10 Essentials You Need for a Transitional Dining Room

A transitional interior design style is one that combines a modern look with traditional features. Therefore, it is an excellent interior design choice for people who like both modern and traditional styles. It is a theme that you can use in any room of your home, including the dining room. It is also an interior design style that works equally well in both period homes and new-build properties. Furthermore, it is a theme that you can adapt in many ways to suit your preferences. If you want to transform your dining area into a modern room with some traditional touches, then here are the 10 essentials you need for a transitional dining room.

1. Use Neutral Colors

According to My Move, you should stick to a neutral color scheme if you are using a transitional design theme. Some color options include shades of white, pale gray, cream, mahogany, and light beige. A neutral color scheme will add a modern feel to the room and will allow you to highlight the different features and furnishings. You can add other colors to the room with soft furnishings and accessories.

2. Incorporate Texture

Incorporating texture is another important element of transitional design, and it will also add points of interest and give the room a feeling of warmth. The simplest way to add texture to the room is through your choice of accessories and soft furnishings. Go for different fabrics and include elements such as glass, wood, stone, and metal around the room. Although using different textures is important, it is also essential that you do not have items that look random in the room, as everything should flow together.

3. Make an Impact with Artwork

You must make a visual impact with your artwork choice with any design theme, but it is a vital element if you want to make a transitional theme work in your dining room. Decorilla says that contemporary art is the best option. Paintings and prints are a fantastic way of introducing color, but they are not the only way of adding visual impact. Sculptural pieces and photographs are also good ways of making a statement.

4. Add a Traditional Touch to a Modern Table and Chairs

As the transitional design style involves combining modern and traditional elements, you can use either contemporary or traditional dining tables and chairs. However, if you use a modern style dining suite, you should add a traditional twist by using traditional fabrics to upholster the chairs. Similarly, you can use a traditional dining suite then add a modern touch with the use of contemporary upholstering.

5. Use Lighting in a Contrasting Style

The type of lighting you choose depends on the style of dining suite you have chosen as you should have a contrasting style to combine the modern and traditional themes. So, if you have a traditional dining table and chairs, go for modern pendant lighting above your table. On the other hand, if you have chosen a modern table and chairs, opt for a traditional chandelier. There are some styles of light fittings available that work well with both modern and traditional design styles.

6. Add Traditional Accessories

In most cases, people choose a neutral color scheme for a room with a modern look. The accessories you choose are a way of adding the traditional element to the design. According to Décor Aid, you should choose visually appealing pieces that will act as talking points in the room. The accessories are also an opportunity to reflect your interests and show your personality in the room.

7. Consider Adding Wainscoting

Wainscoting is a fantastic way to combine elements of the modern and the traditional. It is a material typically associated with period homes, so it creates a traditional appearance. However, when you paint it in a neutral color, it also adds to a room’s modern feel. Adding wainscoting to just the bottom half of the walls is the best way to use this material in a dining room, then leave the upper half of the walls plain.

8. Add Wooden Flooring

Wooden flooring is the best option for a transitional dining room for several reasons. First, wooden flooring gives the room a traditional look that is part of the transitional style. Second, wooden flooring is fashionable now, so it also fulfills the modern element of the style. Third, wood flooring adds texture to the room. Finally, it is important to have a practical choice of flooring in a dining room as it is likely that you will experience spillages or dropping food at some point in that room. It is easy to wipe things up from a modern floor, so it is a good practical choice of flooring.

9. Retain Traditional Architectural Features

If you are lucky enough to have some traditional architectural features in your home, then you should retain these when you remodel your dining room. Some examples of traditional architectural features include coving, paneling, arches, and shutters. Every architectural feature will add traditional elements to a modern room. You can even accentuate some of these features with some paint or by drawing your eye to them with the positioning of your furniture, soft furnishings, and accessories.

10. Use Metal and Glass

In theory, you can add any materials to your transitional dining room that work well together and contribute to the room’s overall look. However, two important elements to include are metal and glass. The former is something that you can add with your choice of accessories and wall art. It is even something you can incorporate with your choice of dining furniture. There are multiple ways that you can include glass in your design, including choosing a glass-topped table, adding mirrors to the wall, or finding interesting glass accessories that you carefully position around the room.