Dining Rooms are places that are only used for a portion of the day, but that doesn’t mean they should be ignored the rest of the time. A dining room should make a dramatic statement and WOW you every time you pass by, drawing you in and making you want to spend time there whether its time to eat or not. We’ve picked these 30 beautiful and elegant ideas for a modern home as each comes with drama.
Take this unusual and very cool dining room by Ambrasas Architects with its walls that converge into the ceiling. By using a black and white rug with a ripple effect beneath the table, the table does not get lost in the large open plan space and then by creating an exclamation point via that amazing light pendant and surround the table with soft yellow chairs I personally really want to grab a chair and get comfortable just to enjoy the view. Source
If your dining room isn’t in a large area that doesn’t mean you can’t make a large statement. Just look at that amazing kinetic chandelier and that stunning living edge table made from not one but two slabs of wood. Designed by Lake Flato Architects this room is beautiful. Source
The details are what really make this dining room sing. The random angled wood blocks on the fireplace facade add to the cozy aesthetic created by the muted upholstery and the gauzy drapes. Webb & Brown-Neaves designed the fireplace facade to be an ever changing wall of shadows when the fire is on making it a constantly changing visual and that is definitely dramatic, don’t you think? Source
Speaking of dramatic, this warehouse style loft by MARTINarchitects includes a rough construction living wall, exposed bricks with a Buddha painted on it, an amazing view, tonnes of geometric details and exposed ceiling joists. Source
Between the chunky turned legs of this dining table, the green leather on the chairs, the layers of white within the wallpaper, ceiling pendant, lamps, art and marble fireplace what’s not to love? The gorgeous greens on their own make a strong statement but up against all those layers of black and white its just sublime. Source
This dining room by DesignHouseBC is also a combination of black, white and green within its white and black drapes and green patterned chair seats and carpet. Here though, additional colors and features are layered in via all the various art pieces from the Orca portal painting and copper light sconce on the wall to the glass, raccu and copper vases on the table and the Inuit piece on the sculpture stand between the windows.
There is nothing like original art to make a statement and this room is filled with it, even the table is custom made and features walnut pin striping within the grey stained oak tabletop. Source
Allen Jack-Cottier also used sculpture for dramatic affect in this warehouse residence, only here the sculpture is the architecture, and to be more exact the master suite. With lots of room in this otherwise wide open space the bedroom pod is quite the central feature and a pretty amazing backdrop to the dining room. Making a smaller but just as dramatic statement are the eclectic selection of similar shaped dining chairs and the two black and one red light pendants. Source
Paola Navone also used an eclectic array of dining chairs to surround this very large table but what really makes this idea dramatically unusual is the inset octagonal tiles that represent a super modern area rug. Aside from the visual appeal the tiles are certainly a whole lot easier to clean then a rug! Source
Mimani Studio also inlaid a tile carpet in this dining room but relied on a more traditional pattern to the tiles choosing instead to go the unconventional route within the room’s exposed structural supports. If you thought the wood posts looked rather thin you would be right, this support structure is actually made from steel tubing.
Aside from the exposed steel tubing, the Tube House dining room is even more power packed thanks to the two courtyards that flank it on either side, both with trees incorporated into the landscape. Source
The architecture of this room is more conventional but has been jazzed up by the floor to dropped ceiling rockwork on the fireplace wall. Adding in the clear finished wood on the dropped ceiling balances out the harvest table and ladder-back chairs used in the dining suite and then for a little extra punch, Moore Ruble Yudell Architects layered in yellow end chairs that pull their tonality from the seascape painting and an amazing light pendant that is like a cloud in the sky.
This super cute dining room in a renovated 1930s apartment is wrapped in an Arne Jacobson wallpaper of geometric proportions. You would think that the paper is all the boldness this room needs but Alvhem new better and added in a brightly colored square patterned bureau, a round cut out in the wall and a space age light fixture. Even the original herringbone pattern on the floor plays with the patterns and boldness – definitely dramatic. Source
Copper chairs and a wall of black framed art make this dining room by Kababie Architects spectacular but even without these two elements the criss crossed wood base on the table and that uber modern chandelier make a pretty big impact. Source
Sometimes you only need a couple of elements to make a huge statement and Anik Peloquin followed that line of reasoning here by using only an expansive green wall, an abstracted red maple branch chandelier and one amazing wood table to make a power packed visual story that revolves around the great outdoors. Source
The drama in this room by McIntosh Poris Associates is all about contrasts including my favorite combination of a rustic wood dining table and clear Lucite chairs.
Here’s a great example of less is more. That slab table says it all! A Susanna Cots design, it shows just how easily a small dining room can speak volumes. Source
If you have the space for a large dining table, why not get one with its own ice compartment in the center? This custom detail by Eric Kant Contemporary Design is one I can really lift my glass and toast to! Source
There is only two words to say about this Reid Smith Architects dining room designed by LC2 Design Services – That Chandelier! Source
Here’s another amazing lighting story. Rather than installing one pendant, this open plan dining area is defined by a multitude of globe pendants as though it where snowing – cool! Pun intended. Source
Where to begin, the view or the painting or the table or the pendant. Take your choice its all fantastic. Source
I love the way Architema designed this dining area to be an extension of the gallery space behind it.
If you live in a warm climate, a dining room is the perfect place to create a seamless transition between the indoors and the outside and that is exactly what SAOTA did but not stopping there, Antoni Associates Interior Design amped up the volume with those three super sized cage pendants. Source
Touzet Studio designed a custom and very wavy dropped ceiling for this dining room, not only that they installed a glass front to the climate controlled wine cellar next to it.
Between the ceiling, the wine cellar and the ocean view this dining room has it all. Source
From ocean views to a beautiful treed setting, landscapes add so much drama – but Michael P Johnson and Stuart Parr Design didn’t stop there, they added a life sized bull sculpture! Source
The dining in the Black Desert house by Marc Atlan and Oller & Pejic is a story of threes. The Platner High Table, the Kartell Masters Chairs and the Zettel’z light pendant. Source
Now this dining room by Christian Liaigre is red hot! Source
Red rules in this room by Guto Requena too, but so does the faceted concrete table. Source
Interior Designer Kelly Behun went for a little purple power and sultry black in Ivanka Trump’s dining room.
Amit Apel Design went sultry black on the walls, table, chairs and area rug in this dining room and look at how that chandelier just pops against its dark backdrop. Source
Designer Steven Volpe focused on the amazing Dune Table to create a dining room that is almost Dali-esque.
Darryl Carter Interior Design used antique windows hovering over skylights to create drama in this elegant space. Source
Did I mention I liked Lucite chairs? These Louis Ghost Chairs are to die for! Longhi Architects didn’t just use any ghost chairs, these are the Phillipe Starck design that incorporates portraits within the backrests. Source
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Dining drama comes in so many forms, if you want more ideas check out our selection of whimsical dining room designs or visit our main section for dining room interiors.
