How to Decorate a Modern Dining Room With an Antique Dining Set
- 1). Paint or wallpaper your dining room walls with a bold color or modern pattern. Paint the woodwork and molding with stark black or white paint with a high-gloss finish.
- 2). Lay a patterned kilim or soumak rug -- antique or reproduction -- on the floor to tie old and new together. Their geometric patterns have a modern sensibility while remaining traditional enough to suit your antique dining set.
- 3). Paint one or two pieces of your antique dining set with glossy paint in black, white or a bold color, unless the furniture has significant financial value. For example, paint the dining chairs and buffet, but leave the table and china cabinet in the original finish.
- 4). Reupholster the seats of your dining chairs with new fabric in a striking pattern. You can opt for a 1960’s-inspired geometric, a bold stripe or a hand-dyed ikat.
- 5). Line the back wall of your china cabinet with your chair-seat fabric, or with an intense solid fabric that contrasts with your dinnerware. Display a sparse selection of your dinnerware in the shelves, perhaps mixing in a few modern ceramics, candlesticks or wine glasses.
- 6). Hang a drum-shade chandelier, a series of pendant lights or a single light fixture with an art-glass shade above your dining table. Add coordinating wall sconces if your dining room is large. Replace your wall switches with dimmers so you can adjust the light.
- 7). Top your buffet or sideboard with a stark contemporary lamp or flank it with a pair of sleek, stylized candelabra. Hang an abstract painting or print above the piece. Use a large piece of art glass as a centerpiece, or arrange flowers in a contemporary vase. Complete your accessories by placing a dramatic, abstract sculpture atop a sleek, mirrored or lacquered pedestal.
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