Decor

How to make Your Dining Room Formal & Casual

If only you had a magic decorating genie you could call on whenever it came time to make decisions on how to refurnish a room. One of the problems that makes refurnishing so difficult is that we have so much choice. But that problem is also an opportunity.

If you’re redecorating and refurnishing your dining room you can be torn between two basic directions: formal and casual. A formal décor can give your room the class and style that you’ve always wanted. But many formal dining rooms are rarely used because, well, they can’t be used for anything but formal dining, and that’s not something that happens every day in most people’s homes.

But when you look at casual dining sets, many of them look out of place in anything but a loft-style apartment and they may not have the classy style you were hoping for.

But fear not. Here’s a way to get the style of a formal dining suite with the versatility to make your dining room a place for casual meals and get-togethers.

1. Choose a “Crossover” Style

Whether formal or casual, look for a dining set that isn’t too much of either one.

2. Have Different Seating Options

If your dining room is connected or adjacent to your living room, your family and guests might move between the two rooms, often taking their seats with them. Armchairs can be more comfortable for sitting in the living room where there’s no dining table to rest your arms. A seating bench in your dining set will give you maximum seating capacity for your more popular events.

3. Pick Your Cabinets

A formal china cabinet doesn’t always have the versatility for anything but displaying your china. But a console-sized display cabinet can show off some of your fine dinnerware as well as being a place to store and prepare libations before and after dinner.

Magic decorating genies might not exist, but the professional interior designers at Arrow Furniture are just as good, and they’ll come to your home too! Contact us to learn more.