The word "minimalist" usually conjures up images of sleek "no fuss" modern rooms with sharp angles and minimal adornment. But a minimalist dining room could also be one that simply lacks many of the case pieces that were once staples in the traditional dining room set: the sideboard and/or buffet and some kind of china cabinet or hutch. A minimalist dining room may simply contain a table and chairs and maybe a simple shelf to show of a handful of vases or decorative accessories.
But these days, many of us can't or don't want to display china patterns or formal barware and decanters (items traditionally inherited or acquired via a wedding registry). With more kitchen storage space and more informal dining habits, the sideboards and buffets of yesterday are often omitted. And, in some cases of course, it is just a matter of space or budget.
What do you have in your dining room? Where (if anywhere) do you store your "nice" plates or glasses?
FIRST ROW
1. Emma's Design Blogg.
2. Desire to Inspire.
3. Elle Decor.
4. Elle Decor.
5. Design Sponge.
SECOND ROW
6. Alexandra Angle Interior Design.
7. Ann Marie Baranowski designed dining room on Houzz.
8. Houzz.
9. Eastvold Custom on Flickr.
10. Desire to Inspire.
Images: As credited above.
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Number 8 is just underfurnished...looks comic.
Number 4 is saved only by the foliage view thru the window. Number 7 is saved by the blue-grey wall treatment.
The others are full realized but range from OK (3?)to sublime.
People still have sideboards and credenzas...they just don't put dishes in them. We have a credenza in the diining room and we store books, DVDs, and board games in it.
I don't even have formal china. I think it's pretty, but I don't see the point when we'd never use it.
I'm in love with #10.
I love the colors and textures used in #2; and LOVE that the view is allowed to shine in #4.
I would like to see minimalist rooms that feature traditional, *not* MCM, furniture and decor, though. Curvy, maybe bulky, maybe ornate antique pieces with a few other design pieces; but sans the mess of cabinets/hutches/china/etc. filling up the room -- that can be a great look.
@ALWS - I think the fifth photo is the closest in the bunch to being traditional. Part of the minimalism is clean lines. I would also like to see minimalism with traditional furniture, but I don't think it would be nearly as minimalistic just because there are less things in the room. Traditional furniture that tends to be heavy wood and curvy tends to just fill a space on its own.
I love #1! Stunning. Love the pottery collection. Style wise several of these remind me of our living room (first photos on the right here) http://papercuthearts.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/our-home-featured-on-etsys-get-the-look/ & another image here
We do have a narrow glass hutch, but instead of china, I display some special items that are not food related... my grandmother's glass hen storing sewing supplies, a collection of birthday or holiday cards from friends/family, paper flowers that served as decoration in our community wedding celebration... We do have a mid century credenza too - we store table linens here (which we sue once a year) & table mats (we use all the time). We used to store our bicycles in the dining room but have since reshuffled everything around.
Except for #2, all these lovely rooms have more floor space than my dining room. It's easy to make a bigger room feel spacious and minimal. (I especially love #1, but I suspect it of being a stylist's design maybe in a showroom, not a home -- didn't follow the link to confirm.)
My little space is too tight. It has to serve as my craft room, too, and we seldom eat at home, so crafting is a little more omnipresent than ideal. I have IKEA lack cabinetry (2 units on their sides with doors and drawers) forming a kind of credenza for materials, and I have IKEA Billy shelves (with glass doors on top and wooden doors on the bottom for display and storage.) The take up too much space, but I need that functionality, so the round table is crowded, the Parson's chairs are a bit too big, and the chandelier might have been a poor choice, too... oh well...
I like this one, from another post about dining spaces:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/dining-room/entertaining-inspiration-light-filled-dining-rooms-159665
And by like it, I mean I've been looking at this picture every day and, like, mooning over it.
I'm usually a sucker for a heavily layered dining room but these are beautiful and warm. Inspired me to purge a bit.
Inspiring.Zen-like.
Although these rooms are far from minimalist, they are certainly beautiful. All of them but especially the first one.
The pendant lamp in #6. Who makes it?