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allana_d_amico

Difficult dining room layout, high ceilings and no free walls

Lane D
hace 6 años
última modificación:hace 6 años

I love my new dining room, but I'm having trouble incorporating storage because of the layout. One end has a natural focal point, the fireplace, but furniture can't go on either side because of a window/radiator to the left and an outward opening door to the right. The opposite wall (not pictured) doesn't allow storage either since it has doorways on both ends and that side of the room is essentially a high traffic hallway. That leaves 2 partial walls to work with, but they both have windows or doors on either side, and they aren't even centered in the room or in relation to each other, because of the varying door and window dimensions. Complicating all of this are the high ceilings, which are great, but they make my standing cabinet seem awkwardly short (I've tried it on both walls). I know I need to replace the white cupboard (definitely too short) and possibly the standing cabinet, but I am just stumped about how to make the room functional (I need the storage) without feeling clunky or cluttered. Built ins, besides being expensive, would also throw off the symmetry of the room in relation to the fireplace and other features. Oh yeah, and that box in the corner is my daughter's play house, it can move for events but kinda has to live somewhere in this room when not in use. Any help much appreciated, I am totally stuck! P.s. Click on each photo to see original images (some looked stretched or cropped when I checked this post on my phone).





Respuesta destacada
  • palimpsest
    hace 6 años
    Última modificación: hace 6 años

    I am assuming this is an antique house (0r one built in the style of an antique house. One rarely sees Jib doors, like that to your basement in traditional newer construction.

    If this is indeed an old house, the thing about dining rooms is that (if the house is old enough) dining room furniture was often kept in the "formal" arrangement, which, oddly means that the table was folded mostly shut and if it was multi-piece, parts of it would be lined up against the walls with all the chairs, and then when it was being used it would be pulled out and put in place. And most things would have been kept stored elsewhere. The only side furniture was mostly for serving pieces with food in them when the room was in use.

    Plus they usually have doors and windows and obstructions all over the place.

    My thoughts are, you are limited to a larger piece where you have the midcentury china cupboard and the wall opposite, in each spot. They could be about as tall as the door jambs. But I am not sure I would do that. Maybe you could get a very simple tall and relatively shallow piece for the side with the window on it that is either the trim color or paint it the wall color. That way it will not overpower or affect the symmetry of the room too negatively. On the other hand, this room is not nearly as symmetrical as they sometimes were or the basement door might have been treated like the window opposite, somehow.

    In terms of the furniture, I actually like the modernist table and chairs in this room a lot. If the house is actually early 19th c. the original furniture would have been relatively delicate, things didn't start to get heavier until the middle of the century, and the architecture was getting heavier at that time as well.

    The china cupboard is a little small, and it limits you as well because the glass fronted top requires you to display as well as store the pieces. Maybe you could find something a bit bigger but I would not get anything too heavy looking, I would still probably go contemporary unless you get something really authetically appropriate for the house. I don't think current "traditional" would cut it.

    I would not try to visually lower the ceiling height in any way. The window goes to the ceiling and any moulding intersecting that could be problematic as well as drawing attention to the dropped portions to each side of the fireplace.

    If it's in the budget, I would also replace the chandelier with something a little larger and lower. I would either go "authentic" in which case it would also need to look low enough to reach and light, or I would go contemporary to go with the furniture. There are some very nice starburst type chandeliers on the market now.

    It's really a very nice room, it probably looks great empty, too, which is more than can be said for most.

    Comentarios (32)

    • acm
      hace 6 años

      I don't really see a problem. Your tall piece looks fine -- you could put a single piece (large basket or sculpture) on top or leave as is. Take all the photos off the low piece and instead hang a large single picture over it to help fill the vertical space (no higher than the door frame though). Chandelier could be lower though -- looks about a foot too high.

      Lane D agradeció a acm
    • PRO
      MLB Design Group
      hace 6 años
      Última modificación: hace 6 años

      Because you said this is your "new dining room," I'm guessing you recently moved into this house. My first reaction to your photos is that the furniture seems too contemporary, I think, for this classically designed room. Did you move this furniture here from your previous home?

      I recommend you consider a big round table for this room. I'm not sure how big the room is, but a 60" to 72" round table might work well. Often these come with extenders to allow you to expand the table into an oval for holiday entertaining.

      The basement to the stairs is unfortunately placed in your home, but there's probably not much you can do about that without writing a big check.

      I think I'd place art on the walls adjacent to the window and the basement door -- make it look like Versailles! Then add a 12-15" deep shallow, tall white-painted glass door sideboard at the far wall. Again, without dimensions, it's hard to know exactly what width is right, but something approx as wide as the table seems right. You'll want to hold it away from both the living and kitchen doorways.......center it on the table........as there will be a bit of "walking around it" that will need to happen.

      Here are some photos from Houzz...... none exactly right, but good ideas to consider

      Dining Room · Más información

      Tillinghast · Más información

      Lake Austin · Más información

      Dining Room · Más información

      Colonial Farmhouse · Más información

      Lane D agradeció a MLB Design Group
    • graywings123
      hace 6 años

      If you wanted to bring the height down, you could add picture rail molding 12-18 inches below the ceiling.

      Lane D agradeció a graywings123
    • IdaClaire
      hace 6 años

      I rather like your more contemporary pieces in this very traditional space. I'm also a fan of working with what you have, and I don't think that your tall piece looks out of proportion, necessarily. Do try a large decorative piece (or three) on top of the taller cabinet though, as that is an easy way to add height. Over the smaller piece, you could try a large mirror. (Some people dislike mirrors in dining rooms, but I am not one of them.) You could also hang a large painting there to fill the space. I would start focusing on bringing in these decorative elements to fill out the décor. Not only will a few more pieces of art/décor create more interest in your pretty room, but will also work to draw the eye in to more human proportions instead of focusing up on the tall ceilings. (And how lucky you are to have such pretty tall ceilings! Embrace them!)

      Lane D agradeció a IdaClaire
    • k9arlene
      hace 6 años

      The first thing I'd do is lower the chandelier. Being so high, it draws the eye up emphasizing how tall the ceiling is.

      Lane D agradeció a k9arlene
    • Fun2BHere
      hace 6 años

      What a beautiful, beautiful room...lucky you! Unfortunately, mid-century furniture is relatively small in scale. You can either find a much larger piece to replace your current cabinet or use long low storage pieces on each side with large pieces of art or shelves above to balance them with the tall ceilings if you don't want to do a built-in wall of storage. I don't know how much depth and width you have between studs, but a good cabinet maker might be able to inset a built-in using the existing stud structure so you wouldn't lose so much floor space.


      Lane D agradeció a Fun2BHere
    • PRO
      FMSProjects, Inc.
      hace 6 años

      adding some shelves can be beneficial for some space and look nice if matched to the theme/color of the room.

      Lane D agradeció a FMSProjects, Inc.
    • cawaps
      hace 6 años

      I think the placement of what you have is fine. I see what you mean about the 10-and-and-half foot ceilings making your tall piece look short. Something 2 feet taller and 18 inches wider would probably look better proportioned, but that doesn't mean you have to go out and spend a bunch of $$$ on new pieces. I think acm's suggestion about a basket or sculpture on top of the cabinet would help, and also graywings' suggestion about a picture rail. I have picture rail throughout my house and have painted the wall above the rail the same color as the ceiling--it does bring the ceiling down visually.

      Lane D agradeció a cawaps
    • robo (z6a)
      hace 6 años
      Última modificación: hace 6 años

      I would definitely lower that chandy! Or maybe replace with something modern. I like modern furniture in a trad room.

      How attached are you to that rug?

      My temptation would be tall piece where you have the white piece and get a teak/walnut buffet to go where you have the tall piece with one nice big piece of art on top.

      Lane D agradeció a robo (z6a)
    • IdaClaire
      hace 6 años

      My mockups are pitifully rendered (and I've definitely got things too low in the last pic), but maybe this will give you a slight idea of how the space would look with the chandy lowered and the empty space "filled in" a bit more to visually lower the focus.


      Lane D agradeció a IdaClaire
    • Judy Mishkin
      hace 6 años

      if you need more storage, and have no 'main spaces' for more storage pieces, both storage pieces need to be larger. really thats the beginning and the end of it. the rest is just arm waving.

      adding odd shelves and bit of furniture here and there will only make your otherwise stately room look cluttered. honestly, it doesnt matter that there are no more spaces available. a dining room will rarely have more than 1 piece of freestanding storage anyway.

      Lane D agradeció a Judy Mishkin
    • blfenton
      hace 6 años

      Two suggestions as food for thought - Perhaps change the rug out for something more visually weighted - a smaller pattern, darker colours, whatever to help visually anchor the room down.

      The china cabinet doesn't have to be centered on the wall - if you right center closer to the switches and perhaps add a couple of pictures stacked on the left hand side. Something with some interest and doesn't necessarily have to be colourful, not hung higher than the cabinet will again add some depth to the wall and help keep your eye from wandering up. Centering things is over-rated, what can be more interesting is having things looking visually balanced.

      And I agree with others about lowering the chandelier and also agree buying something in keeping with the look of your furniture.

      The white piece might have been ok except that it's sitting right beside a white radiator which is accentuating both so I would replace that piece.

      Lane D agradeció a blfenton
    • palimpsest
      hace 6 años

      I would paint the radiator the wall color.

      If you got a shallow tall piece, something very plain, and painted it to match the wall color you could probably get something large enough for quite a bit of storage if you need it, because you would be "suppressing" it a bit, so to speak.

    • Olychick
      hace 6 años
      Última modificación: hace 6 años

      I love your room! I think what I would do, is bite the bullet, save my money and move the existing piece to where the short white piece is now and have something like this built in, similar to some pics posted above. Shallow as possible, maybe even over the doorways, too. It will look like part of the house instead of furniture...and let your modern furniture be the star.

      I don't know how wide the hallway opposite the fireplace is, but something like this could work, even if smaller/shallower:

      Lane D agradeció a Olychick
    • Lane D
      Autor original
      hace 6 años
      Última modificación: hace 6 años

      Thank you so much to everyone for your amazing comments so far. This was my first post, and I am really inspired by all the ideas here. Oddly, I feel like I am equally happy now to entertain new options while also feeling confident that my current arrangement could more or less work, with a few minor adjustments. What a great spot to be in!

      As context, here a few comments on your feedback and some answered questions:

      - acm (and several others): I agree, I definitely plan to hang more art to help balance the space, and lowering the chandelier is a great idea. Unfortunately I don't have any more chain to do it with the current fixture, so I will probably need to replace it entirely, unless someone knows a good trick for matching antique chain link?

      - MLB Design Group: thank you! I had not thought of a round table and the idea intrigues me. I've set the chairs in a round formation for now to see how I like it. If it feels good after a few days, I may move the tall cabinet to the wall opposite the fireplace as a placeholder, and eventually get something bigger there if it works, as you suggest.

      - Fun2BHere: that's fascinating about putting the built-in back into the wall between the studs, if I decide to put a larger storage piece there, I will definitely have someone come see if that's an option.

      - palimpsest: wow, what amazing history, thank you for sharing! It really helps me get a sense of how the space was originally used, and how I might harness that in thinking of my own design. I appreciate your follow up renderings and suggestions too. It is indeed a 19th century house, in remarkably great shape, but with certain challenges too (plaster walls, radiators, etc). I am hoping to marry the unique character of these traditional features with my more modern aesthetic, which I sincerely think can be done, and you gave me some great ideas to get started.

      - IdaClaire: your markups are great! really helped me visualize how the room might look more balanced once the chandelier is lowered and more art is hung, thank you!

      - ninigret: totally agree, I don't want the room to feel cluttered, which is why I want to make sure to get the few pieces of furniture I do have right. "Stately" is the perfect word for it.

      - robo (z6a) (and others): not really attached to the rug, although I do think it helps brighten and modernize things a bit (perhaps too much?) I'll look into other options, luckily that's a somewhat easy update I can do anytime.

      Thanks again everyone, and if you have more ideas, please feel free to post. This has been so helpful!

    • User
      hace 6 años

      I love your room -- my dining room is similar but smaller and shorter (LOL) -- but lots of windows and doors and very little wall space. . . . and a fireplace which with the doors on either side takes up an entire wall. I'm sure a lot of people may comment on my style and although it's an old house it's not an ancient house (1920) but just trying to help with how to put furniture.

      I like the fact that you're keeping your furniture and think that it will look fine in the room.


      One wall is a fireplace and two doors (one to the kitchen/one to the powder room) -- that wall is basically useless (except for mantle decor), the next wall has a space between and a single window on each side. I put a sideboard there. The next wall has a double window in the middle and space on either end. We put a 1890 curved glass china cabinet and an armoire there -- one piece on each side of the window (the china cabinet holding my china and the armoire holding our crystal) The pieces may be close in age but not necessarily close in style and they don't match the sideboard or table. The last wall is a big opening to the living room so it is useless for furniture. I am enclosing a picture of the dining room which may or may not help.

      And the fireplace wall:

      Lane D agradeció a User
    • House Vixen
      hace 6 años
      Última modificación: hace 6 años

      Hi Lane --

      What a gorgeous room; congrats on the new place! I can't believe how tall that window goes. I really like your table and chairs and am excited to see how things will come together.

      I have figured out that while I love high ceilings, I get a bit uncomfortable psychologically if the room is (or feels) taller than it is wide.

      BUT...luckily there are some tricks that I feel make those rooms more human-centric.

      The easiest for you would be to create a strong visual line around the room at a lower height.

      I'm thinking the sconces' height ( ~ is that 8 ft?) might be a good one to pick since it won't compete with window or doorway heights -- see how it feels. Now the eye skips around a lot because of the varying heights -- put a bit more standardization in place and it's immediately calmer.

      Photos for forum threads · Más información

      Whatever height you pick, would use that point as your throughline to incorporate the great ideas upthread -- something on top of the taller cab, artwork over the lower cab (or new tall storage there). Don't forget over the playhouse. ;)

      An exception to that suggestion is chandelier height -- I agree with lowering it, just aim for it to hit lower or higher than whatever you pick as your "horizontal" point to keep things from being TOO same-y same-y.

      I also agree with painting the radiator the same shade as the wall to help it recede.

      And I know you didn't ask, but I might try removing the rug and seeing how the space feels. For me the color's not doing much for your floors and walls and the pattern isn't relating well to the chairs. But rugs are personal and you're the one there so if you love it, you love it! [I could see it working in another room, depending.]

      Good luck! I think a few small changes will really make the difference (though some of the "large" ones like built-ins would sure be amazing!).

      Lane D agradeció a House Vixen
    • nosoccermom
      hace 6 años
      Última modificación: hace 6 años

      Wow, gorgeous space!

      I haven't read the responses, but here's my two cents:

      I really like the contemporary furniture and rug in your traditional room, with the more traditional elements, i.e. the silver and the portrait, sconces.

      I'd lower the chandelier (love the traditional chandelier with the contemporary vibe).

      Ditch the small family pics on that console and add a big piece of art or black and white photo over it.If cost is an issue, get engineering prints made.

      Maybe look into a floating IKEA Besta? Would that work with the current console?


      If budget is an issue, you could also get IKEA Vittsbo and spray paint (or not).

      And I'd google Swedish, Scandinavian decor.

      Lane D agradeció a nosoccermom
    • just_terrilynn
      hace 6 años

      Beautiful home! I'm seeing a change of light and painted ceiling. Maybe no rug or a different rug.

      Lane D agradeció a just_terrilynn
    • Pipdog
      hace 6 años
      Última modificación: hace 6 años

      I love that Sputnik chandelier, justerrilynn. Also, there's the urchin chandelier, which would look really cool in Lane D's beautiful dining room paired with the traditional style and modern furniture.



      Lane D agradeció a Pipdog
    • powermuffin
      hace 6 años

      I think Pal has the right idea and I agree about the rug not doing anything for the room, but it may be that accessories could help tie the rug into the room, making the rug a better fit.

      You could investigate building/having built a simple side board or credenza that goes completely across that wall to cover the radiator without changing its functionality. If painted the wall color, it would make that wall less chopped up. You can Google radiator covers to get ideas. Most allow for maintenance of the rad.

      Lane D agradeció a powermuffin
    • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
      hace 6 años
      Última modificación: hace 6 años

      What a lovely room. I wonder if you might try hanging the painting over the fireplace to give that area some height. I would keep the modern furniture if that's what you'd rather do, but would suggest an Oriental rug, the tribal kind, which goes well with modern furniture. Here is mine, although the furniture is not modern, but this style lends itself to modern much more than traditional Persian rugs. At the same time, the more "traditional" style and the introduction of color will marry your contemporary style to the beautiful traditional frame of your dining room.

      Martha, I really like your dining room. In some ways it's a period piece, but the simplicity and lightness of the sheer curtains and the lack of clutter also bring it into this century and make it very livable.


      Lane D agradeció a ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
      hace 6 años
      Última modificación: hace 6 años

      I love your room and I love the juxtaposition of modern furnishings and lighting with old homes as well as the reverse (sometimes, depends on type of antiques someone places in a modern home-not Victorian for sure). Along those lines, I would definitely go with a George Nelson bubble lamp or a Herman Miller saucer. I think either would look spectacular, unexpected, yet perfect. I get bored with just recreating furniture/lighting as it might have been used 200 or 300 years ago in a home. Before everyone rips into me, I do respect old places-love them in fact, and would try to be true to the spirit of a house when renovating a kitchen or bath for instance. However, I also think you can have fun with things that are easily changed. The lighting I suggested would certainly complement your architecture.

      Lane D agradeció a cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    • Beth
      hace 6 años

      Once you get the room figured out, perhaps you and your daughter could find some contact paper and make her playhouse coordinate? She might find that super cool -- - being a part of the decorating herself.


      Lane D agradeció a Beth
    • Elaine Wilson
      hace 6 años

      Cool room, love the mix. Lower the chandelier?

      I don't know, those rules are sorta at your disposal...though lol, I might lower it just a little BUT, if you could get a longer cord and chain you might use a hook on the ceiling and swing it back (opposite direction of the fireplace) a foot or foot and half.

      I love the lacquer buffet but I would opt for one large cement planter or something (said the person with a bunch of frames scattered on her buffet)...it's sentimental, keep it just as it is, but get that table moved away from the fireplace a bit.

      Absolutely love what you have done.

      Elaine

      Lane D agradeció a Elaine Wilson
    • Elaine Wilson
      hace 6 años

      And for the love of all things decorating...please please do not put a little box of boxes from anywhere and hang it on the wall for your pictures. I think you know better anyhow.

    • Lane D
      Autor original
      hace 6 años

      Thanks everyone for this latest batch of comments! Amazing chandelier suggestions, I think I said "ooohhh, ahhhhh" for each and every one. I think my next steps will be:

      - Establish a strong visual line around the room to help humanize the proportions, as per House Vixen. The sconces feel a tad too low if I'm using that height around the whole room (they're actually only 6 feet off the ground) but I hung the portrait of my Nana so the top of the frame is at 7 feet, and that seems like it would be a good height, still not competing with the doors or insanely tall window frame.

      - Roll up and remove the rug for a while, see how it looks, possibly replace. I like the suggestion from ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 to consider a tribal style oriental rug. I've seen some that still look very contemporary.

      - Lower the chandelier (that seems unanimous) and consider replacing with one of the stunning styles above. Question for everyone: if I replaced the chandelier with something in a burst style (I'm leaning toward urchin or sputnik at the moment), what should I do with the sconces? Any other easy lighting adjustments you can think of? The current chandelier and sconces are on dimmers which helps a lot, but I wouldn't mind having a few other lamps in the room for balance.

      - Another question: How does everyone feel about plants? A ZZ or snake plant are probably my best options given the light in this room, and I have a few cool planters, but I'm curious about size and placement. Or skip altogether, since it's a dining room?

      Besides trying to strike the right balance between modern and traditional, I'm also trying to be realistic about the function of this room, which is as a major thoroughfare in a family home without much extra space. In other words, while I would love for this room to look like it does in this photo much of the time, realistically I'll spend much more time using the table for arts and crafts with my toddler, sorting mail on it with my husband, and throwing board games, blocks, and other toys into the storage than actually dining there (thankfully we have a bright and lovely breakfast room at the end of our kitchen where we eat our everyday meals).

      Oh yeah, a few more quick questions:

      - Still paint the radiator to match the walls, even though I have 10 inch high white baseboards? Wouldn't that look a bit odd, to have a gray radiator in front of a white baseboard?

      - Some other ideas for family photo displays? Honestly, I'm hoping that once I put a big piece of art above the sideboard, I can keep the frames there (below the art) and they'll blend in a bit better instead of standing out so much and looking cluttered. But if that doesn't work, it'd be nice to have other options (besides, as Elaine Wilson said) hanging them in an odd little arrangement on the wall.

      Thanks everyone!

    • Elaine Wilson
      hace 6 años

      This is how ADD I am. I didn't even see your question on storage needs...I just read the title.

      I like your rug very much. I love the whole damn room.

      I like the current chandy. I'm afraid if you change it the room will start looking "over thought"....and you know what that does to decor....Zzzzzzz.

      P.s. I have Daystrom chairs at my dinning table very similar in shape to yours.


    • amykath
      hace 6 años

      I love the gold shelving piece (the last one) that nosoccermom posted! That would look amazing!

    • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
      hace 6 años

      If you were to get another rug, I would suggest looking for an elongated ceramic dish with a modern vibe that echoes some of the colors in the rug. That would warm up the dark table and can still be easily moved aside for projects, etc. As for the family photos I perhaps remove one and put them all in metal frames. They will look more integrated and elegant; right now the wood frames look a little cheap for this wonderful room. The radiator doesn't seem like a big issue to me. I would consider painting the big hutch black to give it a more modern look. Right now it looks somehow less special than the surroundings warrant. I love the idea of putting paper on your daughter's playhouse to complement the new painting and/or rug. If you opt for a very modern chandelier I'm afraid the sconces would need to be changed. I'm very much looking forward to any and all changes you'll be making. Please do keep us posted.

    • Elaine Wilson
      hace 6 años

      PAINT THE HUTCH BLACK?????? Pretty sure that's a Keller piece that sells for somewhere around 600 bucks. Sure paint it black to take it's historical value down to about 50 bucks.

      The wood on the hutch looks wonderful with your chairs and I know you know that!

      Don't decorate the damn toys! The day's are long and the years are short. What I would give for primary colored toys all over my floors again, legos stuck between my toes and toy guns adorning my coffee table.!!!!

      Gawd, I need a cigarette.

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