Decor Portfolio

{mosimage}Thoughts of the dinning room invariably bring forth images of comfort, hospitality, good food, and relaxing times, whether the dinning takes place in a room of its own, in a corner of the living room, or in an ell off the kitchen.

The space typically set aside for dining poses a logistical dilemma in many homes.  Its often too small and cramped for real comfort – nicely cozy perhaps for an occasional evening meal or a Sunday dinner, but quite inadequate with it comes to seating the entire family on thanksgiving or having a large cocktail party.
One solution for small to midsize dining areas is a small that that can be expanded for a special occasion with two or three leaves.  You might also enlarge it with a false top made pr particleboard or plywood; with a cloth hiding the surfaces, your guests will never know the difference, and the top can be stored when not in use. On the other hand, you might prefer a nonexpendable table, and create additional dinging and serving space with a drop-leaf table that’s normally tucked against the wall but can be put to work as a buffet or brought farther into the room and extended to handle a large group of diners.  If space is really tight, consider a shallow, wall hung sideboard for storing china or linens; the open area underneath makes it easy to pull up chairs or stools to dine counter style.  Or introduce a shallow corner cupboard or two to take advantage of normally wasted space.
Since too many chairs in a dining space of any size can seem all legs when not in use, you can place extras in another room. As long as they are of a comfortable height and pull up to the table with relative ease, you can mix and match styles.  Coordinating colors and patterns will give them a more unified appearance. 
If you’re lucky enough to have a large dining room, consider giving the space another job to extend its usefulness beyond s few meals a week.  Many dinning rooms already double as a place for children to do homework and parents to finish work they may bring home from the office. Why not go a step further and create an all-new atmosphere that enhances the dinning experience while catering to the other needs in the off-hours of the room – a library, perhaps, or a study-sitting room?  Book and display shelves can dress up the walls while serving as buffet and storage space; a small sofa or built0in alcove can offer extra seats for dining and possibly convert to guest sleeping quarters in a pinch.