The dining room is a great place for a family to come together and discuss the events of the day while enjoying a meal. This is best in a comfortable manner so as not to feel to formal or rigid. Bearing this in mind, it is important to analyse whether your dining room is really as homely and relaxed as you believe.

Is there physically enough room? To feel comfortable, you can’t be packed into a tight space, so the space of your dining room needs to be taken into account. When you pull out the chairs, you ideally want there to be a good distance before they hit the wall. If not, you may want to consider buying smaller chairs or a thinner table from a dining room furniture store. The through traffic of the dining room also needs to be thought about. Look around at where the doors are and try to allow as much space as possible; you don’t want people bumping into things and dropping food or drink.

Is your table top left blank? A plain table is not a homely sight, so when it is not in use, why not decorate it? This can be achieved by placing a cloth or covering on and putting flowers, potpourri, candles or any other decorations you see fit. Symmetry is key when doing so, as it is with decorating the surface of coffee tables in your living room, as it will make it all fit together.

When the time comes to use the table for meals, there should be a storage place somewhere in the room to place these items. A good storage place should ideally be able to store cutlery and tableware also so they are not all in the kitchen, perhaps splitting them between the two.