Here are some simple, neutral dining room ideas for you! Come join me in my dining room today as I give you a little a tour.
My dining room has gone through tons of changes over the years, as my style has evolved.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure.
Below are the main changes I’ve made to give my dining room a more streamlined, simple look.
SIMPLE NEUTRAL DINING ROOM IDEAS
PAINT THE DINING ROOM WHITE
The first, and most budget friendly, idea is to paint your dining room white! I painted my dining room bright white after having it several different gray and/or beige colors over the years, and it has made such a difference. The dining room not only feels bigger, it also feels fresh, new and clean.
Here’s the paint I used as well as a complete blog post as to why I love it so much!
INVEST IN HIGH QUALITY CURTAINS & MAKE A WALL OF CURTAINS
Before I really got into interior design, I didn’t think that curtains mattered that much and I certainly didn’t think expensive curtains were that much better than cheap curtains. Holy moly, was I wrong. After I learned more about window treatments, I decided to invest in some custom curtains for my dining room. It was the best decision ever.
The main changes I made with these curtains were to get ones that fit entirely between each window, both from left to right and up and down. I also chose pinch pleat curtains and raised the tops of them to give them the tilted look.
I also invested in quality curtain rods with matching finials. These panel rings completed the look.
For complete details about my window treatments and curtain customizations, read this post.
CREATE A CUSTOM GALLERY WALL
Before I created this custom gallery wall, I had a large hutch on that wall. It was nice, but I was craving a more simple look. I also wanted extra space on either end of the table to add additional end chairs. A gallery wall was the perfect solution.
For the gallery wall, I used custom frames specifically made to fit this wall. Then, I filled the frames with black and white photos from our travels. I have another gallery wall in my home filled with family photos so I thought it would be nice to mix it up and put scenery in these frames!
See my gallery wall frame customizations in this post.
LIMIT THE BUFFET TABLE DECOR
I still have our thrifted buffet in our dining room, and it does the trick for now. I started keeping the decor very simple on the buffet, and I love how it gives it a clean, simple look.
Most of my buffet decor items are from Target! Here are the links for you: white planter, olive tree, mirror, bowl, candlesticks, candles.
INVEST IN A QUALITY TABLE AND CHAIRS
We bought our table a couple years ago, and it has been one of the best decisions! I absolutely love the look of it. We have this table from Restoration Hardware, and here is a much less expensive dupe table.
We had fabric dining chairs for awhile but eventually switched them out with all wood chairs. I love these dining chairs because they are super high quality and easy to clean. They came already put together too!
One of the things I love most about this combination of table and chairs is the different color tones. These are not a matching set, but as part of the whole room, they really work well together!
REMOVE THE DINING ROOM RUG
I had an area rug in the dining room for so long, and although it was beautiful, it was so impractical. While I love creating beautiful spaces, they also need to be functional. That has been a top priority of mine this year – create practical spaces that are also beautiful.
Since removing the rug, I’ve realized I don’t miss it! I still feel like the room is complete without it.
I think that since I now have quality items in my dining room, it feels complete without having an abundance of furniture. I have the necessities along with limited decor, and I feel like it’s just enough to create a simple dining room.
