A Modern GemEclectic Dining Room, New York

This eclectic New York City dining room, designed by Christopher Burns, has a chandelier dripping in glass beads, chairs covered in faux cowhide and a high-gloss wood dining table.Chairs: Zeus, Artistic Frame; rug: custom, Patterson Flynn MartinHow to Seat Your Dinner Guests in Comfort

9. A single-use dining room. Don’t get me wrong; I love dining rooms. But they need to work harder than just hosting Sunday dinners.How to break this habit? Choose a complementary auxiliary use, such as a library. I consider dining with books to be the ultimate luxury. Whether talk turns to travel or philosophy, reference materials will be close at hand.

Add a garland to your chandelier. This can be anything from evergreen boughs to strings of beads from the craft store. It’s an easy way to add a festive touch.You can also try switching out your small lampshades. I recently scored brand-new striped mini shades at ReStore for $2 each.

When space is tight, always ask yourself: How can I use this room for two purposes instead of one? Here a dining room doubles as a library. It saves space, and nothing warms up a room like a wall of books.

Some Housekeeping Tips for BooksPull all the books to the edge of the shelf. This simple thing makes a huge impact. Don't worry about the varying sizes of the books; pack them in tightly and pull them forward, and they'll look great even if your shelves aren't as beautiful as these.