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Oct 16, 2024

8 Things Designers Say Make Your Dining Room Look Dated

No, we’re not recommending that you ditch the family heirlooms. Some design choices are dead giveaways to the decades they were installed: Wall-to-wall shag carpet? We know that was you, ‘60s and

No, we’re not recommending that you ditch the family heirlooms.

Some design choices are dead giveaways to the decades they were installed: Wall-to-wall shag carpet? We know that was you, ‘60s and ‘70s. Orangey-stained, beveled oak cabinets? The ‘90s called, and they want their kitchen back. But there are other decorating moves that may date your home in ways far sneakier and more subtle than your mom’s once-beloved avocado-colored range. When it comes to prematurely aging your dining room, Southern designers say these eight things are the culprits. Take note!

“Something that can make a dining room feel dated are postage stamp rugs,” says Aileen Warren of Jackson Warren Interiors. “You want the four legs of each chair to still be on the rug when they're pushed out from the table.”

“If you're not ready to let go of your light fixture or can't pull the trigger on such a big ticket item, try swapping out your old and dingy chandelier candle covers for fresh white ones,” says Raleigh, North Carolina, decorator Maggie Dillon. “You can get them off of Amazon or the local hardware store, and it'll bring a brightness to the space that you didn't know you were missing.” Giving your dining room “layers of light” is another way to update the room, says Warren: “Dimmable light makes the space feel contemporary and elevated.”

"What comes around goes around—except cherry wood veneer," says Anna Still and Marguerite Johnson of Still Johnson in Birmingham, Alabama. "Wood furniture will never go out of style, but veneered cherry wood furniture seems perpetually stuck in the 90s."

Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Barbara Schmidt

"Deep primary red walls and chippendale chairs with a crystal chandelier screams ‘80s to me,” says Jessica Davis, founder of Atlanta-based studio Atelier Davis. “I think updating with something less primary, like a terracotta or plum, and mixing eras keeps the look more ‘now.’ "

“Sideboards, china cabinets, dining tables and chairs all in the exact same suite are a thing of the past,” says Jackson, Mississippi, designer Betsey Mosby. “I love using an antique table and mixing in a different wood or even a paint color on a sideboard to add interest and to keep everything feeling collected and planned versus purchased together.” Tennessee decorator Lauren Sullivan of Well x Design agrees: “Consider mixing things up for a look that feels layered yet fresh—antique chairs with a newer table, or even mixing different types of chairs for side and end pieces.”

The Still Johnson design duo also chimes in on avoiding coordinating sets of furniture in a dining room. "Instead mix-and-match pieces from different styles or periods," they say. "For a collected look that will age well, we like to use a dining table and sideboard in the same style and mix in dining chairs of a different era or aesthetic."

"Enough said," says Still Johnson. And we couldn't agree more!

“I love a dark and saturated color in a dining room, but balance that with different textures and brighter accent colors to avoid dragging the space back in time,” advises Louisville, Kentucky, decorator Bethany Adams of Bethany Adams Interiors.

When fabrics are looking worse for the wear, it's a sure sign of an outdated dining room. "We love age and wear on furniture and fabrics, but when a fabric has yellowed or is just dirty, we know the space hasn’t been refreshed in a long time," explains the Still Johnson designers.