Dining Room Ideas from Real Homes That Are Guaranteed to Inspire Your Own

Your dining room is a space of deep connection, memorable family meals, and the center of holiday gatherings. Yet for as important as this space can be, when it comes to revamping your own home, you're probably more focused on redesigns in other rooms, such as the kitchen or bathroom. We urge you to reconsider. While a beautiful kitchen and a luxurious bathroom are two undeniably nice amenities, if you have you choose just one project to tackle right now, don't discount the power of a well-appointed dining room. After all, in many ways, it's the heart of the home. If you've been searching for innovative dining room ideas, look no further. We've pulled together some of the most gorgeous dining room designs from real homes to give you instant inspiration.

First and foremost, if you're on the prowl for dining room ideas for a renovation project, don't feel like you need to start entirely from scratch. In fact, we suggest starting small. Think about what aspects of your space you want to draw attention to and where you want to pull focus. Do you have built-in-bookshelves where you can display family photos and artwork? Does your dining room have gorgeous natural light? Do you have an accent wall painted in a bold color? When considering a redesign, ask yourself "What about this space stands out the most?" and then expand your ideas from there.

Also consider where you want to splurge. Maybe you want to make the statement piece in your dining room a marble table, in which case the rest of your décor may be more understated or sourced from second-hand stores. Or maybe you want to reupholster your tufted dining room chairs in a luxury fabric. Another beautiful route is to invest in art and make an original painting the centerpiece of your space. Think about where you want to sink in the most resources and then work from there.

Whatever your end goal, use these photos as a way to start thinking about how you'll liven up your room. As long as the end result is a space where you and your family can create lasting memories, you've done exactly what you set out to do.

A winning dining room idea is to create a backdrop for the entire living room by focusing on built-in-bookshelves, like this one which Debi Traub remodeled. Take advantage of the surface area as a way to add touches like family photographs or artwork that has personal meaning.

When it comes to unique ideas, this small dining room uses mismatched chairs as a great way to add extra visual interest. 

If your dining room has beautiful natural light, make that the focal point and keep the rest of the tablescape simple and edited, like designer Isabelle Dahlin, from firm DeKor Living, accomplished here.

Choose a bold statement piece, like patterned fabric chairs, and then pull the room together by hanging a piece of artwork with pops of complementing colors, like Dania Ahmad did here. 

Tie together natural wood finishes with a cowhide (or faux hide) rug, like this coastal home, as featured in Nina Freudenberger's book, Surf Shack: Laid-Back Living by the Water ($22.88, amazon.com).

If your dining room has dark wood beams, use that as a source of inspiration and heighten their natural beauty by playing into the cozy ski lodge aesthetic, as seen in chef Clare de Boer's home, pictured here. 

In a "railroad style" dining space—or a repurposed room that once a smaller, like a porch—have one side of the table set with chairs while the other is a bench to save coveted square footage. Isabelle Dahlin, the California-based designer behind DeKor Living, accomplished just that here.

Paint the walls a color that invites joy, like periwinkle blue, and then design the dining space around that color, like designer Pamela Harvey did in this space. Offset its brightness with greenery and neutral décor.

A minimalistic, black and white dining room does not have to be boring. Add visual interest with a non-traditional floral centerpiece and by installing a modern overhead light fixture, just as Andy Beers of Ore Studios accomplished in this dining space. 

If you've always wanted a library but don't have a spare room, consider Colleen Simond's approach of combining your dining area with your impressive book collection. A window seat can double as a reading nook.

If you want a less literal interpretation of "beachy," consider an oatmeal and white color palette with one pop of turquoise that's reminiscent of the ocean as seen in this Nantucket home by interior designer Tharon Anderson. Avoid more traditional materials like wicker.

Instead of storing items, like your collection of straw hats, make them a display piece by hanging them on the wall (and you'll also save some precious closet space). Alex Bates and Andrew Hoffman's Fire Island home is the epitome of beachy-meets-rustic. 

If you're splurging on a high-quality marble tabletop, draw focus to your statement piece by keeping the rest of the décor to a minimum. This Maryland home merges modern and rustic details for a unique style, an idea executed by Alison Giese Interiors.

Interior designer Kate Lester created clean lines with geometric light fixtures and patterns in neutral and solid black finishes for this California home.

Interior designer Ashley Montgomery added a hand-woven kilim rug to this unique Toronto home's dining room. Incorporating dimension and grounding a more neutrally-decorated dining space.

Interior designer Kristina Braun of Braun + Adams blended a variety of motifs for a unique—but still clean—effect. Marble, wood, and jewel-toned velvet can coexist beautifully like they do in this San Francisco home.