Dining Room Ideas On A Budget

By Chloe CrismaniMar 3, 2020

Top 4 Dining Room Ideas On A Budget

Decorating your dining room on a budget poses a number of creative challenges.

So we're here to make it a little easier for you! With our simple tips to decorate your small dining room or large dining room on a budget, you can create wow-factor interiors whilst also saving on the pennies! A win-win, don't you think?! The dining room is the most social room in the home. It's where we spend time with our friends and family, eating and enjoying each others company. So, with that in mind, it's important to create a space that is relaxing, intimate and enjoyable to be in. But, you needn't spend a fortune to create a dining room of your interior dreams. We will help you create a beautiful dining room that you love, whilst also sticking to your set budget.

So, keep on reading for our top four dining room ideas on a budget.

#1 Paint the walls in your dining room

Image Credit: The home of Lucy St George as featured in Extraordinary Interiors In Colour by Jane Rockett and Lucy St George. Publishers: Ryland, Peters & Small. Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke. | Product Colours Featured: French Ochre From: £2.50 | Emanuella From: £2.50 | Juniper Leaf From: £2.50 | Raeburn From: £2.50 | Zeitgeist From: £2.50

Inexpensive and by far one of the easiest ways to update your dining room is to paint the walls! A lick of paint can transform your dining spaces and breathe new life into your home interiors. In fact, we would go as far as to say that if you can only afford one update then let it be the walls!

Now, remember the dining room is typically a social space where you enjoy delicious food, wine and conversations with friends and family. We know that the psychology of colour, namely how colour makes you feel can have a huge impact on our mood. So, its really important to choose colours that encourage togetherness, fun, security and happiness. As such, great colour choices for your dining room include rich and dark colours like charcoal blacks, gorgeous greys, rich chocolate browns or deep greens. Alternatively, if you want a brighter, more lively aesthetic then a clay terracotta tone or rich yellow would work wonders in your dining room. However, the universal thread that runs throughout is that these colours all have rich undertones meaning that they are warming colours. Warming colours are important in the dining room as they create cocooning and intimate atmospheres.

RSG Top Tip: Blue is a natural appetite suppressant, so it's not a great colour choice for your dining rooms or kitchens.

More on the psychology of colour can be found in our blog: How colour makes you feel.

#2 Invest in your dining table

white tulip dining table with four white dining chairs

Image Credit: The home of Tina B as featured in Extraordinary Interiors by Jane Rockett and Lucy St George. Publishers: Ryland Peters & Small. Photographer: Debi Treloar. | Products Featured:

No matter how small your budget is for your dining room, we'd recommend dedicating a large proportion of this budget to your dining furniture, especially a beautiful dining table that will stand the test of time.

As the dining table is the central focus and purpose of the dining room, it is important to get yourself the best dining table that your budget will allow. So, take your time with this step. Browse your favourite homeware stores for dining furniture, shop at homeware outlets, check out eBay and look of Facebook buying and selling groups. If you can make sure your dining table seats everyone in your household plus an extra couple of spaces for house guests too.

If you're on a strict budget or have a small dining room or small kitchen a round dining table is a great choice. It's also brilliant for creating an intimate atmosphere and encourages a more natural flow of conversation with the entire table. However, for larger households, a large rectangular dining table would make a better choice for you, ensuring that everyone is seated comfortably.

SHOP DINING FURNITURE HERE

#3 Mix and match your dining chairs

image of dining table with dining chairs and leather seat bench

Image Credit: Curved Back Velvet Dining Chair In Moss Green £145.00 | Modern Woven Rattan Dining Chair - Natural £265.00 | Deco Velvet Dining Chair - Merlot Red £150.00 | Gala Velvet Dining Chair - Mushroom £120.00

Now that you've got your hands on a beautiful dining table, you need somewhere to sit.

In our last tip, we advised to invest in your dining furniture, we need to save our pennies elsewhere. A great compromise here would be to source affordable seating solutions. Some of our top ideas include:

Bench seats. For small dining rooms, bench seats are a great idea. Seating 3+ people, you could even go for a bench seat with extra storage underneath it to maximise your use of space.
Mix and match your dining chairs. If you're on a really strict budget then don't get too wrapped up in sourcing a matching dining chair set. Instead, mix and match your dining chairs. Providing that you choose chairs of similar styles or colours you can create a really quirky and interesting dining table that stands out in your home. Make sure you search around on eBay, Freecycle, Facebook Selling Pages and Outlets to find dining chairs on a budget.
Repurpose your dining chairs as office chair/dressing table chair if necessary. This works especially well for small flats or apartments or studio spaces where you may be particularly short on space. You can move the chairs about depending on their need and function at a particular moment. This will save you from having to purchase multiple dining chairs and save space too.

For more tips on how to make your small space work for you, check out our blog: Top 10 Space-Saving Ideas For Small Rooms & Apartment Living

#4 Dining room lighting ideas on a budget

Image Credit: The home of Jane Rockett as featured in Extraordinary Interiors. Publishers: Ryland Peters & Small. Photographer: Debi Treloar. | Products Featured: Marla Beaded Chandelier White £135.00 | Golden Cockatoo Perched In A Tree Candle Holder £30.00 | Molecular Ceiling Light £220.00 | Gold Pineapple Wall Light £165.00 | Lantern Shape Bamboo Pendant Light £95.00

Lighting is genius for making your affordable dining room look expensive and luxurious. So, as such, it's important to get your lighting right.

We always love to see a chandelier hanging above the dining table. Not only does it look incredible, it really creates a sense of specialness and occasion too. However, this can be pricey especially as you'll need an electrician to wire the chandelier into your ceiling. But, don't worry we have a simple solution to this. You see, ceiling lights can wash a room in a blanket of single colour whereas, wall lights, table lamps and floor lights help to create pockets of light. Thereby, creating a cosy and intimate atmosphere. So, our simple solution would be to hang a ceiling light above your dining table without wiring it in. That way you can rely on light from other sources (e.g. your table or wall lights) creating beautiful pockets of lights and glorious shadows whilst also having a wow-factor chandelier hanging above your dining table.

Another affordable lighting idea is candles and candlestick holders. Let's face it, we all look better by candlelight and they are very inexpensive too. So get your hands on beautiful pillar candles, quirky candlestick holders and scented candles to illuminate your dining table.

For more advice on how to make your lighting work, check out our blog: How To Choose Lighting For Your Home

Share your dining room ideas on a budget with us on social media - @rockettstgeorge.co.uk / #rockettstgeorge