I would move the fixture.

The dining room really should have been designed from the beginning to carry a piece of furniture along that wall anyway, not as if there was only going to be a table in the middle of the room and nothing else.

It's a beautiful set! I would change the light fixture to something less modern and center it over the table like you said. You can disguise the shortness of the hutch with an extra large piece of artwork hung up over it. Or a large grouping of artwork, like one of those canvas art sets where there's a picture spread out over 3 canvases.

I don't think the table being off-center of the room is a problem. If you put an area rug directly under the table, so the table is centered on the rug, it will help to ground it and hide the fact that it's not centered on the room.

You could use the top for display as well.

Notice the ceiling height (probably 12-14') in these Greek Revival Houses, and then look at the relative small scale of the furniture. You do not need to fill up high ceilinged rooms with tall furniture.

Good points and much appreciated!

What is on the wall that you're not showing in photos? (Behind you)

The kitchen. Open floor plan

I like your mothers furniture very much. An additional point of view. Have you thought about breaking up the hutch from the display? You may be able to move the hutch to under the windows [it looks like it would fit}. Use the top part for display to another wall/ space. And then you can center the table under a new light with a new new rug. And add art on the walls.

Beautiful furniture. I'm not a designer but hope you find a way to keep it.

Jane

I am in agreement with aelem and would modify the buffet/hutch. Pix below would be ideal, but you don't have room on that wall if you want to center the table. Still, you might consider detaching the base piece from the legs and the glass display. Wall mount the base to float, or with legs, to stand under the windows at the end. If the top scars from removal of the display, top it with stone. Get an electrician to move the light fixture so the table is far enough away to add a rug, which (should be 36-42" larger than the table top and not run into the buffet. The display doesn't seem to be as deep as the base so you may be able to wall mount it where it is. Then have the electrician run a new outlet from a lower one to a spot behind the display, so you can turn the its lights on without the cord showing. The bottom of the display may not be much of an issue after removal of the supports, but you could probably have a pro do a repair and restain to hide any scars underneath it. You could also use the display in another room so you could put art above the base. It might even work as a credenza under a TV with gear and DVDs inside.

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Topped with stone.

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Why move the light fixture?

Just get an additional piece of chain and attach it to the existing one and swag the fixture to a decorative hanging hook you screw into the ceiling where you want it to be.

Make sure it's the correct type of hook, and maybe it needs to be hung into a joist.

If your honey is not good at these honey-do things, hire someone who is.

Your table is a fine width. They sell dining room tables that are 36"!

As for the buffet:

You have some options:

1. Remove the hutch.

The upside of that is that it won't look so mid-century modern.

The downside of that is that it won't really look particularly mid-century modern and will look like any table and buffet you walked into a Scandinavian Design store today and purchased off the floor.

2. Leave the whole thing as is and put nothing above it. Free space lets you breathe.

3. Leave the whole thing as is and put something above it that is long and horizontal such as a piece of art or textile art. A framed obi would be stunning. (Frank Lloyd Wright used a lot of the Japanese esthetic.) A row of tiles, Batchelder decorative tile would be perfect, or any Arts & Crafts type tile would be perfect.

4. The legs of the hutch probably screw off. You can remove them and affix the whole buffet (with or without the hutch) to the wall 12-18 inches off the ground (attached to studs all along its length) as shown in a photo above. Then you won't have so much space above, and you may or may not feel the need to put something above.

Great ideas! Thank you soooo much!

Loobab, I learned some new things from your post as I had to look up batchelder tiles and obi art! Very interesting! Everyone has been so helpful. Sounds like I need some large, horizontal artwork (not vertical as I would have thought). I am still considering removing the glass hutch. Although the table and credenza are solid teak, we discovered when moving it that the hutch is teak veneer (and had to repair a small area that was coming unglued). My house is more transitional so I don’t want this area to look too modern. If I leave the credenza where it is and put an area rug right up to it, will that look “off” since the rug will be close to the right wall but not close to the left wall? Any ideas for a light fixture that is more transitional yet updated (but not too too modern)? Thanks again for all the advice! I’m beginning to think this may all work out!

Ooh. Fabulous furniture. When I read the dilemma headline I figured it would be an uber traditional dining set (that are mostly impossible to integrate well into non-traditional homes), but this is really great.

Palimpsest, good points. Thanks.

What a beautiful set!

Once you start accessorizing it will come together.

1. Area rug

2. Windows need to be dressed

3. The right accessories in the glass hutch and on the console will make all the difference. I would choose White vase, bowl, dishes, cups, etc. Play around and it will come together.

4. The light fixture can be fixed with a chain (that would be a budget fix) but I think you can do better and find a light that really fits the room. I would do that last.

For height, can the hutch be hung as a floating shelf above the buffet?

It's a lovely dining room set and what you need are some soft furnishings. Dining rooms are challenging since there are a lot of hard surfaces. White linen curtain panels would soften the room without darkening it or impeding light. Consider a large area rug centered in the room, which would give you the space to move the chairs in and out without them being partly on the rug and partly on the floor. Maybe a 10' x 14' rug in an abstract or geometric pattern to add color as well as softness?

https://www.westelm.com/products/abstract-lines-rug-t2181/?pkey=call-rugs

https://www.wayfair.com/rugs/pdp/corrigan-studio-charbonneau-geometric-hand-tufted-wool-red-area-rug-w002092559.html?piid=234109140

https://www.wayfair.com/rugs/pdp/mercury-row-sandin-geometric-hand-tufted-wool-bright-blue-rug-w000883958.html?piid=1094610817

winendine5-

I wouldn't choose artwork that is too tall- You don't want it to go higher than the windows on the opposite wall, and it should be placed approximately 6 inches over the hutch.

As for a light fixture, I have lots of ideas, but they all cost a fortune.

I like the ones that look like paper sculpture.

Isamu Noguchi did these, and his stuff costs a fortune.

You can buy knock off of his and others even at Ikea.

You just need to be careful, the cheap knock-off look, well cheap and can only carry a 100 watt bulb which is not enough illumination for the size of your room.

Here are some that I like.

I definitely think you should go with a curvy light fixture because your table and hutch are so rectilinear.

These are fun too, and although these come in the brown family, I show these in gold in case you like a touch of glam, they are Corbett, and their lights are just marvelous, aren't they?

Something else for you to think about-

While of course you want an overhead, you don't want too too much light overhead while you are eating, but you need to have the wattage in the room for cleaning up.

You might want to think about also getting coordinating wall sconces for the wall on either side of the buffet.

I see one outlet there, there may one on the other side.

It is easy for an electrician to fish tape the wiring for the sconce behind the wall to the back of the outlet so it is not visible.

You would want a sconce that coordinates with the ceiling fixture, and of course, the ceiling fixture should be on a dimmer.

If it doesn't come that way, the electrician can do that for you.

Don't use a doofus from the store, get a good experienced recommended one that was union trained.

As for the rug, you have to have 18 inches of floor around all sides of the rug.

And the rug has to be large enough on all sides so that even when the chairs are pulled out for people to be seated or to get up from the table, the chairs will still be on the rug.

So, do you still have enough space for a rug?

You don't need to have a rug in that room.

If you decorate well, you will have interest and color.

You need three feet of space from the table to a wall or piece of furniture to ensure that a person has enough room to get in or out.

I am more concerned that your guests are not cramped.

Please measure the space in between the table and the buffet.

Agreed. Definitely get a rug and a new light fixture.

Crown molding? With curtains.

Wallpaper?

Amazing pieces!!! Lovely space :)

Visual💖

Njmomma, I like the idea of white accessories. Thanks!
Loobab, thanks for the lighting suggestions - very helpful to visualize. And the artwork dimensions - I would have gone higher than the windows.
Diana Bier, if I center a rug that is large enough for the chairs, then the buffet will be half on and half off. Would that look right? There is 29” between the table and buffet and 42” between table and wall. Would it look odd against the windows if I moved the table farther right?

Maybe this is a room for drapery or wallpaper rather than an area rug. I feel like a lot of area rugs don't do well with chairs being pulled back and forth on them --or maybe the chairs are difficult to manage on area rugs.

One thing that was a positive about wall to wall carpet is that it did not bunch or walk under chairs. Of course when we ate in the formal dining room (house built in 1960s--carpeted) we essentially swept the floor right after dinner and then vacuumed it the next morning, lots of maintenance.

You could do a low pile Wilton weave or berber, or even seagrass wall to wall

"There is 29” between the table and buffet and 42” between table and wall."

Wall on the right or the left?

Please give all the measurements to the right and left of the table and include the depth of the buffet.

You can also draw a picture on graph paper with a ruler, that will help.

And make a scale, like 4 boxes equals a foot and put that on the paper so we get an idea.

Hah, listen to me, pencil and graph paper and ruler, I am so old school!

People do these things on computer these days.

Well, you can do it on paper and if it is neat, we can still read it.

Ha! I tried to print a piece of graph paper and draw it but that was a disaster!
Dining area (open to kitchen/great room): 11’ wide x 12’ long
Center of windows on back wall: 66” from each side
Table: 103” x 42” (with one leaf. If leaf removed it is 77” long)
Buffet: 86” x 18”

If I center table between outside edge of buffet and wall, it is way off center from light and center of windows. Maybe that’s not a big thing. I’m a black and white type of person so can’t visualize things that aren’t “orderly”!

winendine5-

You do not enough space for an area rug in that dining room.

You only have exactly enough space for the table and chairs and buffet.

Not an extra inch of space.

Not a problem, there are plenty of ways to add color to the room.

And when you are eating in there, the food adds color as well, in addition to the centerpiece.

I don't know if you are going to keep the color of the chair upholstery, but that is easy enough to change if you want, to either a solid or print.

I like white or off-white curtains, and you can add a trim on the edges that coordinates with whatever color chair seat you choose.

I would suggest eating at the table and sitting at it for a good 2-2.5 hours as you would for a dinner party. Somehow the spokes of the back of the chair don't look particularly comfortable. If they are not, you can have cushions made for the back of the chair.

I would also not center the table exactly, move it a bit closer to the windows than the buffet.

After all, if chairs bump the window wall, that is an easy fix with spackle and paint.

If they bump the buffet, terrible!

And be sure to seat your larger guests on the window wall.

You can also purchase thing-a ma-bobs with the wool felt for the bottoms of your chairs so they don't mar your wood floors when the chairs are pulled out and pushed in as you won't be having a rug in the room.

When other elements (rug, window treatment, art) is introduced, I don't think you'll notice the asymmetry. I love the furniture, but I have to admit that I don't think the buffet is quite working there. For some reason I want to see that buffet on the right hand window wall, bridging the space between dining and the kitchen/great room (not part of the dining 11x12) -- but I don't know if you have wall space there to do that. If you do, then you could satisfy your urge for symmetry in the dining room, either by omitting a buffet/server, using a shallow, wall hung unit, or similar. I think the buffet looks better viewed from more distance than you have in the dining room.

I also think that the windows would look more unified with outside mounted roman shades that cover two windows, rather than each window with its own shade. That could be a way to introduce color, pattern, or texture to the room, as well.

If you are comfortable posting a few photos of the adjacent room, it would be helpful to see how your mother's furniture relates to other furniture that you have, and perhaps how that would influence the dining room lighting, window treatments, area rug, etc.

We think adding a rug, large piece of artwork over the buffet, and a new chandelier would make this space feel more complete. Please look to our designs here for ideas for all of the above.

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Everyone has been so helpful! Now that the holidays are over I am going to finish this project….2 questions, would a large round mirror look ok above the buffet / hutch? I attached a picture of what I’m considering. Also, will a rug look ok if it extends from the right wall to edge of buffet (buffet would be on floor - not on rug)? TIA!

With the hutch being 61" in height, I think a long horizontal piece of art would work better than a round mirror which seems sort of discordant opposite the windows on the two other walls.

As for the rug placement, you can mock up the size with painter's tape on the floor to get an idea of where it will sit in the room. The table should be centered on the rug though that may have it be closer to the wall on the right and not so much under the hutch just as you suspect in your update. I'd choose a low pile flat rug and interesting mid-mod or Scandi lighting fixture first before selecting wall decor/art. The furniture is terrific!

Thanks so much, tlynn1960, for the feedback and suggestions! I like the fixtures that loobab posted earlier in this thread and hope to find something similar that won’t break the bank. We are having plantation shutters installed so that will provide some window framing, too.