Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
a_hopler

How to arrange dining room furniture?

a_hopler
last year

This dining room is smaller than in our previous homes, and I’m struggling with how to lay out the two china cabinets. The set was a wedding gift from my in-laws, so all pieces need to stay. Would you put both pieces along the same wall? Pardon all the clutter, as our last unfinished room it’s become my husband’s delivery drop zone.







Comments (14)

  • Jilly
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Is there any other room the smaller one could go? It’s a great piece, I could see it being used in lots of ways — bookcase, TV console, entry console, bathroom cabinet, etc.

  • auntthelma
    last year
    last modified: last year

    The big one doesnt fit on the end wall? id have the big one on the end wall, if it fits, and the small one, as Jilly suggests, in the library or living room. Im looking again, are their three pieces?

    what a beautiful set.

  • a_hopler
    Original Author
    last year
    last modified: last year

    There isn’t an open end wall sadly. At one end are the windows, and the other is the doorway to the dining room with open shelving on either side. The smaller one doesn’t fit in the entry or living room right now. It also holds our china, so needs to be kept out of the direct destruction path of my two small kids.

  • chispa
    last year

    I would not put both pieces on the same wall. It will just look crowded and cluttered.

    If you feel you have to keep all the pieces, then you need to find a another place in the house to place it.


  • RTHawk
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I agree to move the smaller one to a different room. But if you want to keep both in the dining room, I would put them side by side and then put a print/tall lamp, etc. on the small one to balance the height of the hutch - something like this but with something above the shorter cabinet.



    You have two choices - the wall between the window and open shelves or the wall separating dining room from kitchen. If you don't have furniture sliders, get those so you can easily move the cabinets while you try different arrangements.





    a_hopler thanked RTHawk
  • a_hopler
    Original Author
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Beverly that is beautiful, thank you! Updating our lighting is on my list. RTHawk, thank you for the diagram! The smaller one has to stay in that room for now due to space limitations, but we can probably move it to the entry in a few years when the kids are less likely to break all the china when passing through or if we decide to rehome the piano in our LR.

  • a_hopler
    Original Author
    last year

    Would putting a tall floor plant in the corner (ie maybe olive or eucalyptus tree) behind the angled cabinet make that placement more forgiving, or is that beyond help?

  • User
    last year

    What are you storing in the larger cabinet? Can you possibly rearrange your stuff so that China is in the large China cabinet? If things in the large cabinet are not used regularly, can they be stored elsewhere? For example, the large platter is taking up prime space. Could it be displayed elsewhere? Think outside the box. Your new home has new needs which may require new uses for your pieces. The room needs to be like Beverly illustrated or the smaller one needs another place in your house to call home.

  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    last year

    Yes, a tree in the corner will ad texture and interest to the room.

    These are faux trees that I found and like their realism.





    a_hopler thanked BeverlyFLADeziner
  • a_hopler
    Original Author
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Larger cabinet is mostly wine glasses, plus overflow china and silverware, candlesticks/candles, seasonal decor, and napkins/placemats. Moving the smaller cabinet flat against the wall would leave 36” between it and the table, which is the same as the clearance btw table and bigger hutch.

  • User
    last year

    That’s great!

  • kcooz07
    last year

    I agree with rtpaige about thinking of what is stored where. If there is room in the entry for the smaller cabinet, couldn't you put the china in the hutch and move things like candles, seasonal decor etc. elsewhere?

  • coray
    last year

    If you do get a plant and have decent light, get a real one…..they’re good for the air in your home.