Delectable Dining Rooms!

Cold and blustery winter months brings to mind comfort food around the dining room table with family and good friends! Is that how you have been spending your weekends? I sure hope so! Good food and good conversation go hand in hand. Today, many home owners comment that dining rooms are for special formal occasions and  they end up going unused for long periods of time. So, why not make that gathering place in your home as inviting as it can be and start using it more this month! Below are some favorite dining spaces that inspire me!

This dining room perfectly reflects both its owners' tastes. Clean lines, a cool color palette, and minimal accessories please the husband's contemporary leanings, while heavy drapes, a dripping chandelier, and rich wood tones satisfy the wife's traditional interests.

Are you stuck with a table that's no longer your style? Take heart. This dining room surrounds a neutral contemporary table with French Country style. Tones of white and cream on the walls are reflected in the creamware collection and the chair fabric as well.

Devoid of frills, this dining room adopts traditional elements displayed with an eye for contemporary simplicity. Diagonally installed wood flooring mimics an area rug, while up at the ceiling a crystal chandelier stands out against the casually rough brick fireplace.

• The floor's diagonal lines draw the eye into the space.
• Vaulted ceilings add height and volume to this small room.
• White walls and upholstery contribute to a contemporary feel.
• The absence of accessories keeps the look simple.

Fine antiques and rich fabrics give this dining room a heightened sense of grandeur. The Louis Philippe dining chairs were upholstered in an orange-melon hue pulled from the antique Oushak rug. A gold and crystal French chandelier continues the high-minded style overhead.

Highly reflective, the tabletop contrasts with the matte textures of jute carpeting and linen draperies.

All Photographs by BHG