandelier or a recycled Moroccan lamp.

Article courtesy of ??www.home-dzine.co.za??

??

patrick willis team america snow day snow day neti pot iron chef bath and body works coupons