September 14, 2020

Redesigning Our Dining Room with Some Fall Inspiration

Our home is not an open concept and I kind of love that. It feels cozy and intimate. When it came time to redesign our dining room, these were the words I wanted to reference.

view into our dining room from the kitchen that was once the attached garage

BEFORE: How it started

The dining room is modest in size and sits in the middle of our kitchen and foyer. It also connects to the laundry room. Which means that it can be seen from multiple rooms on the main floor. The old dining room furniture, although very nice, didn’t allow for it to flow with the main floor. However, it certainly looked better than what we started with!

BEFORE: Celebratory champagne in our first dining room set up with furniture an old co-worker gave me!

As we thought about redesigning the space to dress it up, there were things on our checklist that included painting the walls, possible new lighting, new window treatments and a gallery wall. However, we underestimated that the biggest impact would be furniture. If you’re thinking of re-doing your dining space, consider if your furniture is a proper fit for the room in terms of scale and design.

If you’re thinking of re-doing your dining space, consider if your furniture is a proper fit for the room in terms of scale and design

Re-Evaluating Our Current Furniture

When we re-evaluated why our dining room didn’t feel quite right, we came to the conclusion that our furniture wasn’t the right fit for the space. The cherry stain table felt too heavy and the black high back chairs were obtrusive to our triple archways, which are important design elements in our home.

before photo - looking in from kitchen — BEFORE:looking in from kitchen

Looking back at our furniture decision, we were very much influenced by the sale event. The set is very nice on its own but we were unsure if the style would fit with our interior. Yet, the price was tempting so we pulled the trigger!

When it arrived, we had our doubts. But kept thinking we’d grow to love it to avoid the hassle of returning it. The love never flourished and after eight years, decided it would be better suited in another home. So we sold it and the hunt was on to find the right pieces.

The Search for New Dining Furniture

Our first place to search for furniture is Crate and Barrel. It’s where we did our wedding registry and a place we trust for quality & design. We were beyond excited and honored to have another opportunity to work with them again!

I’ve been looking forward to putting this post together to reveal our new dining room pieces, along with some beautiful fall table inspiration from Crate and Barrel’s Modern Prairie collection. This trend invites us to be at home with nature, embracing its crafted detail and earthy texture. The mix of natural materials with the season’s most stunning colors like Amber, Russet and Ochre provides the perfect balance of warmth. Incorporating some seasonal changes has always lifted my fall spirit and I hope it does the same for you.

Crate and Barrel’s Modern Prairie collection will get you excited about fall!

Finding the Right Furniture Pieces…

There are so many great dining table and chair options that are exclusive to Crate and Barrel. Their designs are amazing and their quality gives me peace of mind.

Dining Table: There were so many to choose from but we knew that the Tate Walnut Extendable Midcentury Dining Table with 2 self-storing leaves, which we’d been eyeing for a while, was the perfect one! It’s a 1960s-inspired Tate extension dining table that recalls the timelessness of mid-century design with a tailored profile and streamlined shape. Crafted of walnut veneer, this table epitomizes the clean lines of modern design with a streamlined beveled top. We also appreciated the kid-friendly rounded corners unlike our old table which we applied rubber bumpers on the sharp corners. That didn’t sit well with my design-loving heart.

Dining Chairs: The chairs took a bit more time to decide since there were a handful of great options that paired well with the table we picked out. We finally decided on the Cullen Shiitake Stone Round Back Dining Chair (also exclusive to Crate and Barrel). I love the barrel back that flows into armrests, showcasing the stunning exposed joinery details. The slim, padded seat perfectly mimics the frame’s circular profile and is neatly upholstered in a top-grain leather making it easy to clean. These details complement the table perfectly!

Cullen Shiitake Stone Round Back Dining Chair. Using remarkable joinery techniques, skilled woodworkers expertly fit sections of solid chestnut wood to fashion Cullen's Scandinavian modern curves — Cullen Shiitake Stone Round Back Dining Chair. Using remarkable joinery techniques, skilled woodworkers expertly fit sections of solid chestnut wood to fashion Cullen’s Scandinavian modern curves

The day the furniture was delivered, I couldn’t believe the instant transformation it made to our dining room! It immediately felt cozy and intimate. The warm wood just flowed with the entire main floor and the low back provided a nice view of our triple arches. I can’t get enough of this view!

View with our new dining room furniture!

Adding Some Fall Touches

It was a lot of fun dressing up the table with some fall touches using items from Crate and Barrel’s Modern Prairie collection! I brought in natural materials to pair with the warm color combo and layered on black accents to complete the look.

The Covina 90” Table Runner woven in a blend of cotton and linen gives a nice contrast to the wood. The handcrafted Poe Large Amber Glass Vase filled with the dried Fall Harvest Bunch is a great statement center piece that additionally provides scale.

We’ve been wanting some nice flatware since we only have basic ones that were handed down to us. The modern classic look of the stainless Jett 5 piece flatware caught our eyes! The heat-treated black satin finish is simple yet sophisticated and I love how it stands out on the abaca Lanai Placemats.

I was really drawn to the Byhring Wood collection and grabbed the wood platter, serving board and appetizer plates. They’re made of acacia wood which I loved using when I designed tabletop products because of their gorgeous wood grain.

My talented photographer friend, Wing, captured this whole set up because my iPhone photography would not do it justice. Our family had a blast devouring the charcuterie board and appetizers. I’ll have to do another post for putting together an epic charcuterie board using recommendations from our friends who own a local wine & cheese shop.

If you’re wondering about any of the items in the photos, I’ve rounded up all of my favorites from the Modern Prairie collection that I used to pull together our autumnal table. Click on the photos to directly shop!