Five Cost Effective Ways to Update Your Dining Room For Holiday Dining
You may have invested in an Amish solid wood dining table because of its longevity and durability but as you know your dining room sees more traffic during the holidays than any other time of year. Endowing your dining room with an heirloom quality piece is a fantastic foundation but just like your own personal wardrobe needs its annual seasonal update, your home, particularly the entertainment areas, will also. Much like your clothing closet you probably have some of the dining room basics on hand but there is a good chance you will need to make some changes and purchase a few new and refreshing items. To help you focus on the goal here is the top five most cost-effective ideas for recreating your dining room:
PAINT: One way to give the dining room a fresh new look is to create a new backdrop. An instant fresh look can be created by simply adding a new coat of paint. Choosing your colors carefully does not mean to be afraid of color. Dining rooms should have a dramatic aura since it is in fact a theatre of human interaction, conversations and memories.
RUGS: Add a warm area rug. The rug should compliment the wall colors and will bring the room together, drawing the eye to all levels. If using Modern Contemporary designs go bold or animal print. Mission or Arts and Crafts deserve organic themed or geometric patterned carpets. Traditional dining rooms can never go wrong with a formal oriental rug.
LIGHTING: The lighting in a dining room not only adds the ambience but can actually affect the color of your food and thus its appeal to guests. Mood lighting, like candles in elongated candlesticks or clusters of candles or hurricane lamps, will always be favored in addition to electrical lighting, like well placed chandeliers. Remember that the bigger your dining room and table, the larger your chandelier should be. Adding a dimmer switch in the dining room is well worth the small expense and time it takes.
STORAGE AND SERVING SURFACES: Storage and serving space is often a second thought in the dining room when in fact it should be first. When you re-do your dining area think about dining tools as well as wine or bar service storage. Without the proper essentials for hosting a dinner party or event you will find it to be frustrating and awkward. Having an organization system as simple as a chest of drawers to hold linens and equipage will make your planning streamlined. The top of the chest can be a serving or even mini-bar area. A serving surface can also be a formal side buffet or a tea cart converted to a wine butler or dessert cart. This may be the time to invest in one new piece like a wine rack cabinet.
WALL DÉCOR: Invest in up-to-date art pieces or simply reframe the ones you own to reflect current trends in framing and matting. By hanging a large mirror or a grouping of smaller ones above the buffet or chest of drawers it will reflect light and give the illusion of a larger room.
Another valuable tip is to invest in heirloom quality dining room furniture one time rather than disposable furniture over and over again. For generations the Amish have successfully upheld their community’s reputation for unsurpassed and uncompromising workmanship and quality. The Amish values have been the same over the centuries that have past since their formation and you can still expect to find them intact when investing in the dining room furniture they create today.
Tags: , amish chairs, amish dining room furniture, Amish Furniture, dining room decorating, holiday decorating
November 18th, 2008 at 3:00 am
Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
January 30th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Very nice, I like your posts