My dining space has been the slowest room in our house to get into shape… mainly because I needed to invest in all new furniture and there wasn’t much left in the bank when we finished our build!
I decided it was better to wait and save for investment pieces I’ll love and treasure than quickly fill the space with new furniture just for the sake of it.
If you follow me on Instagram, you’d know I’m a massive fan of Trit (formerly called Clickon Furniture) where I bought all the furniture in my dining area — table, chairs and sideboard.
The first piece I bought for this space though was the large Annie Everingham artwork that I had commissioned for my 30th birthday. It’s a symbolic piece for me — it’s the first artwork I’ve had commissioned, celebrates my milestone birthday and completing our home build, and Annie was the first artist I ever interviewed for the blog so it feels extra special.
Related article: Dining room inspiration: 10 totally different (but gorgeous) dining room styles
Related article: How to style your dining table (when it’s not being eaten at!)
Originally our dining area was going to be much narrower and a laundry was going to be in the area where the sideboard is (i.e. the wall that the artwork is hanging on would have been brought forward by a metre or two).
Once our house was framed up though, I realised our dining area was so compact it would have only fit a dining table and nothing more. I always loved the idea of a sideboard and knew I wanted a large art piece so we moved our laundry into the garage (you can check out my laundry here) and kept the space open.
By moving our laundry into the garage we were also able to make our kitchen a tad larger than the original design, extending the width of the island bench by about 300mm. The proportions in the kitchen/dining space feel in balance and I love the quirky smaller windows in the dining area that are a result of the original design with laundry.
The flooring in our dining area is polished concrete with titanium oxide to make it much brighter and whiter than regular concrete. This lower level of our house is where Arnie our dog (a giant but loveable Rottweiler) is allowed so I appreciate how easy it is to clean. Perhaps down the track I’ll consider adding a large floor rug under the dining table but with two small children and a dog, it isn’t practical to have one now.
I try to keep the dining space free from clutter although the kids have a small table and play area in the corner that sometimes gets out of control with toys… and in winter this space can resemble a laundromat, ha ha.
On one end of the sideboard I have a brass lamp similar to this one from Temple & Webster and on the other I generally have a small arrangement. You can find some of my sideboard decorating ideas here.
I love the small bookshelf we integrated into the kitchen island (pictured above) although Alexander has just hit the age where he’s into everything so this will most likely be bare for a few months until he grows out of that stage.
Supplier list:
Artwork: Annie Everingham commision
Dining table: Multo from Trit
Dining chairs: Fila from Trit
Sideboard: Ethnicraft from Trit
Lamp: Brass Edmond table lamp similar to this one from Temple & Webster
Lamp globe: Bella & Hunt
Pendant light: Copper Design
Flowers: Barton Flower Bar
If you have any questions about my dining room, ask them in the comments below and I’ll respond 🙂
Check out more rooms in my home
This post was originally published in October 2016 but was updated with new photography and information.
New to your blog, loving it!
I had a look at clickon furniture and they have some lovely things! Might make the endless search for our dining table easier. Is there a location in Canberra to see and touch their stock?
Oh thanks so much lovely! Unfortunately there isn’t a showroom in Canberra although I’ve left feedback that they need to open one here!
I took a bit of a risk buying these just based on the images online (and I also pulled out my measuring tape to mark the size of the pieces with masking tape on the floor to make sure the scale would be right). The closest showroom is in Sydney – 601 Botany Road Rosebery, New South Wales, Australia 2018. Happy shopping 🙂
I love this room! The artwork is obviously a knockout but also love the sunlight, warm timber and that table lamp is divine. Nice flowers too ?
Thanks Jane, it’s nice to not have to cringe every time I come home now, he he. I’d like to get a larger plant for the corner and some light filtered blinds are still on the to do list but it’s a big improvement from what I had!
Great work! I was wondering what type of flowers you use on the table as I am searching for nice autumn look flowers for my wedding bouquet. Cheers
Hi Alba, I love these flowers and they would be amazing for a wedding. There’s a whole mix of flowers including proteas, roses, spray roses, carnations and sea holly. All the best for your wedding prep!
Hi Gina – amazing house! Just gorgeous. I am wondering what colour white paint you have used throughout your home? Cheers
Thanks so much Jos! I’ve used ‘Greyology 2’ by Haymes throughout the house, except for the guest bedroom which is ‘Soothe’ (http://stylecurator.com.au/ginas-home-guest-bedroom-reveal/) and the master bedroom which is ‘Smoky Silhouette’, also by Haymes. I had a colour consultation to help me pick the right colours and you can read about that here http://stylecurator.com.au/construction-update-11-colour-consultation-and-painting/ Hope this info helps 🙂
Thanks for your reply, will definitely look at them for our renovation (not that I was unhappy with Trend but we’re about to embark on a bigger project with more windows).
I think I’ll also be stealing some of your kitchen supplier details as well. I love your black cupboards.
We were super happy with them so I happily recommend them 🙂 Oh yay, glad my kitchen could inspire yours. All the best for your reno x
Hi Gina I love your house and was wondering about your windows. I also live in Canberra and have previously sourced windows from Trend Windows in Monument but was curious about where yours are from?
Thanks
Caroline
Hi Caroline
Thanks for your lovely comment. I found selecting windows for our house so difficult (it seems nice and affordable windows are hard to find!) but we finally found Canberra Aluminum Windows & Doors who were great http://www.cawd.com.au/
You might also like to check out my window tips here http://stylecurator.com.au/selecting-windows-home-nightmare/
Hope this helps x