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Small dining rooms images


24 Small Dining Rooms That'll Make You Think Big

By

Stephanie Montes

Stephanie Montes

Stephanie Montes is a design and decor expert and writer who shares her knowledge of lifestyle trends, decorating, and painting. She also writes for Elite Daily, Hello Giggles, Brides.com, Elle.com, and Byrdie.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 11/02/22

The Spruce / Christopher Lee Foto

Space is a state of mind, but it can be difficult to think big when you lack physical square footage. If you've given up on that tiny space you should call a dining room and resorted to TV dinners on the couch night after night, allow us to inspire a much-needed redesign. Ahead, 24 tiny places that prove you can turn even the smallest amount of unused space into a formal dining room. Because even a small studio apartment in the city deserves a designated area for candle-lit dinners and early-morning coffee breaks.

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13 Small Dining Room Ideas and Decorating Tricks

1

Get a Lazy Susan

Laura Resen

A lazy Susan is perfect for smaller spaces. These clever contraptions are basically just trays that rotate and they make it easier to get items (like salt and pepper) around the table without having to reach over anyone. A round one sits at the end of this small dining table in a room designed by Chloe Warner, where interior glass doors ensure that the light flows through to adjoining rooms, too.

2

Blend It Into the Kitchen

Stephen Karlisch

Unlike chairs, a bench can seat more than one person (a handful of kids!). Even better if the bench is built into the island, serving as a natural transition into a more formal dining space right off the kitchen. In this kitchen-meets-dining room by Jean Liu, the bench was added onto the opposite side of the island to double the room's use case and blend the more practical kitchen with the formal gathering area.

3

Turn Storage Into Decor

Cara Fox

Open shelves are often the best storage option in a tight space, but you have to fill them wisely. Coordinating plates and serveware, like this classic blue and white collection, add a decorative element with a culinary tilt. The plates were the jumping-off point for everything in this preppy and sweet dining room designed by Cara Fox.

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4

Choose Dual-Purpose Furniture

Leanne Ford Interiors

If you have to sacrifice part of your dining room for a home office, get the best of both worlds by choosing furniture that can perform well for both tasks. This roomy farmhouse table in a home designed by Leanne Ford can function as a great place to spread out for larger creative projects and serve as a perch for a few work-from-home folks. But, when mealtime rolls around, it can also function as a dining room.

5

Pair a Round Table With a Banquette

Brie Williams

Two chairs and a corner banquette is a classic combo for a reason: it's a highly efficient use of space that also leaves plenty of room for fun. Together, they transform a bare corner into an elegant eating space, but it can also be a great backdrop for meetings and work. In this vivacious dining room nook designed by Ariene Bethea, the matching table and chair set creates just the right dose of cohesion.

6

Cozy Up to the Walls

Paul Costello

Often considered a design no-no in other rooms, placing furniture against the wall frees up space for walking in a narrow dining area that shares the living room and/or kitchen. A long rectangular or oval table like the one in this open-concept space by Barrie Benson can also be great as a buffet table for parties.

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7

Choose Shelves Instead of a Cabinet

Lauren Waters

China cabinets or sideboards are lovely, but their bulk can dominate a room and uses space inefficiently. Floating shelves or custom built-ins, on the other hand, can be customized to fit your needs (fill the whole wall with them, if you like!) and offer more flexible storage than standalone pieces. They're an especially good addition to a room with high ceilings, like this loft designed by Lauren Waters.

8

Assess Your Priorities

Emily J Followill

If you live in a rental or aren't ready to make any permanent changes, having a storage piece to keep your collections stored and organized is still a good idea. In this small dining room, designer Lathem Gordon forewent a large dining table so there was space on the floor for a display cabinet.

9

Create a Booth

Francesco Lagenese

Both built-in bookcases and banquettes are meant to be directly next to the wall, offering as much seating, storage, and open floor space as possible—so when combined, they're a like small dining room superhero. And two banquettes are better than one! This clever set-up makes room for an entire family in a tight corner—and offers hidden storage under the seats.

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10

Choose a Table With Leaves

Victoria Sass

Invest in a dining room table with extendable leaves so you can collapse them when not in use. It's a simple fix but it really does make all the difference. In this Scandinavian-style dining room designed by Victoria Sass of Prospect Refuge Studio, four chairs are tucked around the table, but it could seat 6 as is, and even more when fully extended.

11

Work the Room's Angles

Osklo Studio

In this space by Osklo Studio, a custom sofa accommodates the quirky shape of the room. The table and chair can also move aside when the space needs to serve as a more formal sitting room. Even if you can't splurge on custom seating, rethinking the angle of your dining room setup could help you squeeze in more space or get the most out of a living room that needs to accommodate a living area, too.

12

Sneak in Under-Seat Storage

Tamsin Johnson

The built-in banquette is also a sneaky storage solution in this eclectic dining nook designed by Tamsin Johnson Interiors. Hidden drawers beneath the cushion can house things like placemats, napkins, and more. The paint color and the grooves in the exterior of the drawers match the cabinetry in the adjacent kitchen for a seamless look.

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13

Invest in Mirrors

KARYN R MILLET

Employ this bit of visual trickery to make any small room seem bigger: A mirror's reflection is great at faking extra space and bounces light around the room to make it seem airier. For a more traditional and formal look, opt for antiqued mirrors, as Celerie Kemble did here.

Hadley Mendelsohn

Senior Editor

Hadley Mendelsohn is House Beautiful's senior design editor and the co-host and executive producer of the podcast Dark House. When she's not busy writing about interiors, you can find her scouring vintage stores, reading, researching ghost stories, or stumbling about because she probably lost her glasses again. Along with interior design, she writes about everything from travel to entertainment, beauty, social issues, relationships, fashion, food, and on very special occasions, witches, ghosts, and other Halloween haunts. Her work has also been published in MyDomaine, Who What Wear, Man Repeller, Matches Fashion, Byrdie, and more.  

Small Dining Rooms - 135 Best Dining Room Interior Design Photos

Apartment for a Senior Couple

Ksenia Erlakova

Inspiration for home comfort: a small neoclassical (modern classic) living-dining room with gray walls, medium-toned parquet floors and brown flooring

Purity of Thought

Maria Mikena

Photo of a small contemporary dining room with gray walls, medium hardwood floors and brown flooring with

Apartment on Flotskaya

Krasyuk Sergey

Inspiration for home comfort: modern small dining room with dark parquet floor and brown flooring

Studio

Lyifer Natalia small modern table with original design

3

gray walls and beige floors

Culinary studio

Malika Boranbayeva

Common area. Since the space is mostly rented out as a culinary studio, most of the area is occupied by a table and seating. Master classes, cooking lessons, literary evenings are held at the table.

House in Pokrovka II

Architectural Studio 2Yu

Fresh design idea: a small country-style dining room with beige walls, porcelain stoneware floors and a coffered ceiling - a great photo of the interior

A Mid-Century Apartment03 900 Modern Makeover Décor Aid

New Yorkers are always on the prowl for innovative ways to make the most of the space they have. An upper east side couple, challenged with a slightly narrow L shaped apartment sought out Decor Aid’s help to make the most of their Manhattan condo. Paired with one of our senior designer, Kimberly P., we learned that the clients wanted a space that looked beautiful, comfortable and also packed with functionality for everyday living. “Immediately upon seeing the space, I knew that we needed to create a narrative that allowed the design to control how you moved through the space,” reports Kimberly, senior interior designer. After surveying each room and learning a bit more about their personal style, we started with the living room remodel. It was clear that the couple wanted to infuse mid-century modern into the design plan. Sourcing the Room & Board Jasper Sofa with its narrow arms and tapered legs, it offered the mid-century look, with the modern comfort the clients are used to. Velvet accent pillows from West Elm and Crate & Barrel add pops of colors but also a subtle touch of luxury, while framed pictures from the couple's honeymoon personalize the space. Moving to the dining room next, Kimberly decided to add a blue accent wall to emphasize the Horchow two piece Percussion framed art that was to be the focal point of the dining area. The Seno sideboard from Article perfectly accentuated the mid-century style the clients loved while providing much-needed storage space. The palette used throughout both rooms were very New York style, grays, blues, beiges, and whites, to add depth, Kimberly sourced decorative pieces in a mixture of different metals. “The artwork above their bureau in the bedroom is photographs that her father took,” Moving into the bedroom renovation, our designer made sure to continue to stick to the client’s style preference while once again creating a personalized, warm and comforting space by including the photographs taken by the client’s father. The Avery bed added texture and complimented the other colors in the room, while a hidden drawer at the foot pulls out for attached storage, which thrilled the clients. A deco-inspired Faceted mirror from West Elm was a perfect addition to the bedroom due to the illusion of space it provides. The result was a bedroom that was full of mid-century design, personality, and area so they can freely move around. The project resulted in the form of a layered mid-century modern design with touches of luxury but a space that can not only be lived in but serves as an extension of the people who live there. Our designer was able to take a very narrowly shaped Manhattan apartment and revamp it into a spacious home that is great for sophisticated entertaining or comfortably lazy nights in.

Built-in Dry Bar

VMAX LLC

Photography Anna Zagorodna
Photo of a small, retro-style separate dining room with blue walls, light parquet floors, standard fireplace, tile fireplace front, and brown flooring with

Serene Family Home

Simply Home Decorating

In this serene family home we worked in a palette of soft gray/blues and warm walnut wood tones that complimented the clients' collection of original South African artwork. We happily incorporated vintage items passed down from relatives and treasured family photos creating a very personal home where this family can and unwind. Interior Design by Lori Steeves of Simply Home Decorating Inc. Photos by Tracey Ayton Photography.

Austin Victorian

Chango & Co.

Austin Victorian by Chango & Co. Architectural Advice & Interior Design by Chango & Co. Architecture by William Hablinski Construction by J Pinnelli Co. Photography by Sarah Elliott

Dream Cottage with a View

Mary Hannah Interiors

Fresh design idea: a small living-dining room in a marine style with white walls and medium-toned parquet floors without a fireplace - great interior photo

Unique interior photos of small dining rooms

Designing a small dining room is much more difficult than, for example, designing a luxurious bedroom. Very often people complain about the lack of sufficient space in the apartment. But for the imagination, of course, space is not a limit...

You will find many convenient places to dine in our article and you will understand that ingenuity will help overcome the lack of space.

Huge tables with a lot of chairs that you see when you go to furniture stores look very nice, but only in a salon. In the apartment they look bulky and awkward.

Why do you need a huge oak monster if you are a young family of two? Now we will explain how you can correctly place the furniture for the dining room.

Great idea for one room

Transparent chairs visually facilitate the space

Great table in the center

Classics with a turquoise lamp

Interesting kitchen design

Dinner table in a lively at

Combination of the ordinary and new 9000,

Correctly select details

003

Lovely curtains and a large lamp add chic

A cozy dining area by the window

Dinner can vary

We often see gorgeous furniture in large country villas in interior design magazines. It is not at all necessary to refuse such an option in your home.

Just put a neat table, fewer chairs, complete them with interesting accessories. Think about their shape, think about acrylic seats, and then the dining area will become truly luxurious.

Add some fun and comfort with a two-seater sofa

Add a touch of color to a modest apartment

Copper lamps, dainty white chairs and a bold pattern on the wall create a striking effect

Dining room like this

If you are a fan of eclecticism, then try it yourself decorate the space. Transparent round or square shapes will create an airy and light atmosphere, and the room will look larger than it really is.

Warm yellow colors will decorate and refresh

Cool blue and fashionable gray perfectly combine

Brilliant eclectics

The perfect solution for small tablespoons

Traditional kitchen with additional places

Dunch at the window

,

Bent

American style

Size is a relative concept

Not always the opinion that you have little space is objective. For most architects and designers, the space in which you want to organize a stylish dining room is sufficient to implement an interesting apartment design project.

Table for two takes up almost no space

Ordinary chairs from IKEA

Curved seatbacks are a great choice

You can turn almost any corner of your home into a cozy dining room. Extra space next to the kitchen or free meters in the hallway is what you need.

You can use small folding tables in combination with lightweight chairs that can be simply removed and the dining area will disappear in a matter of minutes.

Acrylic and wood next to a large window

How about connecting with an office?

Narrow work top

Vibrant yellow colors bring this compact space to life

Lid slides easily into suite

Extravagant chandelier is a highlight

Perfect for a bachelor

Side seats are magic!

Breakfast nooks are a great option if you are trying to create a small dining area.

Find the “right” table that will allow everyone to sit comfortably, find several places to sit on the opposite side. Hang cabinets on top to store kitchen items.

Organize things right

Private area

Make the most of every inch of space

If you haven't figured out how to set up yet, then round countertops are exactly what you need.

These options fit perfectly in any place, look elegant in the center of the room and at the same time allow you to accommodate a large number of people. That is why many people prefer Saarinen Tulip pieces.

Everything in one place

Combine bright and white together

Banquet table is stylish and ergonomic at the same time

Fireplace brings coziness to the apartment

The perfect solution for your room

You can always have breakfast here

Who needs walls?

The kitchen, located in four closed walls, does not bring much joy to the owners. With the advent of open planning in the middle of the 20th century, interiors became more unusual and interesting.

Modern design often includes a living room and dining room in one place. That is why a limited dining area is a great option, even if you have free space in the house.

Use beautiful rugs, large pendant lights and modern chandeliers to keep her out of the public space.

Industrial style

Open and compact

All in one room

The kitchen/dining area is a modern trend. Many designers suggest using ultra-cold tones that allow you to beat not only the space, but also the details of the interior.

Learn more