Traditional dining room

American chef Alice Waters once said, “This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive.” As avid entertainers ourselves, we couldn’t agree more. When it comes to the furniture in your dining room, it’s always fun to mix and match. You may worry about whether it’s okay if it doesn’t all ‘match’, but let us soothe your worries! Mixing and matching helps the space feel collected and inviting. Plus, it makes your dining room look custom.

If you’d like to give mixing a shot, keep the following tips in mind.

Diversify Your Chairs
While most of the chairs at your table should match, opt for different head chairs. Traditionally speaking, these chairs usually have arms and are slightly larger to reflect the importance of this position at the table. While we don’t take seating positions too seriously nowadays, some contrast is always beautiful.

You Don’t Have to Stick to One Style
Just because you have a traditional dining table doesn’t mean that you have to stick to traditional chairs. Pairing modern chairs with a more traditional table can provide a look that is fresh, interesting, and unique. This can work both ways too! If you have a modern table, add traditional upholstered chairs for a dining space that has a good balance of formal and approachable.

Mix Wood Tone and Texture
Mixing wood tones and/or textures can create a space that feels professionally designed. Not only will it provide more visual interest, but it adds contrast in a way that will never go out of style. If you have a darker table, opt for lighter wood toned or upholstered chairs to help break up the brown hues.

How to Update Without Replacing Everything
If you have a matchy matchy dining set right now, we’re by no means saying that you should toss everything out and start over! At the end of the day, it all comes down to style preference. That being said, if you’d like to venture into the world of mixing and matching but don’t want to replace everything, there are still things you can do!

1. Replace just your head chairs. This is cheaper than replacing everything and will still begin to eliminate the matchy matchy feel.
2. Reupholster the seats. Switching out old fabric with something fresh and new will transform your space. Plus, with endless choices in fabric, you have total design freedom!
3. Paint, paint, and paint! We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again… a coat of paint can make a huge difference! Whether you decide to paint your chairs or the table, this trick will work wonders.

Chairs and Tables We Love:
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Happy mixing!