Colors Can Make All the Difference in Your Home

When decorating your dining room, one of the main things to think about, other than the actual dining room furniture, is the color palette. You need to decide what color your dining room furniture will be, and also what color the walls, the paneling (if any), the accessories, linen, table china etc, will be, so that you have a harmonious whole rather than a bunch of disparate or mismatched elements put together in the name of a dining room.

There are certain colors that are best avoided in the dining room because they are thought to be appetite suppressants. It is thought, by proponents of Feng Shui and by certain other experts, that the color blue should be avoided when decorating the dining room. While you are unlikely to have blue dining furniture, you should also avoid blue to decorate the walls; this is because blue is not a color that occurs very frequently in nature. There are not very many natural foods that are blue in color and so the color blue is considered to be an appetite suppressant. Similarly the colors pink and violet are also thought to be appetite suppressants and are generally to be avoided in the dining room even if they may look nice in conjunction with your particular dining room table.

Yellow and cream are generally thought to be good colors to build a convivial atmosphere in the dining room. Yellow is a friendly and sociable color and is therefore thought to inspire conversation and interaction. Cream is a neutral color which is a good pick for the dining area simply because it is unlikely to clash with any of your dining room furniture, whichever hue that is. It is by itself a soothing color making it an ideal choice.

One great way to create some drama in your dining room is to have an accent wall: while you can have three walls of a neutral or light color, say cream, beige or white; you can color one of the walls a rich shade of maroon, or orange, or red. These colors will also off set your dining furniture especially if your dining furniture is in dark shades of mahogany or similar. Not only do bright colors such as orange and red look attractive and dramatic, they are also thought to be appetite stimulants. They are also warm and inviting colors, and therefore create a welcoming atmosphere in the dining room.

When picking a color palette for your dining room, not only is it important to color coordinate the color of the walls to the color of your dining room furniture, it is also important to pick a color according to the size of the room: for instance certain colors create the sense of space while certain dark or dense colors tend to dwarf the proportions of the room. It is especially important to use light colors if you have dark paneling in your dining room. Remember cool colors recede from the eye; warm colors come forward so keep all of this in mind when picking a color palette for your dining room.

The author uses Amish furniture in her home and office. She uses a custom tablecloth to protect her dining room table.