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Dining dilema!

I was having a chat to a friend of mine the other night about their house, I have been helping them ramp up the style a bit since they moved in a few months ago. The house is stunning with breath taking views over the ocean, it was their holiday home but why not have that holiday 365 days a year.... so they made the decision to sell up their home close to the city and move to the beach!

Now as I have said, it is a stunning home with spectacular views but was furnished in a fairly bland way originally as it was not a permanent residence. A lot of the furniture from their city home wasn't the right vibe for this very modern home but some of the pieces have melded quite well.

The trick now is to give this open plan space with it's white walls and very modern kitchen, character, colour and warmth without detracting from those views. We have injected a bit of colour into the living area  by introducing some turquoise accessories and some great art but now it is time to concentrate on the dining area.

They have room for a very large dining table that will seat 10 and have 8 existing chairs in a woven seagrass. I would like my friends to choose 2 new dining chairs for either end of the table that will be real statement pieces so I have a collection of images to provoke ideas for them and getting them to think a little outside the square.













These images are quite diverse in style but they are all a little quirky using a mix of chairs. The idea is to get some reactions to these images so that they can work out what they hate and what they love but also how to look at things differently, you don't have to have matching sets..... sometimes mixing things up makes a much more interesting room.

They also need to look at lighting and maybe a rug to anchor the dining area. Large open plan rooms are great but they do have their challenges as well. It is important to have furniture that is the right proportions or they will end up looking a bit lost or as my mum says "a pimple on a pumpkin". 

My greatest pet hate when it comes to decorating is rooms that look like they have been bought as a package deal straight out of a catalog. That is why it is important to mix it up a bit....get some old and new.... mix across the ages......be brave and don't bland out!

The images are from Pinterest