How To Make a Dining Room More Functional

Your dining room is the perfect place to host large gatherings. Whether you’re throwing a party or having a formal holiday dinner, dining rooms are for making memories and spending time with your favorite people.

However, many homeowners don’t know the right way to furnish their dining rooms. Some ignore this space for most of the year and find it nearly impossible to use. Avoid this situation by learning how to make a dining room more functional before hosting your next event.

Common Dining Room Design Mistakes

People make so many mistakes when designing their dining rooms. For example, some choose trends over practicality, furnishing with awkward pieces that take up too much space. Others forget to have fun and create formal areas with little room for casual occasions.

Don’t catch yourself committing these interior design faux-pas! While staying in style is important for some homeowners, it’s better to make a versatile space that uses every inch of square footage to your advantage. Other common dining room mistakes to avoid include:

• Installing light fixtures too low
• Choosing the wrong-sized rug
• Ruining the ambience with harsh lighting
• Failing to incorporate your personal style

Tips for Creating a Functional Dining Room

What does a practical dining room look like? Usable dining rooms look great, feel welcoming, and can support large amounts of people. If your space doesn’t accomplish these things, you might consider redesigning.

If you want to learn how to make a dining room more functional, you’ll need to keep things like furniture selection and maintenance in mind. Use these tips to optimize your space and get more use out of your formal dining room furniture.

Choose the Right Furniture

One of the most important factors in a dining room is furniture. Using the wrong kind of furniture can create obstacles that are difficult to navigate. Choose appropriate pieces that fill your space without making it feel too heavy.

Every dining room needs a dining table and chairs. What else does it need? Consider a bold light fixture and an area rug to define the space. Don’t feel pressured to overwhelm your dining room if this is all it can accommodate.

Maintain Your Pieces

Another way to improve your dining room’s functionality is by maintaining your furniture. Formal dining room pieces need some specialized TLC to keep them in good condition. Since hot plates and big spills can damage wood furniture, keeping up with regular maintenance is essential.

Apply sealants to protect your tables from extreme conditions. Address wobbly chairs and table legs before they collapse completely. Well-maintained features are easier and more pleasant to use. It’s also way cheaper to correct minor problems than replace large pieces of furniture.

Experiment With Shapes

If you’re struggling to optimize your dining room, try experimenting with shapes. While you might have a picture-perfect design in your head, it might not be practical for the space you have.

Not every dining room can fit a long and luxurious table, and that’s OK! If you need to seat more people than your space allows, consider choosing a round table. Circular tables have almost unlimited seating since they don’t have any corners. Try out differently shaped seating options and other dining room furniture to create a functional and eye-catching room.

Use Your Entire Space

If you’re working with a small dining room, you need to use all of the space to your advantage. Being smart about your square footage will ensure that you get the most out of your dining area, regardless of size.

Stick a space-efficient china cabinet in an empty corner of your dining room. This way, you can add storage space without occupying too much room. You can also turn your kitchen and dining room supplies into décor and hang them on your walls to add more space.

Leave Room for Movement

You can’t build a usable dining room without measuring your space. You need to know how much you have to work with so you can leave room for movement.

Take a tape measure and figure out the dimensions of your dining room. Find a formal furniture set that leaves at least two feet between the wall and the back of your chairs. This way, people can navigate your space comfortably without bumping into things.

Make It Multifunctional

So many homeowners ignore their dining rooms outside of holiday seasons. You might avoid using this space if it’s too formal for daily activities. Make your dining room multifunctional so that you can use every room in your home.

When you aren’t decorating for a special event, use this space as a home office or homework space for kids. Create “work-friendly” centerpieces to store writing utensils and craft supplies for easy access. You can also invest in double-duty furniture that grows with extension pieces or acts as hidden storage.

Don’t Write Off Small Rooms

Just because your dining room is small doesn’t mean you can’t use it. Don’t write off small spaces as unusable; with the proper-sized furniture and careful placement, you can create the perfect tiny dining room.

Instead of cramming a giant formal table into a little room, look at dinette sets. Typically, these types of furniture collections are smaller and more space-friendly. They come in all kinds of styles, so you can go as formal or casual as you desire.

Consider Open Floor Plans

Open floor plans make your home feel more spacious. Without walls and entryways getting in the way, you’ll have so much extra room to create the dining room of your dreams.

Look for a home where the kitchen and dining room flow into each other seamlessly. If you aren’t in the market for a new house, consider knocking out the wall separating the spaces. Open layouts create more space and improve the energy flow in any home.

Let Supernova Furniture Complete Your Functional Dining Room

Use these tips to create a perfectly practical dining room. With seven locations, Supernova Furniture is the most accessible furniture store in the greater Houston area. Contact us for more information or an appointment. If you want to improve your formal space without compromising style, shop our collections today!