Pages

Thursday, July 21, 2011

A rug to dine on? Or not?

Earlier this week I was at a client's house checking in on the progress of her home. We toured some of the rooms we were working on together but what I was really excited to see was her dining room. She had finally gotten the dining room furniture delivered which was delayed because she was having new hardwood floors put down. My client had purchased the dining room set before we started working together so I had heard a lot about it but had not seen it in her space.

Needless to say, the table is stunning and the chairs are beautiful (all from Ethan Allen but not matchy-matchy.) Anyway, the question came up about putting a rug under the dining table.....I hesitated to give my opinion. I flipped through the mental portfolio in my head and thought....hmmm...where do I stand on that issue? I realized very quickly that I don't have a firm stance on that issue: (Washington, here I come!) In some past projects I have used a rug under the dining table and in some past projects I have not. "Ok....time for a little self-analysis" I think to myself.

Sometimes I feel like my design decisions are instinctual: I know what I want but I don't have the explanation for why I want it. At least not at first. Anyway, I started to think about past projects and why I used rugs in dining spaces for some and not for others and it seems I always had a vision in my head supporting my decision.

Which made me curious about my blogosphere....how do you prefer to dine....with rug?

Courtesy of my Pinterest from DesignSponge

Or without rug?
Courtesy of my Pinterest from caitlincreer.com
Conclusion to the story: In my client's home, the dining space is not a separate room. In fact, the main traffic flows from the front door, past the dining table and into the living room. The round dining table is nestled into an odd shaped nook in the dining area and we wouldn't be able to fit a rug large enough to keep all the chair legs on while dining. Here we opted for no rug. Phew....a little self-analysis on the spot and we solved that design dilemma.
How do you dine?
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

7 comments:

  1. photoeoJuly 22, 2011 at 4:53 AM

    Without! My space is way to small-and l can't help but feel it would be a cleanup nightmare with a rug-don't known because I never had one :) LOVE that black and cream zig zag one though!

    ReplyDelete
  2. elaineJuly 22, 2011 at 6:43 AM

    Without...mainly because with small children, it's a lot easier to clean spills from the floor than a rug. Our dining room is a separate room, but if it was a shared space I'd feel more the need to define it with a rug. Your photos show it can be beautiful either way!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A room with a viewJuly 22, 2011 at 12:53 PM

    I removed an old rug (my husband's which I never liked) from under the dining table a couple of months ago. It weighed down the room. Depends on the furniture too. Don't have one under kitchen table, either.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amy BlyJuly 22, 2011 at 1:23 PM

    I personally love the warmth, color, and the "anchor" of a dining room rug in a space . . . but I've heard and seen different reasons for doing it both ways. Personal taste, really.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJuly 24, 2011 at 6:40 AM

    I personally think a dining table needs a rug. I got one under the casual dining table where my kids make a mess every single day with food spills and art and craft projects remnants. But its worth it; my table and chairs are dark and so is the floor, so the rug lightens it all up and creates a nice contrast.
    Then in the formal dining room (15'x15') I have a round table (72") with no rug, but its only because I can't find one big enough in my budget. Here is a question to you: Would you follow the square room or the round table when choosing shape of the rug?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AndreaJuly 24, 2011 at 7:10 AM

    I love the look of a rug under a table, but I with three kids, it's just not feasible for us. We had one at our old house and thanks to our dog, it stayed pretty crumb free, but was still not practical. Can't wait to see pictures of your client's rooms.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJuly 24, 2011 at 9:32 AM

    Hi - I think you're right in that there is no one rule - each dining room and client has a style and needs that determine what should occur - rug or no rug! I think the two photos you featured prove your point exactly! (Some may not want rugs, too, because of, um, spills from guests!!!!)

    Am your Newest Follower - love your designs - if you have anything beachy/coastal you would like me to feature, please let me know! I'll be adding you to my beachy keen shops section of my blog later this week...remind me if I don't!

    Best Wishes,

    Linda
    beachside cottage

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear what you have to say! Thanks for stopping by and sharing!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)