Designer Solutions

Dining Room Makeover

With the holidays right around the corner, it's the perfect time to kick up the style factor at your house. Check out the November edition of Designer Solutions for tips and tricks on how to decorate your pad.

This month's room submission was sent in by Washington's Claire Rauh, whose tiny dining room was cramping her style when it came to entertaining guests. In need of more space while keeping the room modern, Rauh came to us for advice.

We turned to Beverly Glover-Wood, owner of the Bethesda, Md., design firm Glover-Wood Interiors to help spice things up.

The transcript follows below.

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washingtonpost.com:

Welcome and thanks for tuning in to the November edition of Designer Solutions.

As the holidays get closer, many are in search of creative ways to spruce up their digs for visiting family and friends. Making sure that you have enough room to accommodate extra guests can be tough. That's exactly what Claire Rauh hoped to avoid when she turned to us for ideas on how to update her space.

Today's special guest is designer Beverly Glover-Wood of the Bethesda, Md., design firm Glover-Woods Interiors. She helped Rauh figure out a way to entertain guests while keeping things stylish.

Beverly, how did you come up with the design concept?

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi,

As far as design concept, the room is very narrow so I knew that it needed furniture that made it possible for her to actually live in the room. At present the room looked rather useless. In this case, rather than a theme taken from fabric or a valued antique or color, I needed to consider foremost her needs and limitations in this room. She loves having the shelves, she just needed more storage so that the shelves could be used for pretty things. The shelves make a perfect serving area that could flow to the dining area. So, the short answer is, in this case, the concept came strictly from need and a desire to interpret that need aesthetically.

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Columbia, Md.: Do you know any manufacturer who makes a round dining table that has leaves that attach to the outer edge? The result is that the expanded table is still round, not oval. Thanks!

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi, There are several manufacturers who do now. Lots of them are English. Barry Cotton is English Antiques and Reproductions, Arthur Brett is another. But you may want to check first with major U.S.A. companies, such as Henredon. If I think of someone else, I'll get back to you.

Beverly

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San Francisco, Calif.: Comment:

I like your idea of using mirrors to create more space and the creation of a surface to create a sideboard for food/drinks for a party. I think chairs/banquet idea blocks off the area and makes it appear smaller and would certainly restrict the flow of guests getting to and from the table for even the most intimate dinner party. I would also comment that I wouldn't call it a dining room but rather a dining area in an open floor plan.

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi San Francisco,

The pieces I used--three that are put together--work well in the space. Her living room is very large and giving this a bit of privacy makes it more cozy. But you are right, the banquette has to be the right one or it would be too large.

Another idea I toyed with that, some may like, are the tall, 18" to 24" pub/cafe tables used with only a couple of chairs. The tables could also be placed against the wall with art on the walls as a focal point. So the room isn't limited. I do like the idea of using this room as a flow through, small gathering place for friends and guests and having a cozy spot for breakfast close to the window.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: Good morning Ms. Glover-Wood. I live in an apartment where it's common for the living room and dining room to be one big room. Can you suggest a good way to strategically position furniture in order to make them appear as two separate rooms?

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi Gaithersburg,

There are several ways to psychologically divide the rooms and it depends on how large the spaces are. You could use a buffet (or something that serves as a buffet) between the rooms. If so, though, the piece of furniture should be finished nicely in the back. Another idea with the buffet or chest is to hang a screen of sorts--could be fabric, chains, a real screen, even a solar screen you would normally put on a window--above the buffet and from the ceiling.

More simply, you could position the sofa or chairs with their backs to the dining room area as a line of demarcation. Put something in back of the sofa such as a console to give a more welcoming effect.

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Fairfax, Va.: I have a very large dining room. A standard (8 or 10 seat) table looks tiny in the room. Where can I find a table that seats 20-22?

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi Fairfax,

That would be a very large table and I would be concerned that people would really be able to talk comfortably. How about two tables? You could go with two round tables that seat 10 to 12.

My answer to Columbia, earlier, mentioned the round tables that have leaves that add on around the edges, therefore creating larger round tables. You may not need that, but Rist in the Washington Design Center carries several manufacturers. You can't purchase them there, but you can certainly look at what is available.

Also, look to Henredon or other N.C. furniture makers for large round tables. You may also want to check Stickley and look at antiques. Hope this helps. Sounds like an amazing DR.

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Southern Md.: Thanks for taking my question. Our current dining room is too small so we plan to add on and convert existing dining room to a den/office. How do I determine how big I want the new room to be?

Beverly Glover-Wood: Dear Southern MD,

Oh how wonderful to be able to start from scratch. First decide how many people you may want to have at a sit down dinner and therefore the size of your table. The chairs are usually out from 12" to 18" when not in use, and you have to have enough room for a person to comfortable push the chair back to rise from the table. Three feet is a good amount of space behind a chair. Then decide what other pieces of furniture you will want in the room: buffet, linen press, large chest--whatever you may want and need. Remember to leave enough room to comfortably use the buffet or open doors to the chest where dishes, candles, linens hide. If you take all that into consideration, you'll have the size. Have fun!

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Silver Spring, Md.: My dining room has deep teal blue-green walls, wood furniture, and bright white molding. I recently was given a huge ornate brass-and-crystal chandelier, which I would like to "funkify" by painting the brass some outrageous color. The rest of my home is modern with twists of shabby chic ... like West Elm meets Anthropologie. What color should I paint the chandelier? A deep vibrant plum? Hot pink? Help!

Beverly Glover-Wood: Dear Silver Spring,

O-o-o-o that sounds adorable. Paint it some color in the rug if you have one. Or a color that ties something else in the dining room or an adjacent room into the whole picture. Also paint it a color that you want reflected by the crystals. Could you paint the brass two colors? Plum AND hot pink? I think since you are daring enough to do this, playing with the colors would be fun. You can always repaint.

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Bowie, Md.: Good afternoon,

With the holidays approaching, I'm trying to clean up clutter in my morning room. I have stacks of plastic container storages filled with beads. I have looked everywhere and can't seem to find an armoire type unit with just shelving. Most have one shelf for a television. Any ideas you might have are greatly appreciated.

Beverly Glover-Wood: Good Afternoon Bowie,

First of all you can have shelves made for the armoires you have found to handle your needs. Also, more manufacturers are now giving one the option of either shelves or the TV spot. If you happen to want pine, the Great Pine Mine in Silver Spring builds pine cabinets out of old pine and would customize the piece for you.

I suggest also going to the Web site for known furniture companies and searching. Hooker, Hicker Chair, Henredon all have good Web sites. Good luck.

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D.C.: What do you recommend as a best practice to liven up a "blah" beige living room? I'm in an apt., so painting the walls is out of the question. Right now I've got a neutral thing going on and want to add some color.

Beverly Glover-Wood: Dear D.C.,

Accessories, accessories, accessories! And also a rug to go on top of what I presume is beige carpet. There are a lot of very colorful rugs around at places like Pottery Barn, even Ikea (I believe) and on the web. They range in prices and you can use large or small in your place. Bright accessories are great in a monochromatic color scheme. Also, don't forget black. Black can make beige stand up and take notice. They become striking with each other. Then add a red vase or bowl, drape a colorful throw over the sofa, purchase some colorful candles and put them on the mantle if you have one, or cluster them in the center of the DR table. Have fun with it!

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Washington area: Do you actually think that room is big enough to entertain people? It seems like you took all of the furniture out ... doesn't seem like much of an area to "entertain" now.

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi Washington area,

The room is only 7' 6" wide so it can't hold wide furniture or much furniture and still have a traffic pattern, which it must have because the owner passes from the kitchen through it into the LR.

It can, however, handle a small table and chairs. It is the perfect room for two to four people to sit and talk, and for two people to have coffee & read the paper. It becomes a good place for serving and for a few people to hang out while others are in the living room milling around with a party. The LR is large enough for the main dining table to be placed there.

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Anonymous: What is the best furniture style for a cape code-style home?

Beverly Glover-Wood: Well, you could have great fun with it and put Maine, Cape Cod style furniture such as that carried by Maine Cottage (check their Web site)--brightly colored pieces that are fun--shabby chic, slipcovers. That would be a very relaxed almost "get away to the beach" look. Otherwise, a Cape Cod is a traditional house and pretty much anything will work. I love that style, and I would stick to traditional furnishings, and wall coverings--wall paper works well. But remember, it is your home and whatever you put in it you must love.

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Curtains: Can you suggest a color to go with walls that are painted Restoration Hardware's silver sage? Deep greens don't match very well and I'd like to stay away from ivory so as to add some color. I'm a little bit afraid of color, so nothing too bold, please. Thanks!

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi Curtains,

Regrettably I don't have time to actually look for the color but the best thing to do is paint a large piece of foam core (it is nonporous) with the color and go to Calico Corners to look for fabric. Get some cuttings and take them home to see if they work with the rest of the room.

A soft sage green, if you are hesitant about color, should work. Good luck.

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Montgomery, Ala.: I want a change in my bedroom. I change with the seasons. What is a good fall color for my bedroom?

Beverly Glover-Wood: Pumpkin--Orange is back with a vengeance.

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RE: Chandelier: It's me again, with the painted chandelier idea. No rug in the room yet, but I'm eyeing the chocolate and cream zebra rug at West Elm now ... waiting for a sale. Your idea of painting it both colors is intriguing... how would that work? What if I did plum on the underside of the brass (the parts you would see looking straight up from beneath) and hot pink on the top parts (the parts you would see if you were on the ceiling looking down). Would that work?

Beverly Glover-Wood: In a situation like this, you just have to go for it. On the other hand, I think you would get more out of the colors if they were more saturated. I had imagined your painting the brass mostly one color, with the stronger color dotted about for emphasis.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Hi, I hope you can provide some inspiration for this problem: we have a dining room that lies between the living room and the kitchen, so it is also a pathway through the house. The dining room is a rectangle with a window on one short side and an alcove on the other short side. So our oval table would fit best lengthwise, but then that would block the path to the kitchen. So we have the table perpendicular to the long walls. There is a chandelier centered on the doorway to the living room (under which we have the table centered) and to a picture window in the living room.

Problem is that the chair on one end of the table sticks out a little into the living room when all the leaves are in. There's also no way to have a rug with this arrangement. Should we try a round or square table instead? How would you design around this? Thanks for any input.

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi Silver Spring,

This is a good one, and typical of what designers have to deal with--a challenge.

My first thought is that a round table, with leaves for larger parties, would be best. There are some things you can't change and one seems to be that if you have to add leaves, they will stick out beyond the "DR." But that is only when you have larger groups, and a round table would give you the space you need on a daily basis, and that is the most important. I say round because they are actually a bit easier to get around when they are in the way. A square table is also fine. Round is probably easier to find. With this arrangement, you can have a rug and I think that is important: for warming up the room, protecting the floors, and for sound control.

For the future, you may consider removing the chandelier and putting in recessed lighting. Then you'd use candles for atmosphere and the recessed would be on a dimmer for mood. That way you could push the square table to the end of the room for daily use. Good luck.

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Silver Spring, Md.: What's a good color to complement sage green with a goldish hint for the bedroom?

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi Silver Spring,

As everyone has probably realized by now, colors are very difficult. Sages can be on the blue side of green or on the yellow side. For your purposes, how about a yellow such as Benjamin Moore's Hawthorn Yellow? or Weston Flax? Good luck

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Beverly Glover-Wood: Thank you, everyone, for writing in today. This has been great fun. I wish all of good luck!

Beverly Glover-Wood

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McLean, Va.: Our casual dining takes place in a family room right off our kitchen. We have a lovely dining table there, as well as a sitting area. Are there any "rules of thumb" about how much room to leave between a table and the walls? We would like to put the table as close to the walls as possible, while still leaving room for people to sit (and move their chairs back) comfortably. The answer to this question will affect more than furniture placement, since we need to install a pendant lamp above the dining table to properly demarcate the eating area from the sitting area.

Thanks!

Beverly Glover-Wood: Hi McLean,

I just got your question so I'll dive back in.

I think giving a person only 24" to get out from the table is tight but possible. The only rule of thumb is the comfort of the guest. You don't want the poor things squeezed in and stuck. Is there a way for you to position the table and experiment? Three feet is a good amount of space.

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Oakton, Va.: Can you have Oak cabinets in a kitchen/family room along with a cherry wall system at the opposite side of the room, i.e., the family area?

Beverly Glover-Wood: Dear Oakton,

If you have the chance to have one or the other, I would choose. But if you have oak at one end and cherry at another, perhaps you can stain one of the pieces so that at least the coloring is the same. The oak would be the easiest to stain. Cherry will retain that reddish color and it darkens.

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Beverly Glover-Wood: Al right, I really am signing off now. Everyone have a wonderful weekend decorating.

Best wishes

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washingtonpost.com: That's our time for today. A special thanks to Beverly Glover-Wood for being our "resident expert" for this edition of Designer Solutions. And remember, if you have a problem room and don't know what to do with it, come to the pros for advice.

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