Dining rooms are the star of the show this season! From fall crafts to large family dinners... dining rooms are often the center of the home during the holidays. As the best interior design company at the Lake of the Ozarks, John Elliott Interiors is here to help bring you all the inspiration and expertise you need to have a dining room that wows this season. Keep reading to learn more! 

A dining room is often the heart of your home. Eating meals together, working on math homework in the evenings, and celebrating the holidays with family... a lot of memories are made in the family dining room. Design a beautiful space with the experts from John Elliott Interiors. We are the best interior design company at the Lake of the Ozarks, and we would love to help you create the space of your dreams for your dining room.  Read on to learn a few great tips from our team and come by John Elliott Interiors for beautiful inspiration!

Make a Statement

The dining room is a great place to make a statement. If you love floral patterns but have a hard time committing to such a bold design in your main living space, try it out in your dining room. Wallpaper is a fantastic way to define the design concept in your dining room. Create an accent wall with textured wallpaper to bring an intimate, chic vibe to the space. Upholster your chairs in bright or patterned fabric for a striking look.

Take a Seat

Branch out from traditional dining room seating for a unique design concept that will wow your guests. Round chairs can create a contrast to a long rectangular table. For a clean, modern look, go with clear seats that create an effortlessly chic design. A live edge bench is a beautiful cross-section of a tree that is dried and sealed to create outstanding furniture. Use one of these pieces on one side and cushioned chairs on the other side for a luxurious contrast. The stylish seating options are endless!

Make the Most of the Space

If your home doesn't have a full dining room, there are still several great options. If there is an open corner near your kitchen, create a cozy "breakfast" nook with corner booth benches and a compact table. Accent the space with decorative, comfortable pillows for a pop of color. Create a dining space at your kitchen island by lining tall, stylish stools on one side. To make it feel more like a separate space, lay place settings at each stool with a cloth napkin or other decorative element.

Draw the Eye

To center the design in your dining room, select a light fixture that enhances the style of the rest of the room. The fixture doesn't have to exactly match the pattern and style of your furniture. If your dining room table is made with rustic, sturdy wood, then a sleek, black chandelier could add the perfect contrast to your design. Another way to add a focal point that draws the room together is to choose a beautiful piece of artwork. John Elliott Interiors has gorgeous and fun pieces to choose from. One of our experts would love to help you choose the perfect artwork for your dining room decor.

Hire an Expert

Sometimes it can be difficult to be creative in a space that is traditionally so straightforward. As the best interior design company at the Lake of the Ozarks, John Elliott Interiors has a team of professionals that can create the dining room of your dreams! Come by to peruse our inventory of gorgeous furniture and stylish art pieces. We have just the thing to make your space shine.

When you are ready to choose a dining room table, there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure that it is the right one for your particular needs. On one hand, it should be something you like the look of and adds to the beauty of your home, yet this is a piece of furniture that needs to serve a purpose in addition to looking great. In other words, you are searching for something that balances both form and function.


We have a wonderful selection of beautiful dining room furniture in our Lake of the Ozarks luxury furniture store. You will find a wide variety of styles to fit many different types of dining rooms. Even if it is not the main focal piece in your space, it will play a large part in setting the tone for the entire room The following tips will help you to choose the right one for the room you are designing.

Table Functionality
Thinking about how you will most often use your dining room table will narrow down the kind that you will be looking for. If you will be using it on a daily basis, you will want to make sure that it has a durable surface that won't damage easily. This is especially true if you will also be using the table for more than dining, like homework, crafts, and other family activities. On the other hand, if you are shopping for a formal dining room table that will mainly be used for special occasions, the look of the table may take precedence over the need for a surface that has to hold up to daily use. 


Table Size
As with the interior design of any room in your home, pay attention to the scale of the space. Large tables are good for grounding the space in a very large room, but you don't want the table to feel as if it is taking over the entire place.

As a rule of thumb, it is best to have at least 3 feet between the wall and the table so there is enough room for chairs to fit around it comfortably, and also to allow people to walk around it while diners are seated. Ideally, you should have approximately 24 inches for each place setting, or about 30 inches between chair centers, for plenty of elbow room. Allow about 12 inches between the top of the seat and the bottom of the table for enough leg room. If the chair has arms, you will want to leave 7 inches between them and the bottom of the table. 


Table Shape
The shape of your dining area will help to dictate the shape of the table that will best suit your needs. Rectangular tables can accommodate lots of guests, and they fit best in most dining rooms. Opting for an oval table in a narrow room still gives you lots of seating and the rounded edges can make it appear as if the table takes up less space. That shape also adds a design element that is pleasing to the eye.

Round tables make it easier for everyone seated to see each other, making for a better conversational flow. This shape works very well in smaller rooms. Square tables also have the same effect, and they look better in square rooms than a rectangular table does. You can find smaller tables that come with additional leaves, allowing you to increase the table size when you need more room for guests, but keep it small on a daily basis to better fit the scale of the room. 


When you come into our Lake of the Ozarks home furnishings store, don't be afraid to test out the pieces you are interested in. Sit down at the table and see how it feels to you for both comfort and stability. If you can imagine it in your dining room with your family and friends around it, it just may be the one you've been looking for. Visit us at John Elliott Interiors soon for all of your Lake of the Ozarks interior design needs.