Hey guys!  I’ve been hard at work planning our new home’s dining room design.  We are so excited to have a big formal dining room for entertaining.  I have a large extended family so it really is nice to have some extra space in our new home for gatherings, holidays and parties.  The dining room is currently very empty and only has just a couple of the items we plan to keep/use for this new dining room design.   We are reusing our table from the last house which extends to accommodate 8-10 people!    I’ve been very carefully gathering so much inspiration for this space because I want it to feel formal but not too dressy that it can’t be enjoyed anytime!  I also want it to grow with us and be something classic that we won’t grow tired of over time.

The major things that we need to do is paint the room.  I’m thinking for now to keep it simple and go with Swiss Coffee which is currently through out a lot of our home.  I’ll add some contrast with dark/bold in the chair AND sideboard we hope to DIY (more on that in a bit).   A larger more dramatic light fixture that balances out the large table size.  New chairs 6 on either side and two captain chairs.  The chairs is what took more FOREVER in coming up with this design plan.  I didn’t want to spend an arm and leg but also didn’t want to get something cheap either.  So I feel like I found some middle of the road options that still look beautiful.   Here is how the space looks currently:

Dining room before:

DIY Plans:

We have two things we plan to DIY for our new dining space.  We are considering adding four beams that run across the width of the room and go in the opposite direction of the table.  I immediately thought beams when I saw this room last spring.  It would add so much character, a bit of architectural details and drama to the space.

We would construct our own and stain them and then add them to the ceiling.  There are a bunch of great tutorials out there and I actually think it would be something we could do!  We would most likely only do four of them, evenly spaced with the light in the center, so it isn’t too busy.  

DIY Sideboard/buffet with mini fridge:

We have a large wall on the back of the dining table that I’d love to use for something super functional but also beautiful.   We want to create a sideboard with base cabinetry.  I’ll use two base cabinets and place a mini fridge in the middle.  the pictures below are my inspiration and what the cabinets look like that can be painted from home depots.  From there, I’ll either look for a piece of stone or butcher block to add as the top to make it one piece of furniture that can be used to store beverages as well as lots of stuff for entertaining (dinner plates, place mats, seasonal table decor).   I’ll add some beautiful hardware to dress it up too!

I love that food and other items can be used on top for serving or keeping food out while we are having dinner etc…

Here is the PLAN!

I can’t wait to start painting and get this space ready for the holidays!  I’ll share how things come together in the next few weeks and as always head over to my Instagram or IG Stories to see the progress. 

I’m linking up this design below incase you see something that catches your eye!

Shop the look: