Trading out chairs for a bench creates flexible seating in your dining room.

When your home has a formal dining room and your family mostly eats on barstools at the kitchen counter, the dining room might seem like wasted space. However, there are ways not only to make your dining room family-friendly but multi-functional too.

Furniture is key to what happens in any room, but especially the dining room. If you have high-end woods and linens in your formal dining room, you won’t want kids using the space. Instead, a popular new alternative is reclaimed wood, which has more of a natural look that can be dressed up or down. What’s great about reclaimed wood is you can’t really hurt it – a spilled glass of punch just adds to its character.

A reclaimed wood table and a wall with chalkboard paint make this dining room inviting for a family.

If you want to continue using the table you have, simply order custom table pads to keep moisture, scratches – and markers – away from the surface. They have felt or velvet on the side that faces the table, and a flat surface on the other side that can transform your table into more usable space once it is properly protected.

Try benches in addition to chairs at the table for flexible seating arrangements. Also, consider using an indoor-outdoor rug under the table. These are now available in attractive patterns that look nice but have the durability to be hosed off outside if necessary.

In addition to sharing meals in your dining room, the space can become an extra office and homework area as well. For several of our clients we have created custom built-ins that are actually hiding places for a computer, shredder and other supplies. When you aren’t dining, you simply pop open and slide back the hutch’s doors and you have a fully operational desk.

Also consider using a sideboard as a storage area. The top can be left clear for serving food while the inside houses a printer and fax machine that you access via a wireless connection from your laptop.

It is possible to have a beautiful dining room that serves several purposes for your family’s day-to-day life but is also elegant for guests. If we can help you design your dining room to better fit your lifestyle, please contact us.

Reclaimed wood works well as a rustic dining room table.

If you’ve shopped for furniture at any of the popular furnishings stores lately, you’ve probably seen a surge in reclaimed woods paired with metals such as factory zinc and cast iron. Restoration Hardware has been particularly fond of this style, but you’ll also find it at places such as Pottery Barn, Cost Plus and West Elm.

I’m a big fan of this look and used it when I recently redecorated my own home. Because the materials are reclaimed, they have a lot of durability, which is great for those of us who have kids. Since they already have a “lived in” look, another knick in the wood just adds to the character.

For some people, though, this is a little too rustic. For example, reclaimed wood can be difficult to clean – if you drop a glass of red wine on it, you won’t be able to wipe it up. If you think about an old French farmhouse, a little more red wine would just add to the table’s character. But if that’s not your style, you could still feature reclaimed wood by perhaps using a glass or metal top with a wood stand, or having the wood top sanded and refinished with a cleanable polyurethane.

Another consideration is the color. Some reclaimed wood is more of a gray while other types are a little warmer. Deciding on the look you want – more or less neutral – is an important first step to using reclaimed wood. If you lean toward more neutral, you can add interest to the room with black and white framed photos, and textures such as jutes, mohairs, and leathers to avoid creating a “flat” room with no character.

Reclaimed wood can also be part of a more contemporary look, depending on how it is styled.

If you prefer a little more color, add colorful rugs or throw pillows, upholster chairs in bright prints, and include potted plants. (Reupholstering chairs doesn’t have to be expensive – if you’re buying new, just order them in the most affordable fabric and then take them to an upholsterer who can customize them for you at less than $75 per chair.)

Don’t forget to add accessories to your new room. Antiques and vintage-style pieces go well with the reclaimed wood look. Shop around and you might find an old toolbox, for instance, that can serve as a storage spot for TV remotes. Or hang a large metal clock on the wall. The idea is to provide warmth through fun and interesting pieces, whatever that might mean to you and your family, so you can enjoy your home.

If we can help you blend reclaimed woods with your décor, or with any of your design needs, please contact us.

Well, maybe not quite famous but our work was chosen to be featured on the website Houzz.com. This is one of our favorite design websites because it features pictures and ideas from a wide range of designers and homeowners. It’s really a great place to get fresh looks and inspiration for your home.

Houzz (click here for the post) chose a warm dining room we designed to include in their story about mirrors. We’ve talked before on this blog about how to make a small space feel large, and adding a mirror is a terrific way to do that. As you can see from this dining room (above, and fourth photo down in the story), a narrow room suddenly feels much larger because of all the reflection happening between the mirror, the windows and the door. Rather than feeling boxed in, you get a light, airy sense — even with gorgeous, chunky furniture and two dramatic chandeliers taking up much of the space.

Some of the other designers in the article used mirrors in even more demanding ways, such as the top photo with the large, propped mirror or the mirrored wall in the second photo. We like the two framed mirrors in the photo below ours that work together to create a fun feel along with that fantastic chandelier and clear seating. You’re not likely to run into a copycat dining room at your next dinner party if you adopt a look like that!

Please contact us at Style on a Shoestring if we can help you incorporate a mirror into your small space, or help with any of your design needs.