4 Decorating Ideas for Your Dining Room . . .

That Add Beauty & Style!

Your home should always be a reflection of you. But, many have a hard time coming up with any reflection at all. Following are four decorating ideas for your dining room that add beauty, style and value to your home.

1. Wainscoting: This is an easy do-it-yourself project. It can literally be done in a few hours if you choose to go this route.

Wainscoting adds depth, dimension and character to a room. You can paint it, stain it, or weather it. Paint and/or stain it a different color to add contrast, or use recycled wood (eg, old barn doors) to add character.

Wainscoting is an easy way to completely change the look of a room. For example, if your dining room is a modern, non-descript box, wainscoting can transform it into a country place to eat, give it old-world charm, and/or add dimension to a cold, modern look.

The look you achieve depends on the finish you use, the colors you choose and the installation pattern (eg, around the entire room, or only on part of it).

2.Paint: Paint is an old standby and one of the cheapest ways to transform any room. In addition to the selection of colors though, the various ways you can use paint can change the entire feel of a room.

Subtle, bold, traditional, modern, old-world, etc. Almost any look and/or feel can be achieved with plain old paint.

Decorating with paint tip: Instead of a traditional, "safe" color, try something out of the box. Warm colors like reds, yellows and oranges invite activity. Don't be afraid to go bold.

After all, it's only paint. If you don't like it, you can always paint over it.

3. Lighting: Many are unaware of the effect that lighting has on a room. The first step in choosing the right lighting is to make sure that all areas that you use are sufficiently lit - and that the lighting can be adjusted according to what's going on in the room.

For this reason, recessed lighting is so popular.

As for style choices, try using lighting that you normally wouldn't see in a dining room, eg, lamps. Or, overhead lighting with decorative shades.