Dining rooms are typically full of crisp, clean lines. Like any room in the home, It’s important to achieve visual balance with all of those chair and table legs, sharp corners and flat surfaces. Luckily, there are many ways to soften up your dining room with various changes and additions to the space.
Furniture & Decor Shapes
Naturally, dining room furniture is often very geometric; Often squared off with crisp lines. This can contribute to a more sterile, cold look. Our goal is to soften up that feeling with curves and textures.
Furniture
In order to make your dining room more inviting, look to the biggest impact pieces in the room first. Utilizing curved furniture is a great way to break up all the clean lines. For example, a round pedestal dining table, or curved back dining chairs could be a great swap to achieve a softer dining room look.
Light Fixtures
If swapping out furniture isn’t in your budget, there are other additions that could add soft shapes to the room. Consider adding a large basket pendant or unique light fixture with a curved shape or at least bold spherical bulbs.
Decor Accessories
Another option is to incorporate curvy or wall art or a large round or abstract shaped mirror. Even adding a curvy planter to the corner of the room or a spherical vase to the center of the table can make a big impact.
Soft Textiles; Rugs, Curtains & Pillows
It goes without saying, soft, natural textiles can cozy up any room. Soft fabrics are often a missed opportunity in dining room, typically overlooked, skipped or under-utilized. Rugs, curtains, upholstered seating and pillows are the best textile additions for softening up your dining room. They make a high impact with even a minimal budget.
Rugs
Rugs add a base layer of comfort, making the room feel more inviting; They are a great opportunity to pull in cozy textures and warm colors.
Curtains
Hanging some curtains in your dining room can soften up the space by subtly filtering light, which cozies up the atmosphere of the whole room. A light, neutral color is a great choice for dining room curtains because it can break up the heaviness of any wood/metal dining room furniture.
Upholstered Seating
Adding in an upholstered cushioned bench, or upholstered dining chairs will make your dining feel softer and more inviting as well as feel physically more comfortable to spend itinerary in.
Pillows
Pillows are not often thought of as dining room decorations. However, they can be the perfect selection for layering in extra texture, earthy tones and softness. Throw pillows add an instant dose of comfort and their covers can even be swapped out seasonally, which makes them super versatile.
Warm Up The Room
A warm color palette paired with warm toned lighting can make a huge difference in the atmosphere of a room. When well combined, they could easily make a dining room feel more inviting.
Color Palette
Cool tones can make a room quite literally feel cold and unwelcoming. While you don’t have to solely use rich, warm colors, incorporating some warm tones to a neutral base in a dining roo, will give it a feeling of warmth, comfort and softness. Shoot for nature-inspired colors. For example; warm beiges, warm olive-greens, warm amber, and even a deep warm mauve. Warm-tones wood grain will also have a positive effect on the rooms softness. Keep in mind, don’t make the room feel too dark with these rich colors, maintain a balance with a light airy base, Whether you paint the walls, or add a few colorful decor touches, playing up your color palette will added softness to your dining room.
Warm Lighting
Lighting is a powerful tool in the home to manipulate ambiance. While you of course want a healthy dose of natural light in a dining room, hanging light fixtures, wall sconces, lamps and candles are great additional light sources. Seek out warm toned bulbs when possible, which gives a closer-to-nature feel like a the glow of a rich amber sunset.
Takeaway
Utilize any one of these tools to add softness to a crisp, clean lined dining room. Don’t forget, some of these tips can be achieved with minimal budget such as adding in candles, throw pillows, a spherical vase, curtains or a fresh coat of paint to a decor piece. Whether you decide to make small changes or big swaps, I hope you’re able to achieve an inviting dining room with just the right touch of softness.
