Where form meets class. This stunning contemporary stair features beautiful American Oak timbers contrasting with a striking steel balustrade with feature timber panelling underneath the flight. This elegant design takes up residence in Mazzei’s Royal Melbourne Hospital Lottery home.

Cremorne Residence

Jodie Carter Design

Dining room featuring built in cabinetry and seating with storage. Great little reading nook. VJ panelling in Dulux Kimberley Tree
Inspiration for a mid-sized beach style open plan dining in Sydney with white walls, light hardwood floors and panelled walls.

Taringa House

Shane Marsh Architects

This is an example of a mid-sized midcentury open plan dining in Brisbane with white walls, light hardwood floors, brown floor and recessed.

Pavilion House

Sheri Haby Architects

Mid-sized contemporary open plan dining in Melbourne with medium hardwood floors, white walls and brown floor.

Port Melbourne Residence

MR.MITCHELL

Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary open plan dining in Melbourne with white walls and medium hardwood floors.

Brunswick Parlour

Mihaly Slocombe

Brunswick Parlour transforms a Victorian cottage into a hard-working, personalised home for a family of four. Our clients loved the character of their Brunswick terrace home, but not its inefficient floor plan and poor year-round thermal control. They didn't need more space, they just needed their space to work harder. The front bedrooms remain largely untouched, retaining their Victorian features and only introducing new cabinetry. Meanwhile, the main bedroom’s previously pokey en suite and wardrobe have been expanded, adorned with custom cabinetry and illuminated via a generous skylight. At the rear of the house, we reimagined the floor plan to establish shared spaces suited to the family’s lifestyle. Flanked by the dining and living rooms, the kitchen has been reoriented into a more efficient layout and features custom cabinetry that uses every available inch. In the dining room, the Swiss Army Knife of utility cabinets unfolds to reveal a laundry, more custom cabinetry, and a craft station with a retractable desk. Beautiful materiality throughout infuses the home with warmth and personality, featuring Blackbutt timber flooring and cabinetry, and selective pops of green and pink tones. The house now works hard in a thermal sense too. Insulation and glazing were updated to best practice standard, and we’ve introduced several temperature control tools. Hydronic heating installed throughout the house is complemented by an evaporative cooling system and operable skylight. The result is a lush, tactile home that increases the effectiveness of every existing inch to enhance daily life for our clients, proving that good design doesn’t need to add space to add value.

Elizabeth St, Five Dock

Hatch Constructions Group

Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary open plan dining in Sydney with beige walls, medium hardwood floors, no fireplace and brown floor.

Anderson Street, South Yarra

Key Piece

Photo of a mid-sized contemporary open plan dining in Melbourne with white walls, medium hardwood floors and no fireplace.

23rd Street

Wyant Architecture

Open floor plan living. Photo: Jeffrey Totaro.
Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary open plan dining in Philadelphia with white walls, medium hardwood floors and brown floor.

Sussex Cottage

VICTORIA CALDWELL DESIGN

Joinery Banquet Seating to dining area of Kitchen
Photo of a mid-sized traditional open plan dining in Sussex with light hardwood floors, brown floor and exposed beam.

Home Remodel- Dix Hills, New York

Long Island Creative Contracting

Ship Lap Ceiling, Exposed beams Minwax Ebony. Walls Benjamin Moore Alabaster
Photo of a mid-sized country open plan dining in New York with white walls, medium hardwood floors, a standard fireplace, a wood fireplace surround, brown floor, vaulted and planked wall panelling.

St John Street

Emil Eve Architects

A sensitive remodelling of a Victorian warehouse apartment in Clerkenwell. The design juxtaposes historic texture with contemporary interventions to create a rich and layered dwelling. Our clients' brief was to reimagine the apartment as a warm, inviting home while retaining the industrial character of the building. We responded by creating a series of contemporary interventions that are distinct from the existing building fabric. Each intervention contains a new domestic room: library, dressing room, bathroom, ensuite and pantry. These spaces are conceived as independent elements, lined with bespoke timber joinery and ceramic tiling to create a distinctive atmosphere and identity to each.

The LAAN Project

Baiza Interiors

This is an example of a mid-sized modern open plan dining in Austin with grey walls, medium hardwood floors, no fireplace and beige floor.

Décoration salon / salle à manger appartement contemporain Paris

Xavier Lemoine Architecture d'Intérieur

Nous avons imaginé une verrière pivotante pour matérialiser la séparation entre salon et salle à manger, tout en laissant passer au maximum la lumière. Pour une parfaite cohérence avec le reste de la décoration, notre choix s’est porté sur une verrière intemporelle, aux lignes fines et épurées. Côté cuisine, la gaine technique existante a été recouverte par un miroir comportant le même encadrement que la verrière sur toute sa hauteur. Cette astuce nous a permis à la fois de camoufler cet élément technique, d’intégrer naturellement la verrière, et d’apporter de la perspective à la pièce de vie.

Casa Anni '50 - Open space con stile

Matteo Magnabosco

La zona pranzo è caratterizzata dalla parete in mattoni dipinti e dai mobiletti in metallo laccato
Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary open plan dining in Turin with green walls, porcelain floors, beige floor and brick walls.

DINING | Bespoke Table with Vintage Chairs

Studio Mônty

The waney edge oak table was handmade. Vintage Teak Dining Chairs were sourced and reupholstered in GP&J Baker fabric. The antique brass light fitting was custom made.

Bold Black and White

Blackdoor Design by Tamra Coviello

Photo of a mid-sized mediterranean open plan dining in San Diego with white walls, medium hardwood floors, a two-sided fireplace, a tile fireplace surround and brown floor.

Greenlea

Visbeen Architects

Photo of a mid-sized country open plan dining in Grand Rapids with white walls and medium hardwood floors.

1960's Tri-Level Ranch

Lacy Keller Interiors

HomeStar Video Tours
Design ideas for a mid-sized midcentury open plan dining in Portland with grey walls, light hardwood floors, a corner fireplace and a brick fireplace surround.

Projet Gary - Rénovation à Pantin

Mon Concept Habitation

Photo of a mid-sized industrial open plan dining in Other with white walls, medium hardwood floors, no fireplace and brown floor.

Mid-sized Open Plan Dining Design Ideas

A dining room can be used for casual dining, integrated into an open plan and connected to the living and kitchen areas; or as a formal space reserved solely for entertaining. While it may not be used frequently, it is a great focal point in the home, and requires little furnishings. Here's what you need to consider before you start planning a new dining room...

How will you use your dining room?

First, consider how frequently you will use the space. If you plan on using your dining room on a daily basis, a casual dining set-up with sturdy, long-lasting furniture is best. As for where you position it – well, any unused space in the home can be converted into a casual dining space, whether it be at the end of a kitchen island, or at the bottom of the stairs. A formal dining room, on the other hand, is more suited to a dedicated space, which is more common in heritage homes where space originally wasn’t at a premium. Perhaps you want your dining room to multi-task and accommodate everyday meals, homework sessions and grown-up dinner parties… If that’s the case, furniture is key. Look for versatile dining tables in either Australian or New Zealand hardwood or weathered timber for a more rustic look. These won’t show up sticky fingerprints as much and can be dressed up for guests.

What size and shape should your dining table be?

Your dining table should be able to seat all family members with some room for additional guests – each person should have at least 60 centimetres of space at the table. The right size, however, also depends on how much room you have. A general rule of thumb is to leave no less than 1 metre from the dining table to the wall or any additional furniture, so people have enough room to comfortably move around the space. Rectangular dining tables are versatile and can work in a variety of settings, while oval dining tables are more traditional and can turn any meal into an occasion. If you have a tight space to work in, a round dining table is best, and also a great option if you want to encourage conversation. A square dining table can be a dramatic addition to a dining room, but only if you have the space. It allows everyone at the table to see each other, but the bigger the table, the harder it will be able to hold a conversation with someone at the other end.

What type of dining chairs should you choose?

Once you’ve decided on a dining table, look for dining chairs that share a common design element. If your dining table legs are curved, for example, try to match them with dining chairs that have a similar curve, either in the legs or back. Next, consider the dimensions of the chair. The height of your dining chairs should allow at least 30 centimetres between the top of the seat and the top of the table. And to keep your tush happy, avoid dining chairs narrower than 45 centimetres.

How can you decorate your dining room?

Dining rooms are relatively minimal spaces, but that makes them a great place to splash a little colour through artwork, especially if yours is a formal dining room. If your dining room is lacking warmth, consider painting the walls a deep shade of red or blue, or go contemporary with black or grey. A cosy rug will make the space feel more intimate, while a sideboard or cabinet of curiosities will further personalise the space. Often overlooked, dining room lighting can also drastically alter the mood of a room, creating drama, spurring romance or encouraging conversation. Opt for soft lighting in the dining area with dimmer switches, and choose oversized pendants in large, open spaces or to make the dining area more of a focal point. Finally, add some table settings, such as a lace tablecloth for a whimsy feel, or a more basic table runner for a chic look. If you need some help designing your dining room, consider checking the Houzz directory of interior designers, home stylists, cabinet makers and more!