Bored of the classic mahogany and teak in your dining room and looking for modern furniture ideas? Here’s a good place to begin.
Functional Art Or Modern Furniture?
The 1900s spawned a group of designers who began to break away from bulky traditional wooden furniture, towards styles more suited for smaller urban living spaces.
These modern (and post-modern) designers made use of lighter structures to create bold, functional designs that incorporated eccentric elements from Art Deco to Pop.
Minimal and thoughtful are the bywords of the style. To put together your dining room, you will need to embrace simplicity.
What Is The Modern Look?
Gone are the rich embroidered textiles and intricate carved patterns that accompany traditional furniture. Modernism calls for smooth surfaces, clean cuts and geometric designs.
Natural textures and solid color themes must fuse together to create a vibrant, relaxing atmosphere.
The designs are flexible and multi-functional so you can easily fold away or enclose pieces within each other. A popular example is the dining table with folding leaves attached.
These small structures can open fold out to seat larger groups for special occasions. Another great example is the loaded drink trolley and food cart concealed within a portion of the sideboard.
What Materials Serve Best?
Dark polished wood is a formal material that lends a classic touch while unpolished lighter woods are cheerier and have a more contemporary feel.
Modern homes feature more of alternative materials like stainless steel, chrome, plastic, glass and molded plywood. As far as textiles for seat covers and upholstery goes, you can’t go wrong with leather, silk, organic hemp or pure cotton.
The modern look is also global. It borrows liberally from Asian and African motifs and themes.
Dual textured pieces often combine exotic materials for a fresh look. In keeping with eco trends, a fusion of sustainable materials like wicker, jute, stone, cane or bamboo with modern materials like glass and steel or even traditional wood, also create a unique style.
How Much Furniture Is Too Much?
A modern dining room should not have too many pieces of furniture. There must be no clutter. You can pick up a ready set or select individual pieces with a common theme running through but pick only the basics. Invest in a small selection of stylish and sensible pieces that blend well together.
A dining table set, sideboard, twin matching china cabinets and a single serving trolley with a hotplate, are more than enough furniture for a dining room of medium size.
The dining room is a special part of the house. This is where everyone meets for meals and to mingle. The entire family and occasionally friends, gather around to share, to laugh, eat and celebrate each others’ existence. The atmosphere you create in this room will lend to many happy memories.
So make it a special atmosphere that bears your insignia of warmth and comfort.