8 Recipes for Modern and Contemporary Dining Rooms
Choose midcentury classics, Scandinavian modern pieces, handcrafted beauties and more to create a yummy dining space
Clean-lined and cold, stark white with perhaps a little Beetlejuice thrown in — this is what modern and contemporary dining rooms may conjure up in our brains. But modern design is about many things, from the playfulness of midcentury style to honoring the way George Nakashima treated a gorgeous slab of wood, from throwing in some Danish hygge to customizing pieces to fit a home. All sorts of ingredients can be combined to create an inviting modern or contemporary dining room.
Going Curvy
Ingredients: White oval pedestal table, walnut chairs, chrome chandelier
In 1956, Eero Saarinen designed his pedestal tables and chairs to “clear up the slum of legs in the U.S. home.” His gracious table sits atop a pedestal base. But we’ll keep a few extra legs, thank you very much. Rich walnut veneer on a more recent design, Jesús Gasca’s Globus chairs, provides contrast, while the curved cutouts on their backs play off the table’s shape. Overhead, a chrome chandelier composed of cup shapes picks up on the chairs’ chrome bases and accents.
Ingredients: White oval pedestal table, walnut chairs, chrome chandelier
In 1956, Eero Saarinen designed his pedestal tables and chairs to “clear up the slum of legs in the U.S. home.” His gracious table sits atop a pedestal base. But we’ll keep a few extra legs, thank you very much. Rich walnut veneer on a more recent design, Jesús Gasca’s Globus chairs, provides contrast, while the curved cutouts on their backs play off the table’s shape. Overhead, a chrome chandelier composed of cup shapes picks up on the chairs’ chrome bases and accents.
Live-Edge Wood and Cones
Ingredients: Live-edge trestle table, conical upholstered chairs, streamlined banquette
The raw edge of this table brings in a woodsy natural element, paired with playful cone-shaped chairs from Verner Panton. Live-edge furniture was made popular by designer George Nakashima, who combined his woodworking skills with modern design.
Slope banquette: Tori Golub Interiors; chandelier: custom, fabricated using Silver Drop pendants handblown by Esque Studio; table: custom, but similar versions are available at Hudson Furniture; chairs: Verner Panton
Ingredients: Live-edge trestle table, conical upholstered chairs, streamlined banquette
The raw edge of this table brings in a woodsy natural element, paired with playful cone-shaped chairs from Verner Panton. Live-edge furniture was made popular by designer George Nakashima, who combined his woodworking skills with modern design.
Slope banquette: Tori Golub Interiors; chandelier: custom, fabricated using Silver Drop pendants handblown by Esque Studio; table: custom, but similar versions are available at Hudson Furniture; chairs: Verner Panton
Classic Scandinavian Modern
Ingredients: Classic Wegner Wishbone chairs, rustic oak table, simple drum pendant light
White walls provide enough balance here for the addition of lots of wood — on the floor, on the beams, on the chairs, on the table. Hans Wegner’s classic Wishbone chairs are always the star, so the choice of a simple reclaimed-wood table makes for a harmonious pairing. The chairs are maple with paper-cord woven seats and the table is white oak. A simple drum pendant overhead adds just the right dose of a warmer white.
Table: Restoration Hardware; chairs: Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son
Ingredients: Classic Wegner Wishbone chairs, rustic oak table, simple drum pendant light
White walls provide enough balance here for the addition of lots of wood — on the floor, on the beams, on the chairs, on the table. Hans Wegner’s classic Wishbone chairs are always the star, so the choice of a simple reclaimed-wood table makes for a harmonious pairing. The chairs are maple with paper-cord woven seats and the table is white oak. A simple drum pendant overhead adds just the right dose of a warmer white.
Table: Restoration Hardware; chairs: Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son
Playful Classics
Ingredients: Noguchi Cyclone table, two-tone Saarinen Executive chairs, veneer light fixture
A funkier version of Saarinen’s Executive chair adds a pop of personality to this dining area. The black plastic backs contrast with the light green upholstered seats. Their metal legs play off the whirling base of
Isamu Noguchi’s classic Cyclone dining table. The wood veneer light fixture looks like something the cyclone swirled up and tossed into the air.
Saarinen Executive chair with plastic back: YLiving; light fixture: Leonardo pendant; Cyclone dining table: Knoll
Ingredients: Noguchi Cyclone table, two-tone Saarinen Executive chairs, veneer light fixture
A funkier version of Saarinen’s Executive chair adds a pop of personality to this dining area. The black plastic backs contrast with the light green upholstered seats. Their metal legs play off the whirling base of
Isamu Noguchi’s classic Cyclone dining table. The wood veneer light fixture looks like something the cyclone swirled up and tossed into the air.
Saarinen Executive chair with plastic back: YLiving; light fixture: Leonardo pendant; Cyclone dining table: Knoll
Rustic and Industrial
Recipe: Live-edge table and bench, hairpin legs, Eames chairs with metal Eiffel bases
A live-edge bench that matches the table provides a clear view of the table’s beauty. On the other side, classic Eames shell chairs with Eiffel bases nod to California’s midcentury modern heyday.
Table and bench: Urban Hardwoods; Eames Molded Plastic side chair with Eiffel base: Herman Miller
Recipe: Live-edge table and bench, hairpin legs, Eames chairs with metal Eiffel bases
A live-edge bench that matches the table provides a clear view of the table’s beauty. On the other side, classic Eames shell chairs with Eiffel bases nod to California’s midcentury modern heyday.
Table and bench: Urban Hardwoods; Eames Molded Plastic side chair with Eiffel base: Herman Miller
Banquette Mix
Ingredients: White oak, copper, gray upholstery, plated copper industrial light
The custom-designed banquette and table both have Scandinavian modern-inspired clean lines and light wood. The dowel details of the white oak table’s legs are particularly interesting. After designing the banquette and table, interior designer Elizabeth Mercer Aurandt added Blu Dot’s Real Good chairs, which bring in an origami-like folded silhouette and the patina of copper. She tied them to the banquette by using the same fabric for chair cushions that she used for the upholstery. She made the light fixture overhead using You Make It instructions by Lindsey Adelman.
Real Good chairs: Blu Dot
Ingredients: White oak, copper, gray upholstery, plated copper industrial light
The custom-designed banquette and table both have Scandinavian modern-inspired clean lines and light wood. The dowel details of the white oak table’s legs are particularly interesting. After designing the banquette and table, interior designer Elizabeth Mercer Aurandt added Blu Dot’s Real Good chairs, which bring in an origami-like folded silhouette and the patina of copper. She tied them to the banquette by using the same fabric for chair cushions that she used for the upholstery. She made the light fixture overhead using You Make It instructions by Lindsey Adelman.
Real Good chairs: Blu Dot
Glass and Pops of Red
Ingredients: Glass-topped table with metal base, modern captain chairs, dashes of red
In many modern and contemporary homes, large expanses of glass maximize the view, and this one across a wooded valley in West Virginia is a doozy. The glass tabletop helps keep the view open and also reflects it. The chairs are a modern plastic take on a traditional wood chair silhouette. Their bright red color is a strong contrast to all that green outside the windows. Barely there glass pendant lights maintain the openness.
Chairs: Baxton Studio; table: Storehouse (discontinued, but here’s a similar one)
More
So Your Style Is: Midcentury Modern
Kitchen Workbook: How to Find Your Kitchen Style
Ingredients: Glass-topped table with metal base, modern captain chairs, dashes of red
In many modern and contemporary homes, large expanses of glass maximize the view, and this one across a wooded valley in West Virginia is a doozy. The glass tabletop helps keep the view open and also reflects it. The chairs are a modern plastic take on a traditional wood chair silhouette. Their bright red color is a strong contrast to all that green outside the windows. Barely there glass pendant lights maintain the openness.
Chairs: Baxton Studio; table: Storehouse (discontinued, but here’s a similar one)
More
So Your Style Is: Midcentury Modern
Kitchen Workbook: How to Find Your Kitchen Style
Ingredients: Wood veneer, bent wood, colorful fiberglass, hairpin legs, white Saucer pendant
Table and chair legs are the key ingredient in this midcentury modern mix. The table has classic hairpin legs while the metal legs of the stackable Eames chairs have an extra flourish on the sides. The bent wood on the end chairs plays off the veneer on the tabletop, allowing for a mix of fiberglass and chair upholstery to add primary colors. Overhead, a classic George Nelson pendant provides a sculptural shape and a glow.