Dining Room Furniture & Decorating

Dining Room Furniture & Decorating

Dining is the bright spot in the average man's life. Give him plenty of elbow room, the solid foundation of a comfortable chair, and plenty of light. He is much more interested in a good cut of beef than whether his bald spot shows up in a strong light. Women prefer the kindly, wrinkle-eradicating light of well-shaded candles.

The dining room should boast of essentials only, never superfluities. If occasion permits, the furniture can increase in quality, but it never should in quantity. The table, the chairs, a buffet, a serving table, that is all, be the furniture stained oak or inlaid satin wood.

As a general rule there is a natural balance in a dining room. The doors balance the windows, the fireplace the buffet, whilst the serving table can be placed against the least occupied wall. Having acquired these essentials, see to it that they are kept clear of cluttering objects. More dining rooms suffer from overloading the furniture than from too many pieces.

As for lighting, side lights and candles give the prettiest effects. From the ceiling of many dining rooms descends, like Miss Muffet's spider, a horrible contraption over one's curds and whey. The smaller the dining room, invariably the larger and redder and greener is this drop light. Before a single thing is done in the way of furnishing, have this cut off and, if side lights cannot be substituted, hang a spreading, soft silk shade in place of the

It lends a dining room more distinction and interest if all the pieces of furniture do not exactly match. The day has gone by, happily, when one buys dining room furniture sets. A simple oval mahogany table with Sheraton side chairs may be used with a small French console serving table or inlaid satin wood and a large mahogany buffet of Hepplewhite design. Such a combination gives more character to the room than a complete suite. For this room a small pattern carpet is excellent, as the design is consistent with the scale. Moreover, it is more restful than an Oriental rug.

Such a room would be particularly attractive, if oval in shape. It should, of course, be planned for when the house is built, but a skillful architect can readily change the oblong room into an oval. The ingenuity with which this seemingly impossible change is accomplished, is well repaid by the finished effect.

Colonial dining rooms fit in well with our life, as they make a good background for our heritage of old silver services, china and mahogany. Perhaps no one piece of furniture has been carried to such perfection as the mahogany sideboard. Starting with that, we may build up a room with reproductions, and, adding a portrait over the mantel-piece, we have the nucleus for a really lovely room.

Long Italian refectory tables are much in vogue for dining room use, and such a wonderful assortment of Venetian glass and Italian pottery services and table laces have been put on the market that we have been forced to buy refectory tables to place these treasures upon! If the long narrow table is used, the room must have suitable proportions. It permits of a tete-a-tete luncheon in the middle of the table, or a dinner party of eight or ten. In the latter case we are not limited to our next hand neighbor for entertainment. Perhaps the popularity of the long table is the outcome of fashion's ennui! Moreover, this table lends itself wonderfully to decoration. At tete-a-tete, the flowers and candles may be placed at either end, and when the table is laid for a large company, a row of four candlesticks of black and bronze Venetian glass may be ranged down the board with a large flat bronze glass dish holding fruit, of glass, in the center.

Filet lace covers with Italian tassels go well with this table and if, by chance, the table is painted, the color shows through prettily.

For the background of such dining room furniture the wall could be plain tinted plaster a dull peacock blue or a dull green, if the brown plaster walls are tiresome. The walnut credence to be used with this table as a sideboard and the straight Renaissance chairs must also be furnished with a suitable background. Color can be introduced in warm tone rich linen hangings, preferably something with garlands and baskets of fruit in the design. A room of this elaborateness and formality almost necessitates having a breakfast room light in spirit and delicate in furnishings.

I recall one dining room that emerged from chaos and became most distinctive. It started with the heritage of yellow oak, high wainscot colored glass over-windows, and a yellow oak ceiling from which jutted, like warts, glaring electric bulbs from every cross beam. The furniture was conglomerate - oak, worn through to the nail heads.

First the finish on this oak woodwork was removed, then the wood was stained and waxed to a soft dull brown. The same treatment was given the ceiling, and the electric light boxes were plugged up with simple rosettes. A thin piece of wood, stained to match the woodwork, was placed over the colored glass over-windows in the fashion of a wood panel. The wall was papered above the re-stained wainscot with an unusual paper in a Chinese Canton design with a gray-brown background and plum and green figures. The small side fixtures were wrought iron of Renaissance design and had plum colored glass crystal drops hung on the bobashes. The under-curtains were of thin plum gauze and the over-curtains, made with a flat shaped valance, were of a beautiful quality of heavy green Chinese silk. From the furniture many of the "obtrudances" had been sawed off and it was then painted a dark green with stripes of a lighter tone. Plum colored glass candlesticks were placed on the mantel shelf and a large compote of the same color was put on the table. The rug, from which the room was built up, was an Oriental in shades of green and plum. The room had been worse than commonplace in its previous incarnation. It had now at least, attained an air of distinction.

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