Many of us have a lot of special dining table decor for the holidays. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Halloween all have their own unique decorations for their particular season and holiday. 

But what about all the time between these holidays? Is your dining table supposed to go undecorated and blank? By no means! 

So today, we’re going to talk about what you can do to decorate your dining room table on a year-round basis. Many of these ideas will be familiar, but they’ll get a fresh feeling of looking at them through a new lens. 

1. Table Settings

First, let’s talk about one of the most important pieces of dining table decor: your table placements. These are the most practical and functional decor pieces that you’ll have.

Here’s how to give them a year-round look:

Go for Casual

When it’s not the holidays, more formal home gatherings are pretty rare. In all likelihood, it’s not too often that you’re looking to blow away your friends or loved ones with an elegant, formal dinner party. 

So make your place settings a bit more casual. Use ceramic plates instead of your fine china. Go with a fork, knife, and spoon instead of adding the salad fork and soup spoon. Keep your placemats simple and low-key rather than decorative and eye-catching. 

As for your napkins, keep them low-profile and functional rather than eye-catching and decorative. Skip the swan folding and place your utensils on top of the napkin. The name of the game is a simple, elegant tablescape that helps to tie the room into the living room, kitchen, and the rest of the house.

Not only will these be well-suited for any events you’ll have in the dining room, but they’re also much easier to clean and remove when you need to use the dining area for something else. 

Incorporate Neutral Colors

In a year-round place setting, shoot for more neutral colors rather than bright and festive ones. If you pick bright colors, you risk accidentally creating a place setting that looks like it’s meant for a holiday. 

But if you opt for blacks and whites, grays, and earth tones, you’ll have a placement setting that has a clean look and is suitable for all seasons. 

2. Dining Room Design

Your dining room table isn’t the only thing that needs to be decorated. The rest of the room needs to have home decor that looks beautiful and inviting as well.

Here are some ways you can do that with some simple interior design tips: 

Upgrade Your Lighting

A chandelier is an upscale way to improve the atmosphere of the room at large. It doesn’t need to be a large, brilliant crystal chandelier like in the movies. But a small hanging light fixture helps to fill the space and add more light to a space. 

If you want to get really customizable with it, choose a chandelier with a removable cover to substitute out when the holidays come around. Or get one that is easy to hang decor from. 

But a chandelier isn’t the only lighting upgrade you can make. You could add decorative sconces around the perimeter of the room, purchase a stylish floor lamp, and more. 

Lighting is absolutely essential to the overall look of the space. It can make or break the look, so make sure that you select good lighting that fills the room and helps support the atmosphere you’re trying to create. 

Wall Art

Lots of modern dining rooms have unique fixtures of wall art to bring the place to life. You can go for a gallery wall to showcase lots of individual pieces or choose one larger piece to bring visual interest to one side of the room. 

Use your art to balance the room. If you have a wall table or sideboard on one wall and nothing on the opposite wall, an art installment will balance the room and make it feel more comfortable and welcoming. 

A simple decorating tip like this one can help elevate your dining room decor year-round, even during the holidays.

Dining Chairs

One of the most important and permanent fixtures of dining room table decor is the dining chairs that sit around it. For your dining room table, you want dining room chairs that are going to fit any season or event. 

Simplistic modern chairs with neutral colors and natural materials fill this purpose very well. You can upgrade your chairs without upgrading the dining table. It’s a less expensive way to bring a little more luxury into the dining room.

Additional Furniture

Yes, your dining room is for dining, but furniture outside of the dining room table can really complete the look of the space and also serve valuable functions. 

For example, a common piece of dining room furniture is a display case for your fine china and other family heirlooms. You can adapt this idea and instead have a display case of family photos or pieces of art. 

Wall tables and sideboards also make for gorgeous dining room furniture. Not only can they store serving dishes, kitchen equipment, and the like, but the top of it can hold more decor or be used as a serving table if you happen to host a buffet-style event. It’s multifunctional and beautiful. 

3. General Table Decor

And, of course, the table decor is one of the main parts of the dining room that make the space what it is. This is where you express yourself and make the table look mimic the rest of your home design scheme.

Whether you like a minimalist style or you’re going for a farmhouse dining room, here are some ideas for how to decorate your table:

Table Coverings

A clever way to add a visual foundation to the look of your table is by placing a table covering on your tabletop. The two main options here are tablecloths and table runners. 

Table runners are great for longer, narrower tables, especially if you’re looking for a less stately option. Tablecloths are a classic look that also helps with cleanup at the end of the night. If you have a round table, a table runner might be less feasible, but either option can still work. 

Both of these add a subtle pop of color to the room. The modern style calls for less bright colors and more dark and earthy tones such as forest green, navy blue, burnt orange, and the like. Neutral tones are also wonderful options for table coverings. 

The Centerpiece 

As the focal point of the room, the table centerpiece is perhaps the most important decor aspect of your dining space. There are so many ways to create a beautiful centerpiece, from crafty DIY projects to curated artistic pieces.

Here are some fan-favorite centerpiece ideas:

One of the more common decor ideas for a centerpiece is a selection of greenery or fresh flowers in beautiful vases and pottery. Floral arrangements add a bit of color and visual interest. Plants breathe an organic feel into the room like nothing else can and can even improve your mood. 

Bouquets of tulips in an artistic vase, a decorative bowl filled with pinecones, a succulent in an industrial-looking concrete pot, or even the classic bowl of fruit. Something about plant life gives the room a bit of life — there are so many options out there for any style you can think of.

Another stylish option is a display of candles. Candlesticks are visually engaging with their arms and curves, and they add height to the room without obstructing too much vision. Even placing a decorative candle bowl directly on the table can be a centerpiece that can be enjoyed. Just make sure you have a tray or cloth to catch the wax. 

On top of looking great, they can, of course, be lit to provide a whole new feel to the room. Light the candles and kill the overhead lights for special occasions. It’s not only beautiful but functional. 

Finally, sculptures serve as focal points to the dining room table, particularly in modern dining rooms. If you love art and want your dining room to be full of creativity, what better centerpiece than a piece of beautiful, creative art?

Final Thoughts

Your dining table is a part of a bigger whole. It’s the centerpiece of your amazing dining room, so it should be a reflection of you, your style, and your tastes. With these design ideas, you now have everything you need to know to have a well-decorating dining room at any point in the year. So go give your dining room a makeover and bring your space to the next level of luxury.

For a selection of stunning furniture and more information about interior design, check out eLuxury. 

Sources:

8 Interior Design Styles You Can Do to Refresh Your Home | Academy of Art University

Are houseplants good for your mental health? | Ohio State Medical Center

How to Make an Origami Napkin Swan | The Spruce Crafts