Dining room table staging ideas
Staging the Dining Room
For a faster, more profitable home sale
Photo by elledecor.com
Staging the dining room before placing your home on the real estate market will make it easier for home buyers to see themselves living and entertaining in your home.
Buyers are looking for a dining area that will accommodate their furniture and lifestyle.
Read the home staging tips and tricks below to learn how you can make your dining room look more spacious, inviting and a comfortable place to linger after a meal.
Is it okay to have dark wall colors in the dining room?Dark colors create an intimate atmosphere in dining rooms. Photo by Bob Villa.
Yes, absolutely! The dining room is one area where you can go dark or bold with your color choice. Bedrooms and powder rooms are other options for dark colors, but that's a topic for another page.
A dark wall color can generate a cozy, relaxing feel. Aim for an intimate atmosphere--imagine dining by candlelight or with lights dimmed low.
Beware the color red. While a red dining room was a popular trend for many years, not everyone will love it and will only be thinking of all the repainting they'll have to do.
If you intend to sell your house, I recommend that you tame down any particularly bold or taste specific color. Rather, select a darker neutral of the shade of the adjacent room for good color flow.
Create a focal point in the dining roomThis open space dining area has multiple focal points--table with floral centerpiece, lavender painting and chandelier. Photo source unknown.
Do you really need a focal point in a dining room? Yes, in fact, every room should have a focal or central point that immediately draws your eye as you enter a room. A focal point will help tie a space together and create good flow.
A dining table, simply by virtue of its size, is a natural focal point.
Place a centerpiece on the table and there you have it!
If you have a large dining room, take advantage of the extra space by placing a large piece of furniture, like a buffet, against a wall. Create a vignette on the surface and hang or lean a canvas or a mirror at the back.
For a dramatic focal point, frame a large window with floor to ceiling draperies.
For a small dining room, hang a mirror where it'll reflect light from a chandelier or window. This will bounce light around, making the room feel more spacious.
Dining room furniture placement
This table feels crowded. Edit out two chairs from around the table to make the room feel more spacious.
You'd be surprised by the number of people who judge a house by the condition or style of the furnishings.
If your dining room furniture is well-used or taste specific, (heavily ornate or starkly modern) you might consider renting furniture or borrowing from a friend while your home is on the real estate market.
Staging the dining room with neutral-colored furniture will help your dining room appeal to a larger number of buyers, because neutral colors appeal to most people and both sexes.
You can bring in pops of color in the draperies, accessories, vignettes or chair cushions or area rug.
If you plan on using an area rug under the table, bring it in first and center it under the chandelier, if you have one.
Center the dining table on a large area rug directly under the light fixture to define the dining room.
- A large area rug is essential if you have an open-concept living room, because it'll define that part of the room as the dining space.
- Bring in the table next and center it under the light fixture and on top of the area rug.
- If your dining room is small, stage with no more than four dining chairs, as an abundance of chairs will make a room look crowded.
Hanging transparent light fixtures will extend sight lines in a small space.
- Push chairs in to create maximum traffic flow around the table.
- If your dining room is large and oblong, the table may need to go closer to one end of the room. Balance the room by placing something of equal "visual weight" on the opposite side of the room, like a buffet table or armoire.
- For an open concept design space, place the table under the chandelier. If you don’t have a chandelier, place the table in the center of the room.
- For a small dining space, consider replacing a heavy, opaque light fixture with one that has transparent features. This will help extend sight lines, making the room feel larger.
- If your chandelier fixture is not in the right spot for the table, swag it over to the perfect spot. Swagging a chandelier will actually look better then placing a dining table off center, which can make a room look askew.
Watch the video below by Godking333 to learn how to swag your chandelier to the center.
If your table doesn't fit or just looks wrong, a round dining table is often the answer to an awkward or super small dining space.
If your dining chairs have soiled or outdated fabric cushions, try replacing them yourself with neutral-colored fabrics in a solid, stripe, or soft geometric pattern.
Watch the video below to see how easy it is to do it yourself! Video by Sailrite1.
Be sure that the traffic area around the table and chairs is wide enough for two people to walk through at the same time.
Moving out a china hutch or buffet table will instantly make a small dining room look larger. Bulky furniture in a small dining room will diminish the space, making it feel cramped.
What is the decor style of your home? Is it formal or casual?
Take a cue from the architecture of your home and stage your dining room table in a fashion that reflects that style.
This casual, yet lovely table arrangement is suggestive of elegant dinners to come.
- Keep the decor neutral with pops of color here and there when staging.
- Use a tablecloth to hide a less-than-perfect dining table. A tablecloth will immediately change the tenor of a room, festive or formal, depending on the color or pattern you introduce.
- Vary table cloth colors according to the seasons and holidays.
- For a formal look, stage the table with your best dinnerware, silverware, glassware and cloth napkins. Set as you would for an elegant dinner, not a typical family meal. You need set only two places.
- For a casual, relaxing feel, keep tabletop accessories sparse; one large potted plant with colorful blossoms; a linen table runner with a few well placed vases or jars; large candles placed in clear glass containers, etc.
- Create a lifestyle vignette with a bottle of wine, two pretty wine glasses, and a loaf of crusty bread on an attractive breadboard.
- Fill a bowl with luscious, cascading grapes.
- Lay out a table runner and add a centerpiece of either flowers, a bowl of lemons, limes or oranges, or set out an array of candles down the center of the table.
- For an open house viewing, set the table according to the meal that would be served at that time of day. For instance, a luncheon setting would be more casual than an evening meal.
Watch this video by John Mangano from HomeStagingChannel for great tips on staging your dining room and setting a beautiful table.
Watch the video below for ideas on making beautiful arrangements for your dining room or outdoor dining area. Video by PotteryBarn.
Dining room decor ideas for staging
The use of transparent glass decorative objects creates a light, airy feeling of more space.
Photo by decorpad.com.
Move in a buffet, china hutch, or other large piece of furniture ONLY if you have the room. Bulky furniture in a small dining room will diminish the space.
- A dramatic arrangement of flowers on a buffet table will add elegance and beauty to the dining room.
- Accessories in a china cabinet should match or have something else in common; use solid colors or neutral patterns for accessorizing.
- Group smaller pieces of artwork together, so they read as “one” piece, or one theme, as in a vignette.
- To decorate open shelves in a small dining room, use transparent accessories, or decorative objects the same color as the wall--they will seemingly blend in to the wall, creating the illusion of spaciousness.
- Create a wall grouping with a collection of beautiful plates. Form the grouping into a geometric shape, like a circle or square.
- Use accessories that're in scale with the size of the room and in proportion with the furniture.
A large dining room will call for large accessories, for instance.
- A single large accessory, like an oil painting, will create a striking focal point in a small dining room. Avoid pictures with ornate, heavy frames. A frameless picture would be perfect.
- When accessorizing open shelves, keep plenty of space around objects. This will create breathing room, which translates to that open, airy feeling. Focus on using just a few standout accessories instead of a collection of small objects, which can look cluttered.
- Create height by accessorizing shelves with tall objects.
- If you have a china cabinet with glass doors, display your china or favorite collection inside. Don’t overcrowd the cabinet with tiny bits of a collection. Instead, place a few of your choice pieces, keeping taller objects, like plates, at the back and smaller items in the front. Group like objects together.
- Don't stage your china cabinet with a miss-mash of unrelated accessories.
- Remove or open draperies to let as much natural light as possible into a dark dining room. Tall windows elegantly dressed with floor to ceiling drapes will instill a feeling of elegance and formality.
- To create the feeling of more space, lean an oversized floor mirror against a wall or hang multiple ones together to create a light-reflecting feature wall.
Return from staging the dining room to home page
Updated 01-17-2023
5 Clever Tips for Staging a Dining Room
Updated: | Category: Cleaning
Author: Rick Worst | Editor: Omar Alonso
Review & Research: Jen Worst & Chris Miller
When you’re staging a home, there are a number of different philosophies and strategies that will come into play, and staging a dining room is no different.
When you’re trying to make this space appeal to a wide number of people, it’s about showing the potential of the room and home while also leaving enough up to the imagination where people will fill in their own blanks to make it suit their taste, their wants, and their needs.
The dining room is one of the more important rooms when it comes to staging, right behind the living room, bedrooms, outdoors, and the kitchen. Homes without a dining room can take longer to sell, even though many families don’t actually use their dining room for formal family dinners.
5 Dining Room Staging Tips
Regardless of how you’ve used your dining room, when it’s time to sell your home (or live in it), you’ve got to put yourself in the shoes of a buyer and think about what they want to see. That's a key to decorating. We may not think we know what looks good, but we know what others might think looks good.
Avoid Clutter in Your Dining Room Staging & Keep it Simple
To expand on something I’ve already mentioned, a huge part of staging is about laying down a solid foundation and letting the potential homebuyers connect the dots to suit their own style and desires.
You don’t want to give them a window into your life (or the best-presented version of your life).
.. you want them to give a frame to paint their own vision of the room.
It’s not an easy thing to accomplish, but keeping away trinkets and any personal things of yours will help give them a blank palette. You’ll still be making design choices during the other steps of the staging process, but a more neutral approach is a good strategy.
Now, don’t take this advice to say that I want you to turn your dining room into a sterile hospital room or anything like that.
You can have flourishes, you can have things in the room, but when it comes to avoiding clutter, just make sure you don’t have a bunch of your belongings laying around, paperwork spread out on the table, and so on.
We’re about to talk about the dining room table, but there’s some overlap with this section where I want to include a really useful tip.
In the next section, I’ll recommend using four dining room chairs, but there’s a little more to this. Removing some extra chairs, even if they’re usually around the table, does a great deal to help the room feel larger and more open.
Staging a Dining Room Table
You can’t think about how to stage a dining room without thinking about the table. The dining room table is the heart of this room. This is where people will picture themselves sitting around, eating, enjoying their time.
It’s usually a good idea to stick with the standard four types of dining chairs around the table to keep clutter to a minimum, but if you have a giant dining room table in a large dining room, then more chairs is perfectly fine.
This is one of the finer points of how to stage a dining room table, and not everybody is on the same page, so you’ll want to figure out what looks best in your home.
Small succulents or cactus plants can look great on the table, but there are a number of different displays you can put together. If your table is in good shape, or you’re renting one, then it can look great to keep it simple without a tablecloth - maybe just use a runner across the middle of the table so that you can place your little display/centerpieces on that.
You may or may not want to have a rug surrounding your dining room table. If you have a chandelier in your dining room, you’ll want to place the rug directly below it, centered, with the table centered on top of the rug.
This won’t work for every dining room especially depending on the types of rugs you have, but if you have these features, that’s a really useful rule of thumb to get you started.
For staging a small dining room, the best thing you can do is to choose a smaller table. Round tables work great for smaller rooms because they make the room look more open and make it easier to move around while viewing the room.
In a larger room, you obviously have a lot more options. In a smaller room, you’ll want to get rid of anything that isn’t necessary, because a room that looks larger and more open will almost always be more appealing to buyers than a cramped room, even if the cramped room is full of cool things.
You want the buyer to picture their own things in the room because this brings them one step closer to making an offer.
You should also set the table with nice flatware or silverware and plates, fine napkins, and the whole nine yards. Do you know how many people would be living in the house? You can set the appropriate amount of places at the table depending on who the potential buyer is and the types of tables you may have.
This is just an extra subtle step, a little cherry on top that they may or may not consciously notice, but on some level it gives them an additional connection to the home, all thanks to the small things you do while staging a dining table.
Clean The Dining Room Like Crazy
Depending on how clean your home is by default and how recently you’ve been living in it before staging, this may or may not be the most relevant point. In any case, it should go without saying that you’ll want to make this room (and every room) as clean as possible.
I’m not just talking about dusting and wiping down the table. It should be immaculate. The walls should be wiped down so there aren’t any shiny grease marks in the light, you’ll want to polish the floor, and you’ll want to get any little piece of dust or crumbs from the corners.
If you have a rug, you may want to have it cleaned, or at least give it a good vacuuming. Check out the various types of vacuums if you need to pick one up. Carpet stains are no good, so make sure that you deal with those too.
The short answer is to clean everything and to do a very good job of cleaning it. Hiring a professional cleaner is relatively inexpensive, especially if it frees you up to focus on the other aspects of selling a home.
Make a List of Touch-Ups in the Dining Room Area
It helps to start with an empty room if you’re staging from scratch rather than trying to get your current furnishings as tidy as possible. If you’re living in space, you won’t really have this luxury.
If the home is empty and you’re renting staging furniture, you have more leeway here. But in any case, you should go over the room from top to bottom (it’s easier to do this while cleaning) and take note of every little thing that’s not quite perfect that isn’t a cleaning-related issue.
For example, if the paint is chipped in certain areas, if the floorboards are painted sloppily, if a light switch is cracked, if you need to hide exposed pipes, and so on. You’ll be going over every inch of the room to clean anyways, so you may as well take notes as you’re going.
If not, it’s easy to forget some little detail since you’re so used to seeing it in your home, but it could stand out for a buyer that’s never seen the space before and is observing with a critical eye.
Lighting is Everything When Staging a Dining Room
The lighting in a room makes such an incredible difference in how it looks. Just tossing up a white bulb isn’t enough, you’ll want to choose a warmth that matches the room.
A lightbulb can range from a bright, blueish, clinical feeling to a warm, toasty orange. It’s not a bad idea to get a couple of different bulbs if you’re able to easily switch bulbs in your dining room in order to see which tones suit the room best.
It’s not just about choosing bulbs, though, because the fixtures are also very important.
Not only are lighting fixtures a nice way to add an accent to the style of the room, but they’ll decide which areas in the room are brighter lit.
The way the light hits art, the walls, furniture and anything else in the room plays a role in the overall aesthetic and appeal of the room. You don’t have to go crazy with it, just be mindful of lighting and how it will affect everything else you’re doing to stage the room.
Besides light fixtures and bulbs, you’ll also want to harness the natural light of the room. Make sure that your dining room window (if you have one) is letting in as much light as possible from outside, especially if you’re showing the home during the day.
If you have an appropriate area on the wall across from your window, you could install a mirror. This will help to further brighten up the room. If you feel like your dining room is too small and lacks light, any nice types of mirrors can really help with both issues.
Good Luck Staging a Dining Room!
I think you’re going to do a great job.
For all of the tips and advice I’ve shared on the topic of staging a dining room, I always like to remind people that very little of it is actually written in stone.
Different types of houses call for different style choices. Different countries or communities will have their own styles, and at the end of the day all I can do is share my best rules of thumb and guidelines, but you’ll be the person who is standing in the room and deciding how it looks - so take what I’ve taught you about dining room staging and run with it!
You'll Also Enjoy:
- Family Room vs Living Room: Is There Even a Difference?
- Types of Coffee Makers: Choosing Correctly & Why It Matters
- How to Secure a Sliding Glass Door: Easy Security Options
- 14 Drywall Alternatives That Bring Life to a Dull Room
- 28 Kitchen Sink Ideas to Impress While Best Utilizing Your Space
Author:
Rick Worst Rick is a home design consultant and enthusiast, whose life is consumed by all things home and garden.
Started as a hobby, Worst Room has grown into an information and inspiration wheelhouse for professionals and home owners alike. Rick serves as owner and writer for our editorial team. Learn more about Rick & the Worst Room operation here.
Dinner table decor for every day
Dinner table decor can be not only festive, but also everyday. Yes, a solid table is good on its own, without additional decorations. But the right design is never superfluous. Table decor transforms the dining area, making it cozier and more appetizing. The entire interior as a whole benefits from this.
It doesn't matter where the table is located - in the kitchen or in the living room - it should in any case be decorated with a central composition. As a rule, it is located exactly in the center of the table, setting the point through which the axis passes. On both sides of the axis or around the central point, cutlery is placed when setting the table.
If the table is against the wall, the decorative composition may be off-center.
The most common centerpiece is the flower vase . Yes, not original, but very beautiful. Flowers make the dining area bright and elegant. And they bring a touch of natural freshness to the interior.
How to arrange a dining table for every day? Flowers!
The choice of vessel for flowers is also important. A traditional vase, transparent or matched to the main color scheme, is appropriate everywhere. But for some styles, other solutions are also suitable. So, to decorate the interior in country style, flowers can be placed not in a vase, but in a jug, in a bucket or even in a ceramic teapot.
It is not always possible to decorate a house with flowers. Instead, branches can be used - for example, willow or fir.
If the table is large and the vase is small, put it on a tray or on a napkin. This will make the composition more expressive.
Flowers are the most popular, but far from the only decor option.
Consider several other ways to design a dining table.
1. Vase, dish or basket of fruit. With them, the dining area looks no less elegant than with flowers. But fruits certainly make it more appetizing.
Fruit decoration of the dining table for every day
By the way, fruits can be selected by color in accordance with the interior. So, if the kitchen has orange accents, a vase of constantly refreshed oranges will not only liven up the dining table, but also support the color scheme.
Vegetables can also be used instead of fruits. This is especially true in autumn, during the harvest season.
2. Candles. They are good both on their own and in candlesticks. Candles create a romantic mood and make the dining area warm and soulful.
3. An empty vase or dish. Of course, this item should be not only aesthetic, but also very effective.
4. Transparent container with filling. The advantage of this decorative solution is that its color, theme and mood can be easily varied. It is enough just to change the filling. These can be dragees, berries, marmalade, beads, coffee beans, cereals and legumes, flower petals, decorative balls and much more.
5. Carafe or jug with glasses. This is a classic that will be especially appropriate in interiors decorated in a traditional, vintage or rustic style.
6. Teapot or coffee pot made of ceramics, steel, cupronickel, etc. Everyone loves tea or coffee. Everything connected with them adds attractiveness and comfort to the dining area.
7. Living plant. This is a versatile decor for any interior.
Central composition: one or more objects?
It is desirable that the central object be proportional to the size of the tabletop.
If the table is large, a single piece of decor will look unattractive and unconvincing. In such a situation, it is better to group several decorative elements.
Casual kitchen table decor
You can combine both the same and different items. Their location is also variable: the details of the composition can be concentrated in the center of the table or distributed along its middle line.
If meals are often eaten at the dinner table, it is more practical to leave one or two items. This makes it easier to keep clean.
Dining table decor with textiles
Nowadays it is not customary to use a tablecloth for every day. It is considered a festive element. However, for some styles, the tablecloth is relevant even in everyday design. This applies, first of all, to such areas as country and Provence.
Country style kitchen. Authors: A-Design studio
Table paths are much more common.
With their help, you can enter the desired color, pattern, texture into the dining area. In addition, the track protects the countertop from scratches and other defects.
For the same purposes, placemats (or so-called underplates) are also used. They do not completely hide the countertop, but at the same time protect it as much as possible. Napkins can be placed on the table just before eating or used as a permanent decoration. In this case, they should not be too large.
Casual dining table setting
See also:
TV in the kitchen
buffet in the interior
Mirror in the kitchen
Design of a small living room
How to make aromatic shows from the test?
Round dining table in the interior
Different chairs at the same table
10 dining table ideas refresh your body and soul.
Whether you use it daily or reserve it for special occasions, the table is the centerpiece of the room. The decorating ideas you choose for your dining table will set the tone for the entire space.
The traditional dining room conveys an air of formality, but modern outdoor spaces call for a more casual setting.
Browse our selection of table decorating ideas to find inspiration to match your style, from casual rustic to contemporary chic and everything in between. Whether you're looking for tips for a complete dining table update or just a few tips on new decorations to freshen up your decor, our creative gallery is sure to inspire you.
-
Breakfast table ideas
The breakfast table is often slightly smaller than the standard table and is located in the kitchen rather than in the formal dining room. Many old houses are built with the classic breakfast nook in the corner of the kitchen, with a banquette or bench instead of individual chairs.
But in a small apartment or apartment, there may be enough space for a small breakfast table and a few chairs.
Decorative items on the breakfast table should be kept simple. A small glass vase with fresh flowers or a houseplant are fun and easy touches. To make it easier to eat in the morning, place a turntable or lazy sofa in the center of the table so that everyone in the family can easily reach milk, sugar and a napkin holder.
-
Candle Ideas for Dining Table
Nothing adds more warmth and coziness to a dining room than candles. Arrange candles and decorative candlesticks wherever possible - on the table, on shelves, in a sideboard or in a cupboard. An arrangement of candles, each at different heights, creates a gorgeous glowing table centerpiece, perfect for any special occasion.
Tall silver or glass chandeliers are a traditional dining room design idea that can fit into any decor style. Modernize them by adding sprigs of greenery laid on a linen tablecloth.
Be sure to use unscented or lightly scented candles, as highly scented candles will make it difficult to taste the food. Battery powered electric candles look almost as good as real ones and eliminate both the scent issue and the risk of fire.
-
Ideas for decorating the center of a dining table
The centerpiece of a dining table is its focal point, but it doesn't have to be limited to just one central spot. In fact, a long dining set or a collection of decorative accessories look great on an oblong or rectangular table. A strip of fabric can be the foundation for your centerpiece, and its length can be varied depending on the shape of the table and your sense of style.
Decor ideas are not limited to flowers or candles. Place a gorgeous glass dish or bowl on the table, empty or filled with fruit. A small sculpture is a suitable centerpiece, as is a tray on which to place a row of small potted succulents. Whatever centerpiece you choose, make sure it doesn't obstruct guests' view across the table.
-
Party table decorations
Holidays, parties and special occasions call for a festive dining table setting. Many people choose to periodically decorate the dining room depending on the season. For example, they display bunnies and Easter eggs in spring, flowers in summer, colorful leaves in autumn, and evergreen branches with pine cones in winter.
The Halloween table is the perfect place to experiment with pumpkins as centerpieces. In December, a tiny Christmas tree adorned with battery-powered lights will be a great center of attention in the dining area. Complete your Christmas table with pinecone candlesticks, a festive tablecloth, and other favorite Christmas decorations.
-
DIY Dining Table Ideas
Decorating your dining table doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. In fact, embellishments and centerpieces are some of the easiest DIY things to do, even if you have little to no needlework experience.
Search your home for items that can be reused.
Glass jugs turn into beautiful vases, shells can be stacked in an antique wooden bowl, and greenery cut from your own bush will decorate your dining room quickly and for free.
-
Farmhouse style dining table ideas
The farmhouse style dining room brings the aesthetic back to simpler times as it combines the best elements of the present and the past. Depending on the materials used, the design can lean towards both a relaxed atmosphere and a more formal one.
However, a farmhouse-style dining table doesn't have to be boring. Mix antiques and recycled items for an accent piece that will make your farmhouse look fabulous.
A scuffed white table is as beautiful as a polished wood top when it comes to farmhouse style. Mix and match chairs of different shapes and materials - all this will create a feeling of comfort and coziness. Hang a beaded chandelier to soften the space, and paint the metal with a matte bronze paint or other artificially aging finish.
-
Glass Dining Table Design Ideas
Glass tables come in and out of fashion, but have been a fairly standard dining room idea for many years. Usually fans of glass tables prefer a more modern style of the room.
Glass tables are great for kitchens in small homes, as their "invisibility" helps make the room feel more spacious. Some glass tops are completely transparent, others are smoked glass or glass with a blue, pink or greenish tint.
If you have great chairs, a glass dining table is the best idea, as it provides an overview of each chair. The chandelier looks great above the table reflecting off the glass, especially if it has glass or crystal elements.
-
Ideas for decorating the kitchen table
The kitchen table is almost always smaller than the dining table, unless you have a small country style kitchen. Therefore, kitchen table decor items should be a little simpler than dining table decorations.
Centered items should match the size of the table, but don't be afraid to use pretty rugs, napkins, and other decorative textiles.
In a particularly small space, the kitchen table becomes a small island with stools or a bar built into the wall. If your kitchen table is tiny, don't add centerpieces to it. However, even a small table can benefit from colorful rugs or a tablecloth that matches the tone of the kitchen.
-
Art Nouveau dining table ideas
Minimalism is a hallmark of modern dining room design. Look for furniture with simple, clean lines and no unnecessary details. Elegance and simplicity are key words when looking for a combination of modern dining table and chairs, but mixing textures and materials is acceptable. The overall neutral color scheme emphasizes the modern interior.
Mid-Century Modern is an era that is always appropriate in a modern home. The tulip leg table and Eames style dining chairs perfectly convey the feel of Art Nouveau even in a small kitchen or a separate dedicated area in an open concept living room.
