For generations, families ate in their kitchens and only ventured into their dining rooms on special occasions. The dining room was a place for guests, where stiff-backed chairs and fragile china kept everyone on their best behavior. Today’s dining rooms are used in more ways than ever. They merge comfort and beauty to create a space where people want to linger — and not just over dessert.
In many homes, the dining room table is the go-to location for working on art projects, wrapping gifts and doing homework, people are seeking durable tables that can withstand plenty of attention, rather than carefully polished ones that are easily scratched. In some homes the dining room doubles as a home office, the laptop and paperwork may be stashed in the sideboard during meals. In designer-decorated homes, you’re more likely to see deliberately mismatched chairs and a table that contrasts with the room’s other furniture. People are also mixing materials and textures. Your dining table maybe some type of stone and the chairs some type of wood and sideboard may be made with mirror or metal decorative finish.
The dining room can be a perfect place to let your creativity run wild. Today people have moved away from the antiques that we are afraid to touch and moved toward the rustic elegance of the big farmhouse tables.
As comfort has become a priority, pretty but unforgiving chairs are definitely out. At Country Squire, we want you to test a piece of furniture for comfort before you buy it. Our goal is for you to have a comfortable, welcoming space that is special but not intimidating.
A wonderful trend in dining today is the popularity of open-plan houses that have made formal dining rooms less common. One detail that has not changed in dining rooms is warm, soft lighting. In addition to an overhead fixture, we like including a lamp or two to bring a gentle, flattering glow.
