Keep your dining room table stylish by following this advice from interiors professionals
By Sarah Warwick
At the center of a space, a dining table deserves to be a chic feature. But when adding decorative elements, designers caution that there are some things you should never put on a dining room table if you want it to look stylish and make guests feel at ease.
Whether you regularly entertain, or gather the family around the table, and whether the table is located in a separate room, or in a zone of an open-concept layout dining room ideas should be beautiful as well as practical, and that includes when dressing the table.
So, which items should placed elsewhere? We asked interior designers to share their expertise on what should go and what can stay on a dining table.
5 things to never put on a dining room table
A dining table should be functional as well as elegant, and ensuring what’s put there won’t clutter the space, nor make diners feel uncomfortable is vital. Whichever dining room furniture trend is your favorite, when you’re considering your tablescape, you might want to avoid including these items.
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4. Small accents
Thinking of displaying a multitude of small elements on a dining table since it’s such an expansive space? Purvi Padia, creative director and founder of Purvi Padia Interiors and creator of tabletop collection REVELRY, recommends that you edit down your choices.
‘The most appealing tables in my opinion have pieces that have a bit of weight to ground the look and then other smaller accent elements,’ she says. ‘Too many small accents can look cluttered and confuse the eye.’
On the other hand, what you can multiply up is the number of materials, Purvi says. ‘I am drawn to the idea of mixing all materials – bone china, hand-blown glass, stone, wood, metals – everything is fair game but be sure to use at least three different materials.’
