Cream curtains, Interior Design, Made-to-measure curtains, curtains

Contemporary, Chic and Casual – Part 3 – Dining Rooms

The new contemporary dining room is ever so chic but also casual and more welcoming. This is a place for dining and entertaining after all – you want the room to be desirable and modern but you don’t want guests to feel uncomfortable. Laid-back elegance, clean lines smoothed out with softer design elements, opening up spaces to create a less confined space and looking to nature for natural materials and vibrant plants or flower arrangements. We hope that the ideas we discuss in this feature will inspire you to give your own homes a makeover – and get with the times!

The overall purpose of contemporary casual is to find a balance between modern design elements and making them more in tune with your own personal style. Ultimately, your dining room will reflect modern living but will be unique to you and your family – bringing in all those things that make you really feel at home (and not in the show room).

An industrial look for dining rooms has become very popular – especially among young career types who live in the city. The presence of greys or monochrome colours paired with natural materials such as glass and steel can be ultra-modern but a little cold if no thought is given to finishing touches. The answer to making the industrial look is quite easy – just place some potted green plants around the room to brighten it up and lend a hand to creative types.

Using natural materials in a dining space with more modernist furniture will create a good balance between contemporary chic and homeliness. There is something about a wooden floor or even wooden ceiling beams enveloping geometric shapes in chair or dining tables – contrasting in this way is brave but shows a unique individual style. To make this look even more interesting you could bring in some antique vases or sculptures that you can group together and make an attractive feature wall.

Open spaces are another element to contemporary design. A living/dining space is great for families or regular entertainers. To make the most of your open plan dining room you should keep colours in soft tones for fluidity throughout the space and a little bold colour can be picked up in small accessories such as sofa cushions or a table runner. A calm colour palette will make your dining space all the more relaxed and cosy. This laid-back look can be elaborated on by taking a few ideas from the Scandinavian trends – a frosted glass top for the dining table and white or light-coloured wood in other furniture.

Another idea to make clean lines and modern furniture become more casual is to look to finishing touches. Made to measure curtains can be fitted how you please to soften the overall look of the dining room and your choice of colour will also have an effect on the mood – try blues, greens or violets for a change or stay with softer neutrals such as cream curtains or browns.