From my experience designing home projects, there is one update that packs a HUGE punch when it comes to transforming a dining room, and that’s giving those walls some love!
Today I’m walking you through some amazing ideas that will give you that instant update you’re looking for.
1. Functional and Chic
I am all about furniture that can do more than one job. I mean, your options are not just limited to a table and chairs! Putting a cabinet against a blank wall can make the whole space feel so much more complete and gives you extra storage right where you need it. I love this idea!
You can get so creative here. You can totally look beyond typical dining room furniture and think about using pieces like vanities, dressers, or even desks. And if you have a small dining room, a corner cabinet is such a smart way to save space.
Before you start shopping, it helps to know what style you’re going for. Are you dreaming of a vintage china cabinet or something more like a sleek, mid-century modern sideboard? So many possibilities!
Plus, you can use the surface on top to show off some of your favorite decor. I’ve seen clients use shorter cabinets as a serving bar when they have guests, which is just brilliant.
And if you want to keep things looking tidy, just go for a cabinet with solid doors instead of glass to hide any clutter.
2. Reflecting Style
A mirror is such a fantastic piece of decor because it literally works with any design trend out there. It’s one of my go-to tricks! Mirrors can also make a room feel so much bigger and brighter, which makes me so happy.
You can use a mirror to bounce the natural light from your windows all around the room. I love this technique because you can basically double the windows in your dining space without any construction. What a great idea!
If you place it strategically, a mirror can also help your dining room feel more connected to another part of your home, like the kitchen or living room. A great way to brighten up a wall and keep it from feeling too heavy is to hang your mirror against a dark or textured background.
Of course, not all mirrors are the same, so it’s all about finding a style that really fits with the decor you already have. Frameless mirrors look amazing in any modern or contemporary space. Or, for a beautiful focal point, try looking for a circular mirror to put on your dining room’s back wall.
3. Enhancing Elegance
I know wall molding can sometimes have a reputation for being a little old-fashioned or too much. But you can actually use this decorative touch in a way that’s super subtle and contemporary.
Things like chair rails, paneling, and wainscoting can bring so much life to a dining room wall that’s just one color.
Using a chair rail or wainscoting is a great way to break up a room vertically. If you use white or your favorite neutral on the bottom half, it can make the whole space feel larger. Then you can paint a more vibrant color on top without making the room feel closed in.
Another beautiful strategy is to use an accent color just for the wainscoting. You can coordinate it with matching decor above it against a white wall. I love this because it lets you play with color without it feeling too heavy.
For a modern twist, you can layer sleek, geometric molding over your drywall. And while you could paint the molding a contrasting color, leaving it all the same shade as the wall behind it can be even more effective. It’s so interesting and chic!
4. Embracing Warmth and Charm
Even if you have a formal dining room, rustic farmhouse decor is one of the most inviting styles you can choose. I love it! The contemporary farmhouse look also gets inspiration from the modern design movement.
So if you want to bring that style into your own home, make sure to keep your dining room wall art simple and minimalist.
While regular drywall and paint look great with any design, textured walls are really a staple in rustic homes. If your home doesn’t have original brickwork or shiplap paneling, you can use an overlay to get that same look.
A great place to start is with a light, neutral color palette full of whites, creams, and grays. You can complement those shades by using organic textiles like wicker, canvas, and burlap. Another excellent touch is adding greenery, like fresh-cut flowers or hanging wreaths.
Reclaimed wood window frames, shutters, and even barn doors all fit right in with the rustic farmhouse feel. You can pair these pieces with vintage picture frames, mirrors, signs, and chandeliers.
The great news is you can find authentic versions at antique shops or just buy replicas from almost any home decor store.
5. Stylish Storage and Display
We usually think of shelves as being functional first and decorative second. But they can actually do both things so well. Floating shelves are a huge trend right now, and they look beautiful with a ton of different design styles.
Any kind of bookshelf can also work really well when you repurpose it in a dining room.
Before you start installing shelves, it helps to have an idea of what you’re going to display on them. Even if you’re mostly motivated by functional storage, try to mix in some items that are purely decorative, too.
It’s a great idea to pick things that are aesthetically pleasing to store on your shelves, like cookbooks, wine bottles, and pretty containers for dry goods.
Natural wood shelves create a beautiful contrast against white walls. If you have built-in or floating shelves that are painted the same color as your walls, they’ll almost disappear, which really lets the decor on them be the star of the show.
If you have a wall that divides your dining room from another space, adding shelves is a fantastic way to make it more visually interesting. This is a perfect compromise for anyone who wants an open floor plan but has a supporting wall they can’t get rid of.
6. Adding Character
Accent walls have been trending for years, and they are such a great way to bring some life into a small space. If you want to put an accent wall in your dining room, first you’ll need to figure out which is the “back” wall.
I usually find that the wall opposite the main entrance to the dining room is the best choice for this kind of project.
Accent walls don’t have to be super dramatic. Even a subtle color difference will create a nice division between your dining room walls. To create a unified focal point, you can place large decor on the accent wall.
The goal is to avoid having every wall in your dining room competing for attention.
Wallpaper is a fantastic option for this. This wall decor idea is cheaper and takes less work than wallpapering the whole dining room. Texture is another really great way to make a single dining room wall stand out; you can use wood, brick, or a tile overlay.
You can still use molding or a chair rail on an accent wall; it will just soften the design’s impact a bit. But on the other hand, the smaller your accent wall is, the more daring you can be with your choice of paint or wallpaper.
7. Creating a Stunning Gallery Wall
When it comes to styling a gallery wall for your dining room, or really any room, there are a couple of ways you can go.
You could take a very symmetrical, clean, modern, and sleek approach, or you could go for a more eclectic look by mixing in decor of different sizes, shapes, and even materials.
If you want your gallery wall to feel like one big cohesive piece of art, stick to a strict color palette. This is pretty easy to do if you’re buying photos, artwork, and wall hangings from scratch.
A quick tip: a black-and-white filter can create a unified look if the photos you already have don’t share a common color scheme.
Bringing in multimedia wall decorations can add so much character and dimension. You can also mix framed items like paintings, art prints, blueprints, posters, and maps in with your gallery wall photos.
Even if you have a wide variety of decor, you can tie everything together into a single aesthetic by using color and framing. For example, if you put mismatched art prints into the same style of frame, they will look like they were always meant to hang together.
8. Contemporary Flair
Modern home design is one of the biggest trends out there right now. The word “modern” can mean a lot of different things from the 20th century.
But they all share a sleek, clean look. Instead of filling your dining room walls with a ton of decor, try to make the walls themselves worthy of a conversation.
A great place to start is by sticking with a monochromatic color scheme for your walls. You can then add dimension and texture with some unique molding or panels.
For the most beautiful results, your dining room walls should be almost totally bare of decor. Try hanging one large, abstract piece of art to be the star of your dining room design. Or, you could mount a round, minimalist mirror on one wall.
From industrial to Art Deco-inspired modern dining room decor, statement light fixtures are an absolute must. You can use eclectic sconce lighting to frame your artwork, doorways, or windows in your modern-style dining room.
Just make sure you coordinate these fixtures with the room’s chandelier.
9. Elevating Your Dining Room
Your dining room wall paint might be the canvas for your design. But it’s the artwork and decor you hang on top of it that will really make the space come to life.
Antique paintings and prints can bring a beautiful touch of the past to a dining room wall. The same is true for vintage china, which you can mount on a wall just as easily as you can display it in a cabinet.
You can also repurpose old signs, like rural street signs for a farmhouse look or urban signs for an industrial vibe.
Don’t be afraid to mix wall art from a bunch of different sources. Abstract and patterned decor is totally fine; not everything has to be super personal or detailed. You can also bring in functional elements like clocks, mirrors, and floating shelves throughout your dining room wall design.
A beautiful contrast can be created with light-colored artwork hung against a dark wall. And don’t forget how versatile wallpaper, peel-and-stick decals, and tiles can be when you’re planning out your dining room’s wall art.
10. Elegant and Serene
Keeping a white room from looking flat is one of the biggest challenges you’ll find in interior design. A great way to bring texture to your dining room idea is with wall paneling, tiles, brickwork, or molding.
You can also install lighting under your shelves for a futuristic and surprising touch.
Cream or a light gray can be major upgrades from a stark white wall paint. For a contemporary look, try using silver or gold accents throughout the room.
If you break from this color scheme, it can cause your white walls to fade into the background, so it’s a good idea to pair these metal finishes with grayscale dining room wall decor.
Greenery and the grain of natural wood can warm up a white color scheme without taking away from the clean look. Try to stay away from bright colors completely.
Or, if you want a pop of vibrancy, include a single one in a bouquet of flowers, a candle, or a statement piece like a wall sculpture.
I know that using white in a space with food and drinks can be risky. It’s so worth it to invest in a stain-resistant wall paint from the beginning. When that first glass of red wine spills, you’ll be so glad you took the extra step to protect your beautiful dining room decor.
