If you are even remotely considering hosting a dinner for the holidays and you know your dining room could use a little update prior, lemme be honest…..you need to start now.
So, here in July (“Christmas in July” you know), I’m linking to all my favorite tips for partially updating your dining room so you can impress your guests and be the coolest host-with-the-most around.
Have a Matched Dining Set?
With most dining rooms, the biggest problem I see is matched sets. I’ve got some good examples of how to mix things up in this post, below.
The first thing I do if someone doesn’t want to totally give up everything they have and start over is look at what is the most dated looking item in the room. It might be the chairs or the table or maybe the buffet or china cabinet.
It is best to eliminate the most undesirable piece or the piece that is dating your look the most and work from there.
Hint…..mirrored-back china cabinets are probably one of my first picks!
You may not need new dining furniture!
Another problem I see is that you’ve failed to look at giving your dining room a fresh look by doing something other than just replacing your furniture.
You can affect so much change by changing the walls, light fixture, floor, window treatments that you might be fine just doing a little reupholstery of the chair seats.
Hosting Different Age Groups in Your Dining Room
If you are hosting multiple age groups, remember that Grandma and Grandpa might actually need a padded seat and some arm rests in order to enjoy your fabulous meal.
Although they are likely too embarrassed to admit it, I guarantee they are scoping the room, trying to find the best place to sit that will be comfortable and where they can get up without groaning in pain or needing help.
Special Design Treatments Take Time
If you are adding wallcovering, window treatments, or any furniture (Yay! You are my new design bestie!), then you are going to need time to select, order and receive/install these.
I just had a job with custom draperies, a room full of furniture, rugs and custom pillows started in January that is finishing up in July.
You need to start now if you haven’t already.
Don’t wait till September when the kids go back to school to focus. Designer’s deadlines for ordering anything to have for the holidays hit around September, sometimes August. And the design and selection part needs to happen prior to ordering.
Of course, that was in normal times. We are not completely back to normal quite yet with many vendors, which is all the more reason to start early.
Want to DIY but just need help with an overall plan?
I can help you there.
Just like a growing number of designers out there, I can help you exactly where you are. I offer a quick email consultation, Designed in a Click or you can join my Subscriber group on Instagram, where I answer questions once a month for my subscribers.
Get your dining room ready for the holidays with a plan and your action items so you can dazzle your family and friends this year!
See some of my Designed in a Click consultation dining rooms below!
This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.
I’ve seen a lot of dining rooms in my consultations and in my client’s homes that often need some updating.
Learn the top 5 ways I approach a dining room that only needs a partial refresh and then see how these were used in a recent Designed in a Click™ consultation.