I love how the mirrored artwork and elegant contemporary chandelier contrast against the more subtle wingback dining chairs and classic wood table. This mixture of styles, colors and textures makes for a visually interesting dining room design, and one that will remain quite trendy over the years even as popular styles change. I think it is the perfect way to decorate a space that you don't want to have to redecorate every few years.

I love browsing modern dining room ideas because I have felt so uninspired with my own home. I have been trying to redo the room for years, but nothing really jumps out at me and I just can't get excited about the decor. We hardly ever use the space, so I tend to forget it is there. When I saw this pretty grey design, I immediately knew that I wanted to translate this style into my house. I love how simple yet classic the whitewashed plank flooring looks against the crisp grey and white color palette. The dining room colors are the perfect mix between traditional and contemporary and would provide a great base to any decor or design style that I want to use over the years. I am going to begin by painting the walls in Benjamin Moore Dove Grey and accent it with Chantilly Lace for the trim. For now, I will use pops of blue via artwork and textiles as the accent color but I may modify this later. The beauty of this neutral dining room design is that I can change my decorative accents as often as I want without having to adjust the backdrop.

Contemporary dining rooms are always a safe bet. Making for some great dining room pictures to show off to our friends. They give you the ability to experiment while keeping that homey atmosphere many of us are used to. My dining room design seeks just that. As you can see, the traditional dining room table accents the wooden floors and panels neatly. Yet, my wife and I wanted to offset the stiffness we felt in the space with a bit of dining room decor. To give the area more of a pop, we sought out white chairs with a floral composition. However, when we added the wooden cupboard off to the side along with modern lamps and paintings, we felt as though we took the contemporary look and through a bit of a modern, yet, homey twist to it. The vine-like chandelier above really emphasizes on the room as a whole.

Picking out the appropriate dining room furniture is an important part of making the space both beautiful and functional. The biggest mistake that homeowners make when purchasing pieces for this space, is not keeping an eye on the layout and scale of the room. Dining tables are quite large, so they can easily overwhelm a small room. In the same way, if a table is too small for a large lofty dining room, the overall design will look "off" as well. A good rule of thumb is to, at minimum, leave 5 feet on all sides of the table (starting at the back of the chairs). If space allows, other pieces can be added like a traditional sideboard, additional seating, or a china cabinet. This lovely contemporary space is a good example of furniture choices and placement that enhance the overall dining room design. The beautiful modern style dining table and chairs look fantastic with the simple white and mauve color palette of the room, and fill the space perfectly.

When my friends and family ask for advice on decorating dilemmas like small dining room ideas, I always enjoy sharing my professional advice (I am an interior decorator) in a lower pressure setting like that. This is actually a space that I recently revamped for my best friend in a cool contemporary decor to match their industrial style kitchen. The neighboring dining area was quite small but has a ton of natural light from the wall of windows and great architectural details like the tray ceiling. I wanted to keep things light and bright through the paint palette, dining chairs, and flooring to give the illusion of a large space. Then we brought a few bold areas of color into the dining room design via artwork, eclectic side chairs, and a beautiful light fixture.

If you are in search of dining room furniture ideas that would go with a colonial style home, you can't do better than this beautiful set that I found at Ethan Allen recently. I love decorating with period touches to accent the architectural style of our home. We have a lot of rich wood panelling and intricate crown molding, so I wanted to find a furniture suite that would elevate the formal decor scheme already found throughout the main living areas. We have a traditional dining room design with a large chandelier, marble floors, and a large arched doorway. I thought this polished wood set was the perfect size for the space and the wood stain is nearly the exact same shade as the trim throughout the rest of the home. I also liked how the fabric is a neutral grey pattern that provides a bit of decor but is not too bold and distracting. All we need now is a large floral arrangement in the center of the table and a couple of decorative accents scattered throughout the rest of the room.