So we’ve slept in our new house two nights and we’ve eaten a few meals here and they’ve all been picnic style! Yes I sold our table with our last house! This is the state of our dining room currently (plus a few boxes):

As always when considering how I want a room to look the first place I look is in Magazines and on my Pinterest Boards. This is a trick my designer mom taught me. Rather than going to the store and making decisions on the shelf, you’re better off really digging into your inspiration rooms and discovering what they have in common. I’m not saying to go and exactly copy a room you love, but compile a BUNCH of rooms you love, and then discover WHY you love them. When you design a room from inspiration photos you will be able to really dig into why you love the rooms you do.

1. Compile pictures of many rooms you love in magazines or on Pinterest.
2. Make a list of things they all have in common (paint, lighting, rugs, curtains, furniture, art, etc.)
3. Make a list of which aspects you’d like to re-create in your own room.
4. Spend some time shopping online and comparing styles and prices.
5. Create a moodboard of the things you’ve found shopping online (either in Olioboard or by printing and putting together on paper).
6. Ask yourself if your items create the same feel that your inspiration rooms did? If not compare your moodboard with your inspiration room and re-create until they aline.
7. Don’t press “purchase” or set foot into a store until you’re sure you know the direction you’re going!

Of course this process isn’t always perfect. Sometimes you just won’t find what you’re looking for for the right price. Or you’ll find something you totally love that will re-direct your design process. There’s always room for change but this will help you from painting a room blue, only to discover that your inspiration rooms all had neutral walls with blue accents. Or purchasing a red couch, only to discover that every room you loved had a leather couch with pops of red.

So now that you know my design process, I’ll show you some of the rooms that are my inspiration for our dining room:

Hither & Tither

Amber Interiors

Dustjacket-Attic

Jillian Harris

Emily Henderson

Amber Interiors

NY Times- Brian Faherty

Dream Book Design

House Beautiful

Source Unknown

Paper Blog

Decor Pad

Decor8

Country Living

Country Living

So with those rooms as my inspiration rooms here’s the conclusions I came to about my dining room design plan:

• For chairs I should use wishbone, metal, or black Windsor chairs
• The table has to have modern lines, and a thick wood top
• It should have either no window coverings or light and airy curtains
• The light fixture should be black and midcentury inspired
• All of the inspiration rooms have neutral walls or planked walls

Now that I’ve nailed down those details it’s time to get shopping! Especially because we’re getting sick of picnicking on the floor for every meal! I’ll give you a spoiler… just last night I ordered this table. *contains affiliate link*. Everything about it was perfect and it was half off! I couldn’t resist.

Do you have a specific method for planning a room design? Hopefully these tips will help you get started next time you’re not sure where to start from!

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