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a holiday-ready dining room in a hurry


This post is sponsored by AllModern


Somehow in this strange world that is 2020, Thanksgiving is RIGHT around the corner. We asked you guys a few weeks ago on Instagram what design quandaries you’d like to some help with as we enter the holiday season, and a common theme was “how do I make the holidays feel special since they’re going to look different this year.”


Even if your gathering is going to be small (and quite possibly just including the same people you live with) we want Thanksgiving to feel special and set apart and not just like every other dinner. One way to give this Thanksgiving some extra UMPH is to give your dining space a little refresh. For so many of our clients, the formal dining room isn’t used often, and because of that they never really got around to finishing it. But taking a bit of time to give your dining space some love might just be the catalyst to actually using your dining table for more than Thanksgiving and laundry folding (yup, I see you...we've all been guilty of this).

We’ve teamed up again with AllModern to level-up one of our client’s dining spaces and to give you some inspiration on how to add some personality to yours (in a hurry). The great thing about AllModern is that nearly all of their in-stock items ship in 2 days, so there is PUH-LENTY of time to update your space before Turkey Day.

Here's what we're working with. Our sweet friends-turned-clients welcomed their 5th (!!!) baby into the world just yesterday, after moving into their home only a few weeks ago. They are hosting Thanksgiving this year (because she is Wonder Woman) so we are helping them get their space ready and hopefully take a load off of their plates. Having a baby is enough to deal with without having to worry about wall art!


All they have in place right now is a table, chairs, piano, and light fixture. It's super builder-basic and not at all reflecting their personalities. Eventually the plan is to add wallpaper and moulding to totally customize the space, but that isn't going to happen for months, so we need an interim fix. Their style is a mix of old and new, and definitely pulls European. We want to help the old and new make sense together and look intentional.


The room today: furniture + box storage area (this photo was taken just a few days after move in. No shame in that game) -




The game plan: we want to add a huge punch with minimal effort, so we are focusing on a couple of BIG moves rather than a bunch of tiny elements. Two of the best ways to do that are with art and rugs.



We're going with one GIANT art piece above the piano to create a focal point, and a traditional vintage-look rug to ground all of the furniture. The art is modern, like the dining chairs and table. The rug looks old world, like the chandelier and the art we're adding to the side of the room.


I know some of you are thinking right now, how do you mix styles without it looking like a HOT MESS! Well, I've got some tips for you:

  1. Keep the color palette tight. I talked about this on the 'gram recently. You can mix pieces from various eras by keeping them in the same tone. The art, table, chairs, and piano are all black, which automatically helps them read as complimentary. Then we're working in blush and mustard/rattan, and that's about it. The more colors you add in, the harder it will be to make it feel cohesive. Possible, but difficult!

  2. Balance. You either want a pretty equal distribution of styles (3 modern pieces + 3 traditional pieces) OR you just do one big piece that's different than everything else and let that be the star of the show. The former is much easier. The latter is a big risk, but when it works, it pays off! We're going with the balanced approach for this room.


That's the plan! Next week we'll install all of the pieces, so be on the look out for the big reveal very soon!

Like what you're seeing? Shop below to get the look:




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This post is in partnership with AllModern. Some of these links are affiliate links which means if you click the link to purchase something on this page, it won't cost you more but we may receive a commission for sharing this with you. Which is neat, because I was going to share it with you anyway! You can view our full disclosure policy here.



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