A Few Key Guidelines For Choosing Dining Room Furniture

There are so many different types of dining room furniture to choose from. There are all-wood sets, some sets with fabric and cushion inlays, and even sets made from composites and plastics. At the end of the day, it's all about choosing dining room furniture that appeals to your design preferences. However, there are a few general guidelines you'll want to follow as you select dining room furniture.

Make sure it fits the room.

When deciding how large of a table you need — and even how large of a buffet or storage cabinet you need — remember to consider the size of the room. Furniture that takes up so much space that you struggle to walk around it won't make your dining room feel very inviting. A good way to decide how large of items your dining room can accommodate is to make a basic drawing on graph paper. Lay out where you plan on placing various items and make sure there's enough space around them for people to walk and maneuver.

Coordinate the furniture with the trim.

If you have painted or wood trim in the dining room, make sure the furniture you choose coordinates with it. For example, you won't want to choose a light wood dining room table when all of the trim is dark wood. The furniture does not need to be the exact same color as your trim but make sure the colors of each look good next to each other.

Check that it's easily cleanable.

It will only be a matter of time before someone drops food or spills a liquid on your dining room furniture. When this happens, you want to know that the furniture is easy to clean and resistant to stains. Fabrics are fine, but make sure they have been coated in some sort of stain-resistant product. Wood is okay as long as it is sealed and easily cleanable. Stay away from unfinished, raw wood in the dining room. It will only look nice until the first time someone spills something on it, and it's nearly impossible to get stains out of the pores of the wood.

Selecting dining room furniture is not terribly difficult, but there are a few key things you need to keep in mind. Adhering to the guidelines above will get you off to a good start as you consider various furnishings that appeal to your eye.