Flip! for Decorating A Page-by-Page, Piece-by-Piece, Room-by-Room Guide to Transforming Your Home

82 Pages·2009·0.93 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Mayhew

CHAPTER 4
dining room
in this chapter you will learn:
how to mix furniture styles
how to pick a table, dining chairs, lighting, and storage pieces
how to use mirrors
how to hang art
how to create easy, long-lasting centerpieces
I love to cook, but even more than that, I love to entertain, which is why
when my husband and I finally bought and renovated our apartment, I
insisted on having a formal dining room.
That may not seem like a big deal to those of you who live in houses
with more rooms than you can count, but city dwellers like me obsess
over the use of every precious square foot.
From the minute I crossed its threshold, I knew our dining room would
host much more than the occasional dinner party and holiday meal. It is
one of the most trafficked rooms in our home. It’s where my kids spread
out their art projects, where my husband and I sort mail and pay bills,
and where a Monopoly marathon can extend into the wee hours.
The dining room is also the unexpected place where I perch and pace
during important phone conversations. I didn’t plan for it. It just so
happened that the wall under the dining room window became the last-
resort home for an antique Swedish settee that had been shuffling
around the house. The bench now not only hides an ugly radiator, but
also provides a warm, sun-drenched spot for me to chat on the phone.
And it taught me an important lesson: Decorating isn’t permanent. Go
with the flow. Some of the most brilliant decorating moments happen by
accident.
As for the room’s decor, I chose to paint it chocolate brown because: a)
It’s my favorite color; b) It’s warm and cozy; c) It looks good with
everything; and d) It’s the color of a most popular dessert. The trim and
ceiling are white, of course (see this page)—it’s the vanilla icing on the
chocolate cake.
For the furniture, I followed one of my decorating mantras: mix and
match; pair old with new, round with square, light with dark. A room of
eclectic furniture is far more interesting than one that’s matchy-matchy.
I started by picking a table (which, along with chairs, is the only true
dining-room necessity). I never considered a wood table partly because I
think wood furniture can feel stodgy and partly because the floors are
wood and the room is already brown. I wanted a gleaming surface that
looked as crisp and clean as a pressed white tablecloth. A Parsons-style
white-laminate rectangular table fit the bill; every piece of china, glass,
flower, and linen looks good on it, it’s easy to clean, doesn’t show water
rings, and doesn’t need polishing. But to keep the table from looking too
new and too slick I paired it with a set of old chairs. A friend of mine,
decorator Miles Redd, found the six red leather upholstered French seats,
which are comfortable and stainproof. Their curved backs and crackly
leather make them the perfect foil for the angular and pristine table.
It might seem like a glaring oversight (pun intended) that I don’t have a
chandelier, but any piece of good lighting sets the mood, even sculptural
sconces with dimmers, which are augmented with light from candles and
a well-placed mirror that doubles the effect. (Unlike a chandelier, which
should always hang over the centerpiece, sconces don’t limit the
placement of the dining table.)
The last puzzle piece was art and accessories. In the dining room, guests
have only each other to admire until you add art. It doesn’t so much
matter what style or period of art you love, it’s how you hang art that
makes it count. Create a big statement with a dozen little pictures, or
find a wall-filling single image to captivate your audience.
BASICS
dining tables
The best dinner parties have 10 guests or fewer, and so should your
dining table. Ten people at a table can mean three conversations or just
one. (And if your guest list is heftier, just open up the living room and
turn the party into a freewheeling buffet.)
When it comes to proportion, the size of the room should dictate the size
of your dining table. A good rule of thumb is that the footprint of the
dining table (fully extended) should cover no more than a third of the
floor’s total space. Remember, you’ll need room for chairs and storage—
and people, too.
When shopping around, check the stability of tables by grabbing and
pulling the tabletop to make sure the table doesn’t wobble or sway. Then
push down on one corner to ensure it doesn’t flip over. (But don’t
attempt either maneuver if the surface is styled with crystal!)
IF THERE’S ONE THING YOU DO
WHEN YOU’RE PICKING A TABLE, MAKE SURE THERE’S SPACE TO SIT. SOUND
SILLY? MANY TABLES HAVE AWKWARDLY PLACED SUPPORTS THAT THREATEN
TO BASH INTO YOUR GUESTS’ LEGS. AND MIND THE APRON, THAT BAND UNDER
THE SURFACE THAT JUTS TOWARD YOUR LAP; IT’S POISED TO CRUSH YOUR
THIGHS IF YOUR CHAIRS ARE TOO HIGH.