Today’s dining room is not just a place for food consumption. It’s a social environment, sometimes a homework/project area, often a family meeting spot and gathering place for guests. Multiple demands can be met by this space.  My design studio also serves as my dining room for larger dinner parties. One dining room I designed is home to a baby grand piano.  While renovating an old home, I converted the library room into an intimate dining room;  the bookshelves around the perimeter were replaced with wine racks. Alfresco dining rooms decked out with fine dining and cooking elements are increasingly in demand.

Eating areas in today’s homes are generally adjacent to the kitchen and to the living area, expediting serving and for ease of entertaining. Often these spaces are seen from one another or, as in many modern homes and renovations, a large open space envelops them all. In a well designed interior visually shared spaces are carefully coordinated.  The only jarring adjacencies seen should be intentional.

The basic elements in every dining room are the same.  The artistic pairing and placement of these few elements infused with color and light can produce lively, engaging spaces delightful to eat, work or play in. 

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DINING WITH A MUSE, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

 An unusual combination?  A piano in a dining room?  Maybe, but the baby grand wasn't going to fit in the living room of this Victorian remodel and addition. So, we placed it within earshot in the dining room.  We conceived of the living and dining spaces as one, and used many interior design techniques to tie them together.

Custom rug for the dining room inspired the same pattern to be used in smaller scale as a border in the living room rug.  The custom border was added to a broadloom rug providing continuity and variety at once, while going easier on the budget.  Pocket doors between the two spaces were kept, but are rarely closed.  The rooms share color, detail elements, artwork and more to make them feel as one open space while retaining all the warmth and character of the original fireplace, casing, window trim and pocket doors.  

Custom furniture (TWD designs) includes dining table that expands diagonally in the space to seat 8-10 or serves as a game table. Dining room credenza floats above the floor, tucking itself into the irregular wall while maintaining a continuous face.  The 3/4" squares detailing the dining surface are repeated in 3-dimensions to hold the protective glass top off the wood on the credenza. A happy accident is the reflection of the carpet in the curve of the piano.  

A 10 foot sectional takes advantage of the long wall in the living room.  Material custom woven to my specifications  exchanged warp and weft to subtly vary upholstery fabric from pillow covers.  Steel and Rosso Levanto marble make up the custom coffee table, also long and narrow to accommodate the available space. Classic chairs and chaise (Josep Hoffmann and Le Corbusier) complete the furniture ensemble. Extended from living room into dining room on the wall not shown here is a collection of Andy Warhol's "Diamond Dust Queens". (See photo in living rooms) further knitting the rooms together by design.  Color for these areas was inspired by the exquisite eggplant colored marble on the original fireplace.

OVERLOOKING MILLENIUM PARK, Chicago, IL

This custom dining room table was designed to solve a particular problem: a long, narrow dining room.  The decorating challenge was to create a narrow table where the legs didn't interfere with the chairs, while supporting a 120"' long top.  The solution: instead of corner legs or a solid pedestal base, this table  is supported by intersecting panels held back far enough from the table edge as to not interfere with seating comfort.   To make the top appear more delicate, a deep-angled edge was used.  The long, narrow ellipse feels elegant in the rectangular space it occupies. The grain on the table top miters out from the center.  This simple but elegant solution has been adapted several times to suit other homes with a similar problem.

The ivory strip in the wood flooring suggests a rug where none would be practical.

Ben White (White Light Design)created the ceiling configuration. The custom chandelier was a collaboration.

The green and steel, semi-circular cabinet seen in the background , a TWD design, provides storage on both sides, and conceals the mess that develops in the playroom beyond.  A stainless steel top floating above the cabinet protects the wood from abuse.

ADDITION AND REMODEL, Winnetka, IL

The dining room is the hub of this addition/remodel in Winnetka, IL. The breakfast room (directly ahead) and kitchen (left facing) open into it.  For big family events, the dining and breakfast rooms can be combined.  (French doors (right facing) go out to the deck and BBQ. in the other direction there is access to the home's entry, living room and sun/family room. ) This room is clearly the heart, as such requiring adequate transition space. That important factor led to our decision to run the table lengthwise in the room.  Handsome copper light fixtures punctuate the dining room and their rhythm is terminated by the large copper pendant over the breakfast table.

Spaces that open to each other provide opportunities for wonderful transitions.  The Venetian plaster walls in both dining areas share the texture and olive tone which visually unites them.  The rust dining room walls with copper half-moon sconces frame the opening toward the breakfast area, and the reverse is true looking in the other direction.  Both end walls are composed to provide exceptional terminating views.  I discovered the "rusty" Arts & Crafts metal cabinet serving as a credenza and the two industrial cabinets  while attending an antique show and contacted the client to view them.   Antiques, whether fine ones, rustic or industrial add wonderful character and intelligence to a home, and using existing stuff is sustainable and good for the planet.

A NATURAL PLACE, New Buffalo, MI

Reclaimed wood base with concrete table top, antique French park chairs and a found-object storage cabinet adorn the dining area of this screened porch. Natural stone floors and Fireplace add character. Breathtaking views in all directions.

TINKER TOY TABLE, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

The architects designed and built the booth, so my job was to find or design a table that would snugge into this little Victorian nook off the kitchen. It “took a village” to get the table built. The yellow squiggle is enameled steel, connected to the black wood base by natural stainless steel batons. The violet “W” relates to the ziggurat ends of the fireplace to the right. The turquoise drumserves as a bumper that protects diners from sharp edges. The entire assemblage is topped with glass which had to fit both the ziggurat and the angle of the bench. All fabricators signed off on my drawings. A perfect fit!

AN ARTSY SPOT, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

We revitalized this existing dining table for the new house. The rich grain of the wood, the size (has leafs) and the shape were in it’s favor, but the finish,not so much. Just refinishing the table and accentuating the grain made it worthy of a centerpiece for this handsome dining room. New dining chairs were selected and covered to relate to the adjoining living space. The wine rack/console (custom, by Jim Rose) faces an antique bronze bank table (found in an architectural salvage shop) with cubbies and calendar in tact. (See next photo).  The bank table does double duty as a visual room divider and dining room server.

SUNRISE/SUNSET, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

Continuous washes of colored light from above and below mix at the “horizon” on the back wall of this dining room creating the illusion of sunrises and sunsets. The lighting equipment is hidden inside in the custom-built credenza and above in the soffit. A Lutron dimmer controls the changes of color and timing dissolving one color into another. The hue and grain of the wood suggest sand. Glass atop the credenza is carved to look like the waves washing up on the sand. Additional photos show details of the glass/wood and some of the effects the colored light makes. A layer of white light is added to light the sculpture of a fisherman carved from whalebone and amorphous vessels. A custom carrarra marble base undulates like a wave under the glass top.

AN URBAN MIX. Chicago, IL

Specially designed cabinetry in matte steel and maple maximize storage and feature a niche lighting a Claude Conover vessel. Chairs from the client’s childhood home are adorned with colorful seat pads attached with multi-colored tasseled cord. The 4 color seat pads are all quilted with the pattern of the chair backs. Hardwood floors are stained with a grey tint throughout the first level of this 3-story townhouse renovation. Lighting over the glass table gyrates with air movement producing a kinetic, multi-colored pattern on the ceiling.

A BIRD’S EYE VIEW, New Buffalo, MI

In this Michigan retreat the ample living space is shared by living and dining areas. The dining table of reclaimed wood with the natural irregular edges easily seats twelve. A spectacular view of private beach and lake drove the furniture arrangement. A stainless shelf for serving is cantelievered from a pearwood veneered enclosure which conceals the kitchen. 

Three round linen pendants provide light and visually anchor the dining area.

See more about this space in the Living Room section.

DOUBLE DUTY, Northbrook, IL

Always cognizant of the details, I particularly like the relationship between the table and chair legs in this game area which also serves as an alternate dining space. The hardwood ash floors were set on an angle drawing a visitor’s attention immediately to a wall of art in the living room. (See living rooms).

The panels on the left conceal an entire wall of storage. Wood finger-pulls run the length of the doors rendering hardware unnecessary.

HANCOCK CONNECTION, Chicago, IL

Four condos were joined in this renovation in the John Hancock Building. Walls were carefully removed between units to make one continuous space. Asbestos coating the I-beams made this difficult but not impossible. Also, electric heating wires in the ceiling prevented us from hanging or recessing lighting. We resolved this by floating a box just under the ceiling in which we were able to recess lights over the credenza, drop a pendant over the dining table, and rim the box with lamps that illuminate the original ceiling above.

Another part of the renovation was enlarging the kitchen (behind the custom stained glass doors). We borrowed space from the dining room which was originally a living room in one of the four units.  The glass doors share light and space between the rooms. Additional storage for silver and china is tucked into the sides of the surround, and sconces were added to further light the space. Custom-designed furnishings include the table and credenza. Dining chairs were existing.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, Northbrook, IL

A small alteration in the architecture of this space makes a big difference.  The wall between the dining room and hall was partially removed to provide more visual space to the dining room. The low cabinetry which is accessible from both sides creates definition to both spaces while providing storage. The built-in credenza serves as buffet surface.  The opening also makes the hallway extending beyond to 3 additional bedrooms less confining.  

KEEPING AN EYE OUT, Chicago, IL

For a family of 7, this small niche just off the kitchen provides a nice area for after-school snacks, homework or games within sight of mom while dinner is being prepared.  Vibrant color and playful chairs covered in washable suedecloth make the area kid-friendly while maintaining the overall sophistication of the apartment.