A Classic Dining Room that Likes a Little Drama

When my client initially brought me into this room, it contained furniture from their last house that was out of scale and didn’t really go together or function as well as the family needed. They love to both entertain and use the room every night for dinner, so it needed to be beautiful and practical.

Is that a changing table you spy in the corner? Why, yes. Yes, it is. Sometimes you have to be extremely practical with kids in mix! But since the baby was growing up, so was the dining room!

My client loves using blue and brown in every room in her Brookhaven, Atlanta home. To ensure that the home flowed beautifully from one room to the next, I set about planning the design around that color scheme. My take included soft versions of each color and playing with textures, contrast, and height. Previously, everything in the room felt dark and low, so I used design tricks to take the eye up, including a beautiful, large hutch that we filled with creamy white pottery and meaningful personal mementos.

I brought in a slightly rustic table with clean, elegant lines that allows the space to be traditionally classic without getting too precious. The chairs bring the drama factor, slipcovered in gorgeous linen that goes all the way to the floor.

The rug is insanely soft and plays well with the other colors in the room. Speaking of color, I covered the walls and the ceiling—hello, elegant warm drama!—in a cozy mushroom gray with brown undertones. I hung the soft blue linen window treatments just below the ceiling line, helping to draw up the eye. A subtly patterned trim elevates the look.

This large wood-beaded light fixture was the perfect focal point over the table, bringing an elegant, slightly boho chic vibe to the room.

My client and I found the large painting together at an art gallery event one evening and knew we’d found a winner. The wood-and-metal sconces on either side complete the wall.

Now my client’s family enjoys their evening meals in a room that also easily transitions to an elegantly comfortable entertainment space. Change the babies upstairs, it’s time to pop the champagne.