Design Vogue

Can a small dining room serve up big style? According to designers, with a few tasteful tricks, it’s easy to achieve a room that’s gorgeous and functional. To get you started, we pulled together 12 game-changing tips to make any small dining room look bigger, so get ready to transform your space into a delightful dining haven.

Add Drama With Curtains

Located directly next to her home's front door, this dining room is narrow and passageway-like. To make the space feel grander, the designer chose to outfit the room's window in dramatic, floor-sweeping drapes.

Take note of how the designer installed the drapes several inches above her window frame—it gives the illusion of higher ceilings, making the room feel significantly larger.

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Embrace Circles

For small, square dining rooms, try incorporating circular elements. These shapes create negative space around the corners, giving the illusion of a larger and more open area.

Make Room for a Mirror

Valerie Darden, the founder of the firm Brexton Cole Interiors, recommends adding a large mirror whether it's a floor mirror or a large table mirror on a buffet table.

"Mirrors bring in extra light and reflections, tricking the eye into thinking the room is larger," Darden says.

To enhance a mirror's enlarging effects even more, Darden recommends backing it with wallpaper like vertical wallpaper since the lines can easily draw the eyes up making any room look fuller.

Draw the Eyes Up

Desiree Burns, the principal designer of Desiree Burns Interiors, suggests creating a focal point that draws the eyes upwards.

"Try a fixture with some textural appeal," Burns says. "Rather than a piece with a smooth finish, try a hammered metal dome pendant, a plaster chandelier, or a wicker bell pendant."

Fill the Nooks With Plants

To keep a small dining room from feeling sparse, Esther Schmidt, a home decor influencer, suggests turning to greenery. Plants add a touch of sculptural elegance without overwhelming the space. Place them in stylish plant stands to boost architectural interest, and select visually striking varieties like palms or monstera for maximum decorative impact.

Streamline With a Pedestal Table

The wonders of a pedestal table can't be overstated in a small space, as illustrated in this breezy-feeling dining room.

If you consider your dining table has four legs—and every dining chair also has four legs—that's 20 legs camping out under your table. While this might not detract in a larger room, a surplus of legs can create visual clutter in smaller spaces. Simply opting for a pedestal table can create a more streamlined look.

Utilize Your Walls

When you have limited floor space, try working your walls instead. When you consider most dining rooms have four walls, utilizing them for art is a smart way to add more personality without taking up floor space.

Stacking multiple pieces of art in a gallery wall fashion also comes with an unexpected bonus: it can make a dining room feel larger by drawing the eye upward and creating a focal point that adds depth, effectively expanding the space beyond its physical dimensions.

Roll on High Gloss Paint

"Using a high gloss paint in a moderately light and soft tone is a great technique for creating that illusion of a much larger space," Julie Kantrowitz, the founder of JK Interior Living, says.

The sheen will help create a beautiful light bounce, Kantrowitz says.

Work in Millwork

Kantrowitz explains how the larger the scale the millwork is, the more spacious a room will feel.

"Adding thickness and depth to the panels itself will optically translate to the spaciousness. And the taller you go, the more impactful it becomes," Kantrowitz says.

Upgrade Your Dining Set

When there's no room for much besides a table and chairs in your dining room, select a table and chairs with sculptural integrity. Cast your dining table as art and choose one with an eye-catching base (bonus points for pairing it with a unique finish), and choose chairs that showcase a striking mix of materials or shapes.

Paint It a Dark Color

Believe it or not, dark walls can actually make a small space feel bigger by adding depth and making the room feel more open, without the sharp edges that lighter colors can create.

In this cozy-feeling dining room, Laquita Tate of Laquita Tate Interiors selects a mossy green color for the walls. A paneled effect also encourages the eye to travel—try a similar treatment if you're worried about a dark wall color closing in your space too much.

Utilize Your Corners

In the compact dining room above, the designer cleverly leans a pair of rustic wood paddles in one corner, since there's no space for a credenza or console. These paddles serve as sculptural accents, drawing the eye deeper into the room and making it feel larger.

To enhance the feeling of openness in your own dining room, consider adding similar elements to your corners. Items like branches, rustic ladders, salvaged shutters, or decorative screens can help achieve this effect.