Dining Room Design Ideas 2025: 8 Expert Tips for a Stylish Upgrade

While designing a dining room can appear simple — even the basics can be reduced to just a table and chairs. But anyone who has attempted to create a dining experience that functions well while also feeling welcoming, knows it may actually be a challenge. The challenge is usually creating the right feeling — warm enough for your family dinners, yet elegant enough for entertaining guests.

To help you find that sweet spot, interior decorators have provided practical and readily usable suggestions to maximize your dining room. From use of space, lighting, decorating ideas and even tablescaping — these are eight ways you can make your dining room the heart of your home.

1. Master the Spacing and Layout

The shape and size of your dining room (or nook) do not need to dictate its potential. Some of the best dining spaces are created in spaces one might not expect. Julia Kendell suggests even rooms that have little to no natural light are great spaces to have dinner because of the spaces they might create with aspects like intimates dinners with the use of candlelight.

If you find yourself with a small corner or shallow alcove undertaking a built-in banquette can maximize your seating and appear as if it is all a bit more purposeful. In fact, designer Jodie Hazlewood, used a large but unserviceable hallway and turned it upside down to create a beautiful dining space, showing that even with just a little bit of bravery, every single one of your parts of your house has the potential to work.

Zoning becomes a critical concept in open-plan homes. According to Lena Gierasinska, it is useful to zone spaces because there are often occasions when open shelving can be used as both a storage and display area and the actual area as a subtle barrier between space. The outcome is an arrangement that feels connected, functional and integrated.

2. Choose the Right Dinner Table

Your dining table is more than just a place for you to eat; it is the anchor for the whole room! With little in the way of competing furniture, now is your chance to be bold, sculptural shapes, statement legs, colourful finishes, reflective surfaces.

Functionality is very important. Your table must work just as well for a casual dinner during the week, and a family catch-up for a major holiday. Organic shapes with more natural finishes (think wood, stone, linen) can introduce movement or calm.

Practicality also has to be considered. Ally Dowsing-Reynolds has suggested an extendable table (for flexibility), mixing matching your chairs with a bench, or get a round table for those spontaneous conversations. Whatever you choose to do with your dining table, always allow a clear space of at least 90 – 100cm (3.5 feet) around the table, which will allow you space to move around it comfortably.

3. Prioritize Comfortable and Stylish Seating

Gone are the days of the perfectly coordinated dining set. Homeowners now prefer mixed seating, with different colors, shapes, and textures to create a more relaxed, eclectic feeling.

However, comfort is key! Julia Kendell indicates that upholstered chairs with a sturdy back (and arms if you have the room) distinguish true family dining. For practical and family-friendly options, use a stain-resistant or wipeable fabric with your upholstered chairs; if possible, use removable covers to make stains easier to clean, as time permits of course.

Built-in banquettes are another great option for small spaces. Lena Gierasinska mentions that banquettes save space yet are cozy and tailored. Their versatility makes them perfect for meals or casual lounging.

4. Elevate Walls and Floors

Dining rooms are the most versatile of spaces, where we can be most individual with our patterns and colors. Dining rooms are usually used for a very short time in each day, which leaves the door open for more daring treatments of wallpapers, murals, and paint colors.

Julia Kendell loves a large mural to give a personalized touch, while designer Sophie Robinson opts for boldly colored floral wallpapers that create energy and warmth in otherwise neutral spaces.

There are considerations with flooring as well. In open-plan rooms, a rug under the table will set the area apart, but they should be durable. Vintage Persian designs work well, as do robust jute rugs that absorb spills easily. Again, it is essential the rug is large enough to keep chairs fully on it when they are pulled out.

5. Layer Your Lighting

It is amazing how lighting can completely alter the mood of a dining room. Regardless of the overhead fixture chosen – pendant, chandelier or a row of less noticed lights – it is going to create enough task lighting for meal preparation, family dining, and setting up tablescaping displays. Incorporating a dimmer switch would help transition a bright space suitable for family dinners, to a softly lit environment conducive to gathering with friends.

In addition to your pendants, do not forget to add layers of lighting with additional light sources: wall sconces, table lamps, and even floor lamps in dark, hidden corners can add warmth and uniqueness to the space. However, nothing compares to the warm flicker and glimmer of candles and tealights for immediate intimacy and charm in the room.

6. Add Personality with Decoration

Because a dining room typically has limited surface space, you can treat the walls of a dining room as prime real estate for decorative possibilities. A gallery wall is a fantastic opportunity to make a personal space, and you can mix and match art, photographs or found objects, notably hats, masks and other decorative objects from your, or your family’s, past or present.

And there is a renewed interest in wall plates — whether displayed in an elegant group or as a bold statement piece — they remind us of history and things that were once taken for granted. However, Michelle Collins said that there is not a lot of shipment intended to be used in dining rooms so please do not crowd it. Instead, a large statement piece would provide a resting point for one’s eye and become an anchor while providing a calming presence.

7. Embrace Tablescaping

A beautifully dressed table does not need to be reserved for special occasions or just for restaurants- Nicola Breen points to the movement toward dining experiences at home on par with restaurants, with just a few selective elements to create experiences for diners.

Candles, table runners, fresh bloom flowers, and portable table lamps can easily elevate any meal to a memorable experience. A simple and effective design tip is to design your table to echo the completed style of your space – rustic, minimalist, modern or glam- designing collaboratively can ensure comfort and fluidity in your experience.

Don’t shy away from exploring various textures and materials – while you will want to think about the visual impact and how well the materials and textures can compliment one another, combining glass, wood, and metal together adds depth. Just remember one golden rule; when arranging a tablescape, ensure that the centerpieces can be placed low enough so that the diner is unobstructed from the ability to meaningfully converse with all diners seated at the table.

8. Incorporate Additional Furniture

Besides the dining table (which is surely the most important piece), you might consider some accessories that will improve the dining space. A simple bar cart can add some ambience to the room and also provide functional storage for glassware and liquor. A glass-front cabinet can also provide a way to display different colorful dishware or a vintage collection of some sort.

If you have space for it, Julia Kendell would suggest that a slimline sideboard or dresser for special occasion dishware also be kept in the dining room. You could even use that area to create an eye-catching centrepiece (e.g., using tall candlesticks or an arrangement of large flower arrangements).

Conclusion

The wonderful thing about dining rooms is they can move from space to space, so you can have it wherever it is most desired. You may want to create a cozy nook for enjoying family meals, a large exciting space for entertaining, or if you are situated in an open-plan home, the dining room may simply be the multi-functional area.

If you are diligent with the layout of the space, arrangement of furniture, lighting, decorative elements and decoration, you can ensure yourself a functional, beautiful, stylish, yet comfortable dining room.