Dining Room HELP!!

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Qwerty

We have the same drapes with the circles on them in our guest bedroom .

You need bigger art on the walls. Take the small print off the wall by the windows, the family photos are nice but you need a LARGE framed print there with lots of color. The mirror is about 1/2 the size it should be. Look for something horizontal that fills about 2/3 of the wall unless you find a buffet like the one that was photo shopped in. While I like the buffet that was photo shopped, I would not do the matchy-matchy with the floor vases. I'd get a real plant (or a fake ficus tree if necessary) for one corner and either leave the other corner empty or get something with some color there, maybe another chair or something but that room is pretty small to have too much stuff. Find a rug that is bold and that will anchor the room.

Not sure what color everything is in the other room but if you can find a rug that has some of that blue in the curtains, that would probably work.

OP, you could even take the smaller pictures off the back wall, and hang them on either side of the mirror, thus making the mirror look larger and still showing off your family photos and the cool picture thingies (you could hang one family photo above one curly thingie on either side).

Then get something VERY large for that back wall - something with color in it, something that ties in to whatever fabulous rug (with color) you get that's going under the table. Then get a very narrow, long buffet/sideboard/sofa table and two tall, skinny lamps, one for either end, and put that under the mirror. Then get a great runner (forget the placemats for now) and a taller centerpiece for the table.

I'd get a large, LIVE green tree sort of plant for that corner. The light is great - something should grow really well there.

You can do all that for well under $1000 and totally transform the look of the room. Like I've been saying, you're off to a great start - good bones, good light, nice space, nice table. Now you just need some pizazz.

Not a big priority, but I also would eventually change out that light fixture to something more dramatic.

[maciesmom]

Originally Posted by Lost Roses

1. The chandelier is fine but hung too high. It needs to be lowered.
2. The drapes should not hang several inches above the floor. They need to be longer. And the rods are hung too low.
3. The mirror is too small for a focal wall. Replace it with a large piece of artwork. You could remove the small group of artwork on the adjacent wall and hang the mirror there. The small group has no impact.
4. The dried branches in the corner could be replaced with a living plant, just as tall. Or just remove them altogether.
5. Small table in corner could be removed as it really has no impact. A slim buffet table (even a sofa table) placed under the proposed large piece of artwork would be more useful and provide a counterpoint to the artwork.
6. Rug or not. Some people hate them in a dining room but they can be very effective.

Disclaimer: I read too many decorating blogs and I tend to overdesign. Feel free to ignore my advice. I think it's a nice room and I like the direction you're going with it. Just needs tweaked.

This.

The room is small and you furniture has clean lines. I'd stick with larger, simple pieces that have a purpose. A lot of smaller or "busy" pieces is going to give a cluttered appearance.

Edit: I too like the drapes with the squares.

[angiesu]

I agree it needs a rug with come color. I don't like the corner table with the lamp. It's not necessary. The curtains are not long enough. I think you should buy new curtains with a pattern and color. The curtains are too much like the paint color. If you want to keep the neutral paint then select curtains that pop against it with a pattern. Hang them higher too.