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Design advice for my dark dining room

Catherine Hubbard

8 years ago

I would really like to make my dining room a more enjoyable room o be in. It is unfortunately a fairly dark room with one window and is north facing. It also suffers from being a dumping ground for bits and pieces. Sitting just off the kitchen, it would be great to use it much more with my children and to entertains friends be it for dinner or just for coffee.

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Comments (5)

PRO
Solatube UK
8 years ago
Hello Catherine,

Have you thought about increasing the natural daylight through a daylighting system? Solatube Daylighting Systems are the world's leading tubular daylighting systems and are the originators of the product concept generally now know as sun tubes and light tunnels..

We would be happy to help and offer a solution to your application if you're interested :)

Everyone's homes are different but I've attached a couple of images so you can get an idea.

Daniel at Solatube UK

Decorative Just Frost diffuser daylighting the home kitchen · More Info

Brighten up your kitchen · More Info
PRO
Zoe Glencross Fabric & Home
8 years ago
Have you looked at the Little Green paint company's new blue colour chart? Their Verditer colour is a stunning bright blue (Dulux also do one of the same name and it is similar apparently). This kind of bright blue is a great way to brighten a dull room - it's a bit playful so would suit an area that your kids will play in and in the evening looks stunning and cosy as a more formal dining space. If you put some lovely warm white lamps and a chandelier style light fitting in place it'll really set off the blue. If you're looking for fabrics that would balance this colour and neutralise the bold you could try our rock grey prints (Slade Stripe/Bollin Bird) in roman blindswww.zoeglencross.com
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Beautiful table. I don't particularly like the metal/cane chairs. Too 'light' in appearance. Do you use the chairs by the window? I think they are too close to the table and they are too big in comparison. Could be the angle of the photos though, may look different in real life. I don't think your ceiling is too low to hang a pendant above the table. How do you change the table position? If you only turn it around, you can still keep it centered under a light. If you move it to the wall it's another story of course. The two paintings above the console should be hung lower and I prefer them on one level. You can add table lamps on the console and a floor lamp in the corner between the windows. If you use the two chairs, I would add a table in between and angle the chairs a bit. I'll see if I can find you other dining chair options.
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squeakerd - it is really hard to get a perspective on the whole area but if this is part of a much larger area then I feel you need to first decide just what you want as the end result. Do you just want your entire area to be one open plan or do you want to break it down into visually defined areas within the open plan. As you have the area now, I don't feel any cohesiveness between your table and the sideboard, I think I would move the sideboard to the end wall, it looks more like it would belong there, even just by the shape of the room. Definitely a larger rug will define the space better - just be careful of any trip hazard with the door nearby - but before you decide on the rug, consider window dressings and whether you want things plain or introduce some bold patterns and what colours look best in the area. Artwork can go where your sideboard is now, but again think colours and impact of design on the whole area. It is all very well to build a room around one piece, but you need to look at the impact that piece will have on other items and what limitations it could cause. I would suggest you set aside some serious time to look through photos on Houzz, especially if you can find areas similar to yours, till you find what appeals to you, put the photos into your ideas book and use that to build your room. I have found this invaluable in the past and it has saved me many an expensive mistake.
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I would wait for the rug, until you have the shutters up and your furniture placed..it may take on a character of its own and you'll want to compliment. My first thought though was to coordinate with your kitchen and incorporate some black, with a black/beige stripped rug, which would be fun with the wallpaper and perhaps paint your chairs black, add the shutters and you could paint the window trim black and add a large black chandelier.
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Thanks very much for all your feedback. Just to answer a few queries - the deck is directly outside the main room so the new doors open out onto it. The doors won't be French - they're just the only doors that the 3D planner I'm using had, they'll actually be large stacking doors. I've had another idea too which would be a lot more expensive but offers a completely different approach. This is quite rushed so doesn't show accurate layout of kitchen or anything like that, basically just provides an idea. Thoughts!?
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PRO
GuigsART
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Hi.

Have you ever considered a real interesting eye catching original one off piece of art work to really brighten up your area, I think a piece of art would really make the space stand out, add interest, colour, texture and add a great talking point to the room....

Please check out my website if you like the idea…..

Commission work is also welcomed so if for example you like a particular style I can do in a select colour palette and size as an original one of art piece, unique to you….

I’m also able to produce all original paintings at a fraction of the price in high end print format, in any size same or smaller than the original. (all within proportions to the original so not to cause distortion) All prints are Giclee prints onto a soft textured fine art media. All prints come with a white border these can also be made to measure too. So lots of options,

GuigsART.

www.guigsart.co.uk
minnie101
8 years ago
Hi Catherine. Do you have some pictures you can post as it will help with ideas? Are you wanting to try and lighten it or embrace the dark?!
PRO
Zoe Glencross Fabric & Home
8 years ago
Chosing a mid blue and accent it with creams, whites, bronze and taupe furniture etc gives a bit of soul - a funky colour of daytime kids play and evening dining (ok this is a lounge photo but it's just for colour). Good luck zzoeglencross.com

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