Three Bold Dining Room Looks We Love

Your dining room can set the tone for a gathering well before you set the table. Rather than decorating it in a predictable, matchy-matchy way, go unabashedly á la carte and create a bold buffet of your favorite colors, patterns, and furniture styles.

Related: Gorgeous Dining Room Decorating Ideas

A reimagined Colonial setting proves that some styles never grow old; they just evolve. Subtle design tweaks refresh foundational pieces: an unfinished trestle table that's slimmer than its forebears, a wrought-iron chandelier stretched to a dramatically wide wingspan and Windsor chairs with ample seats and not-so-knobby backs that invite you to linger. To make the spare staples look alive, set them against vibrant botanical wallpaper and a geometric rug; shared blue tones tie them together.

Shop Now: Schumacher Lotus Garden Wallpaper, in Jade, $462 for two 4.5-yd. Rolls, decoratorsbest.com; Currey and Company "Saxon" Chandelier, $1,572, shopcandelabra.com; IKEA "Möckelby" Table, $699, ikea.com; Ethan Allen "Gilbert" Armchair in Charcoal, $429 ethanallen.com; Ethan Allen Side Chair in Charcoal, $329, ethanallen.com; The Rug Company "Mazarin" Rug, $76 per sq. ft., therugcompany.com; Hawkins New York Simple Candlesticks in Matte Black, from $38, hawkinsnewyork.com; Sir/Madam Toleware Nesting Trays, $178 for three, shopsirmadam.com.

To cultivate a space that melds high design and high comfort, swap sharp lines and corners for modern curves, organic materials, and a glowing backdrop. Statement seating takes center-room with an oak and antique bronze chair featuring "buttons," which give the Thomas O'Brien for Century Keira chair ($2,085, aerostudios.com) serious presence. The Kelly Wearstler Crescent ($592 for 10 yards, kellywearstler.com) wallpaper mirrors the chic aesthetic. A rug in a sepia palette will quietly echo the wallpaper, and this one similar to Williams Sonoma Ivory Blossoms hand-knotted rug, (from $2,295, williams-sonoma.com) will look great. For an artful accent, black metal and brass envelop the Atelier de Troupe Cigale ($790, atelierdetroupe.com) single sconce. It rotates on a ball hinge and looks different from every angle.

Channel a less-expected era of Scandinavian style—the 18th-century Gustavian period—by borrowing the refined pastels that ruled Stockholm and illuminated those endless winter nights. The Lillian August side chair's ($840, lillianaugust.com) taupe linen upholstery plays nicely with a table in a light finish, while its dark-gray frame references the stunning Schumacher Pyne Hollyhock wallpaper in Blush ($205 for two 4.5 yard rolls, decoratorsbest.com). Incorporate a gilded accent with something hand-hammered in Sweden, like the Malin Appelgren brass sconce (from $335, marchsf.com) which amplifies candlelight and creates a hypnotic focal point. Round out the soft accents with a strong extension table, like Wisteria's Gustavian extension table ($1,999, wisteria.com). It's a formal piece that checks all of the traditional design boxes—washed-ivory patina, intricate fluted carvings, slender legs. But it has a practical modern element, too: leaves that expand it to seat up to eight.