5 Easy Ways to Make Your Dining Room More Enjoyable

Do you have a dining room or dining area that you just, well, don’t use? There could be some specific reasons why you’re not using your own space. If you want to, you could make sure your area has one (or more) of these five elements in it — you might find yourself dining in and enjoying the space more.

Coziness

A small nook or space isn’t necessary to enjoy a good meal, but if you want a space that will beckon you for all meals and keep you staying there, you want to aim for a level of intimacy in your dining area. Great news if you live in a small space and the area you’re carving out for dining is already snug. But if you live in a loft or an open floor plan you just want to include elements that will tie the dining area to itself and enclose it slightly: a rug to define the area, a light fixture that adds warm light low near the action, a plant or two to help enclose the space.

Visual stimulation

Though one might argue that the food and the people should be the main show of a dining room, you (and your guests) probably aren’t going to want to hang out too long in a room with blank walls and a boring feel. And you might not ever make your way over to using your dining or breakfast area if there’s just nothing there to look at, smell, feel or experience. It doesn’t have to be a room so full of elements you can’t fit in there, but be sure your dining area has its own look and feel, and isn’t just a design after thought.

Comfortable seating

This is just dining room furniture buying 101: Make sure you can sit in your seating for long periods of time, or else you might always choose your living room couch for dinner time instead of your dining room.

Good lighting

Natural lighting is certainly preferable in many rooms, but might not be possible given your floor plan. In that case you want to supplement your dining area’s light level with good, warm lighting illuminating faces and food. You can do overhead hanging pendants if you’ve got the inclination, but sconces and floor lamps and candles in various combinations can do the trick, as well.

Location in place you’ll actually use

This is perhaps the hardest — but most influential — element to pin down of all. If you want to have a dining area that you use and enjoy, you want to work with your natural inclinations. If you prefer tucking away to your breakfast bar or nook to finish dinner rather than a formal dining room, put your design efforts there for more memorable meals. If you actually enjoy and prefer the feel of your sofa as you dine, consider creating a living area that can pull double-duty as a dining area. The point is to enhance the space you have and that you want to use, not try and force yourself into a change that just doesn’t fit your lifestyle.

This article originally appeared on Apartment Therapy

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