That is an awesome point! Thank you! The dining room is just off of the front door. From the front door you can see the dining room and sitting room (which will be my next project), the sitting room goes up to the 2nd floor. I hope these pics help!

Not a designer, lovely home and good luck!

Taking the carpet out would help tremendously,have you thought about restraining the furniture
And a simpler lite over the table. A fresh coat of paint will certainly freshen up the space.

Hi. Lot's of potential here. Before you do anything, you need to

1) Post a photo here and in your ideabooks of what style you like. That style needs to be carried throughout your home.

(I am seeing glam in the chandelier, MCM in the dining table, in the hall some very traditional items. It just doesn't look pulled together). But, you have some nice pieces and just need some direction.

2) After you have some inspirational photos, then a a floor plan. I don't have the dimensions of the dining room, but just eyeballing, I would eliminate one of the buffets.

The very last thing you should be doing is to add decor.

If you try to just add decor without these first 2 steps, you will continue to struggle and actually waste $.

All the best.....you have a beautiful home.

Hi, there! So many options!

I agree with some comments... 1) Although it's very beautiful, the chandelier is too heavy for the space and doesn't go with the furniture. Not that you cannot have different styles in one room or one home, but it does take a very good design eye to achieve that. 2) The carpeting does need to go, OR you can place an area rug under the table. I just think the colors are all very similar, which a monochromatic scheme can be very beautiful and soothing, but sometimes it can just be rather bland. That said, painting a room (and rearranging furniture) is one of the most inexpensive changes you can make that can have a huge impact. What is your favorite color?

Are the chairs an original part of the table and buffet? Are they something you would consider reupholstering? Can you add two end chairs that have arms but in a slightly different style, maybe something with caning? When furniture is too matchy-matchy, the room lacks depth, if that makes sense. For something less formal, you could also go with a bench on one side of the table or a settee.

Can you use the MCM buffet in a different room and place the other cabinet that is in the room on the wall where the MCM buffet is currently? I like the wood color difference as well as the level change. The MCM cabinet is at a similar height as the table and is also dwarfed by the size of the wall behind it as well as the wall art you have hanging above it, or it could just be the angle of the photo?

Another way you can add height is to panelize the wall (like wainscoting up to 2/3 of the wall or the full wall, in other words, not the half wall with chair rail, which is much more country and again the same height as the table, chairs and buffet), which might also bring in the traditional elements from the rest of your house. The height of the windows on the one wall is very attractive. Another way you can achieve a panelized look is two longer rectangular pieces of wall art that are different but go together placed on either side of the cabinet (but probably not the MCM buffet because again it would just be dwarfed).

Anyway, I hope that helps in some way. I think the issues you are dealing with are mostly proportions (chandelier is too big, MCM buffet is too small), interest in height to move the eye around the room, and lack of color and texture.

Happy decorating!

Hi!

I agree to the comment that suggests reupholstering the chairs, it's a simple change that will provide a lot of impact. Removing the carpet can help too, maybe the floor is darker or lighter and that'll add to the contrast, besides, the texture of the carpet and the chair upholstery is too similar and the blend too much as they are now. What I notice too is that there is little contrast in the shades of the room, try changing the photo to black and white and you'll see what I mean. It looks all the same color and shade, and that reduces interest. Maybe adding lighter and deeper tones will increase interest. I'd add some color too, either changing the picture or the wall paint to add more contrast. For the sides of the buffet, you could add some decorative sculpture and a lamp to add height. You've already done something similar to what I'm suggesting in the entry hall.

I hope the suggestions help!

I am so glad to read the inputs on these rooms as well as furniture and colors. Sometimes we get stuck and not sure which direction to go even though we know some changes need to be made. I am also doing some tweaking in my dinning room so this was very helpful. I do have a question about the buffet. What is MCM ? Very curious

MCM is just short for Mid-Century Modern. ☺️

You have a beautiful home with some gorgeous pieces! I see a lot of my eclectic inspirations here! Some thoughts:

1. Remove carpeting, add a more contemporary/abstract rug that blends colors of entrance and living room.
2. Love, love , love the dark wood buffet. Move this piece to be the focal point from the entrance.
3. Replace chandelier with a lighter weight and more contemporary one.
4. In order to add continuity, stain the legs of the chairs to a darker one, replace upholstery with a simpler lighter color fabric. Possibly stain or add updated pulls to the lighter buffet. This would be placed where the darker one is.
5. OR replace chairs with chairs that have 2 wood tones, possibly high backs.
6. Place a simple contemporary mirror over the buffet. This may help incorporate the modern piece in the entry (beautiful entry).

Idea pic

http://www.houzz.com/sketches/169917494

I also suggest swapping the placement of the buffets. The darker one should be under the picture. Then reupholster the chairs. Bring in colors from the picture, maybe a light blue or a rust for contrast from all the beige. Place a runner on the table too. The lighting is not great but if the chandelier special to you then leave it. It's great having heirlooms but sometimes they need to be jazzed up a bit to work.

I find grey and brown doing go that well together. I think if you change the paint color in the room that will help a lot. If there isn't a color you want to add, then go white. I use Ben Moores "Chantilly Lace": it's bright without being too blue or too yellow.

I really like the drop leaf table. Perhaps put a couple colorful candle holders and/or vase on it, or a colorful tablecloth... I LOVE vintage table cloths! Could go with that style you have.

Some colorful art work too. None of this needs to be that expensive. Or need to replace your grandma's furniture! I have my one grandma's hoosier cabinet in my dining room, and my other grandparents bedroom set. Don't ever let those connections go!!!

I agree with many of the comments here. The rug needs to go and be replaced with an area rug, one that you you like or if you don’t know, one that provides some contrast. If the tile is underneath the current rug, you can just see how it looks for a while (just tile) then buy a rug later. I agree regarding the chandelier not being perfect for the space but it is quite lovely and replacing it would depend on your budget. I also agree that the walls should be painted. I personally would do a white and no one can recommend a particular white shade unless they have been in your house at different times of the day. It is hard but the right white would showcase your beautiful heirloom furniture. Alternatively, the walls can be painted a darker, contrasting color, again, depending on your taste. I know you asked about what you could add to the room as far as decor but I think maybe you don’t need to add anything if you change the floor and walls. Sometimes when you just get the basics right, things fall into place. Also, once you get the basics right, you may find you see things inside your home or in a store when you aren’t even looking that just beg to go into your lovely dining room.

You have some cool pieces to work with and a lovely home! Other than changing the chandelier to something less glam, as others have suggested, I think your DR just needs some LIFE added. I am picturing a tall floor plant, like a ficus or fig tree, to the left of the buffet, and a mother-in-laws tongue on a short pedestal in the right corner. The art over the buffet seems too large to me. Could you swap it with the two framed pieces hanging over the foyer table? (They might be the same over-all size as the single print... hard to tell from the angle of photo!) While you're there, take that center sculptural piece from the foyer and place it right of center on the buffet. A low, MCM-style bowl or tray in wood, ceramic, or mercury glass, perhaps with low succulents, would look nice on the dining table. I am no decorator, but to me MCM furniture needs minimal and natural decorative accents. Also, I like to "shop my house" when I'm redecorating a space to see if I already have something that just needs a new location to make the whole house work better, before I go out to purchase something else! You may already have things elsewhere in the house that would be just right for the DR. Good luck!

As suggested above, I would remove one of the buffets. I would buy higher back chairs such as a Parson chair in an off-white colour (6 chairs around the table). A black airy chandelier, black buffet lamps, a large light colour painting, a set of 3 black framed mirrors on opposite wall to reflect light, a plant in the corner, and a large arrangement at the center of the table on an off-white runner.

Just some photos to show you some options of what I mentioned above. Different types of paneling you could do, the mid-century modern paint colors that you could use on the cabinet wall, which can be toned down to be a tint, tone or shade of the original color. Maybe a complementary color on the chairs. I happen to love color, but I know a lot of people like much more subdued hues. Just suggestions, sometimes its hard to visualize. :)

I don't have any dimensions so it's hard to tell... But I just saw another view of your table which looks rather square, I thought it was rectangular as in the pictures above. So 6 chairs around the table might not work but then I would place 2 chairs on either side with no chairs at the end.

Everything depends on how much money you want to invest in your project. I like the panelling on the upper right corner, also like the style of your chair however it doesn't stand out with your table, everything is more or less the same colour. If you replace the carpet with an area rug, it will have to be quite large so that the table with chairs pulled out will all sit on the area rug, but would be nicer than the existing carpet.

Hi Kristi, your home is beautiful. I can see that you spent a lot of time thinking how to decorate the spaces in the dining room and the foyer and other rooms.

To keep your Grandma's mid century table and buffet, some suggestions only are to remove the carpet, add hardwood or engineered hardwoods, keep the cost lower and replace with area rug. Change the wall colour or paint a wall with an accent colour, could be neutral like a pale blue, sage or even off white, or more dramatic with darker shades of the colours I listed. Yellow is the colour for 2021. Replace the chairs with something more airy feeling and comfortable, same goes with the chandelier, you can keep it but it does lend itself to a larger spanse of space. Brushed gold hues without brassy tones or black accent finishes with clear glass globes for lighting or hardware accents are trending now. Houzz has a great variety of everything you need or Wayfair. The blinds you have give off too much sunlight, that is why they are closed? Opening them will give your room a brighter approach, or update to shutters or if the room does not face the road, put an artifical tree or real tree/plant in the middle and keep the window open for natural sunlight, then once you like your changes add artwork and other embellishments!

I think you could start by relocating your console, desk and buffet tables. The carved wood piece is bulky for that short wall and the glass one in the entry is too airy and open and relates better to your coffee table in your living space, so switching those two will give each space a different feel. The MCM buffet is table height so does not stand out in that space, whereas the darker one on the right side of your dining area, placed under your picture would relate better as it has the darker tones found in the painting and has more texture and height so it will show up more behind your table and hopefully won't be shorter than the painting. The chandelier is too linear and the whole fixture can only be seen from the entry angle of the open dining room so that does not function well for that space even though it is lovely. Tweak and reassess first to see what works and what doesn't.

The dining table and the lighter colored buffet are Heywood Wakefield. This American manufacturer started manufacturing furniture in the early 1900's. Your pieces were manufactured sometime between the very end of the 1930's up through the end of the 1940's and are reflective of the beginning of the mid century modern era.

As others have pointed out, the chandelier is out of proportion and style with the furniture in the dining room. If you are going to design around Gramma's Heywood Wakefield pieces, you might want to research what designers have done with it in terms of colors, light styles and chair styles that are both modern but reflective of the table and buffet. Careful about loading up the room, the style is heavy and can weigh the room down if you don't keep other pieces light.

Do NOT change the colors of the handles or stain on the Heywood Wakefield pieces. Your furniture has value - and making any changes will drop the value and destroy the design value as well.

If you add more dining chairs or change these you could add weight to the feature wall by placing a chair on each side of the buffet. Large potted plants in the room corners helps add texture and soften the many straight lines.

Try switching the the 2 buffets, you’ll have contrast with the dining table as the focal point. The picture above the mcm buffet is too large and not the right style for the buffet. I agree with others about the chandelier being too large for the space, so maybe change that out if budget allows. An area rug would be a great way to bring in some texture and depth. Paint is one of the least expensive ways to change and update a room. Make sure that you use a color that will relate to the rest of your house since it looks to be open concept. Your Mcm pieces are gorgeous that you received from your grandmother. I agree with another poster as to not alter those pieces with painting or staining darker. Start with a few simple inexpensive changes and work from there!! Good luck, you’ll get there!!

Another possible option would be to leave your mcm buffet where it is and change the artwork over it. The hallway art looks to be a bit more modern and the darker frames would be a nice contrast. The floral art would look nice in your entrance above the console. Relates to the rug and looks as though it would better fit the wall. The modern art is more rectangular and looks like it may heighten the dining room. I like your chair pattern/color (from what I can see in the pictures) I would pick a color for the walls to match or come closer to the darker pattern in your chairs. It would also give dramatic contrast to the lighter wood. So many possibilities... have fun with it. Your home is beautiful!!

For me what the room needs is a focal point. With all the colors being neutral or subtle, the effect in the photo is a murky space with no identity. Each piece you have is worth featuring, but their effect is lost in the fog of browns and grey-silver.

I like what you have, would not replace any of it, but would just add color. If you're inexperienced or cautious with using color, think of it as an experiment. As long as it's in the decor it's a small money investment and can be easily or seasonally changed.

Bring in brighter colors with your decorations and I'd fill more of the wall space, at least on one side.

I like one of the commenters idea of placing extra dining chairs beside the buffet. A matching set of "slipper" chairs in a pattern you like (Jacobean, Victorian, Geometric) could add color. I'd stay way from neutral colors and solids.

Wall decorations in colors similar to the chairs could go on the opposite wall to provide balance.

If it was my home I would add plants as other commenters mentioned, but that is not the best approach for a lot of people. If you're not comfortable with live plants, then don't worry about it. There are other ways to add life to a room.

Also, I would not replace the chandelier just yet. Do other, less permanent changes first.

As I'm writing this, I'm thinking of other inexpensive ways for you to experiment with color beyond your comfort level. Try a colorful table cloth or a table runner. Something with deep red roses and green leaves (a Victorian style) would go well under the chandelier and make the inherited furniture stand out. You could try it out for a few months, then add other colorful decorations or discard it without having made any permanet changes.

Thank you to all! What great ideas, Jennifer Morgan, I love the idea of the panels. Would you suggest putting those behind the buffet on the wall that currently has the large picture on it? Or should it go on more than one wall? if just the one long wall, would I be okay putting a buffet in front of it? The large or small one? Thanks again!

I think it could potentially go around the whole room, but just on the wall with the picture on it would work, too. In fact, with the openings you have into the room and the large windows, it might make sense just to do the one wall. I’d put the dark cabinet against that wall. It’s a little bigger and I think might fit the proportions better. Good luck and have fun! I’d love to see the “after” photos!