37 Designer-Approved Formal Dining Room Ideas

Mix Old and New

This formal dining room from Leanne Ford Interiors mixes old and new for a timeless feel. The room is anchored by an elegant fireplace with a mantel generously styled with framed art, photos, objects, and dried flowers. A crystal chandelier lit with warm bulbs adds formal elegance and modern seating adds contrast.

Go Modern Minimalist

Give a formal dining room a current feel by taking a minimalist approach. Sissy + Marley Interior Design furnished this airy formal dining room with pale woods, white walls, modern lighting, and an uncluttered feel that's perfect for modern entertaining.

Build a Home Library

Give your formal dining room an inviting feel by turning it into an off-duty home library. Floor-to-ceiling shelves that follow the slanting roofline of this Spanish-revival home renovated by Marie Flanigan Interiors add warmth, color, and functionality to this spacious formal dining room.

Plant a Living Wall

Energize your formal dining room with a living wall. Interior designer Maite Granda positioned a floor-to-ceiling vertical garden positioned beneath a skylight in this contemporary Florida space that includes a sleek home bar, a bubble pendant light, and emerald green velvet chairs that give it a luxury lounge vibe.

Add Cozy Textures

Invite your guests to relax and stay awhile by adding cozy textures. Christina Kim Interior Design outfitted this space with fur throws on the back of wooden dining chairs, soft floor-to-ceiling drapes, painted shiplap walls, and a reclaimed wood ceiling to make this formal dining room feel intimate and warm.

Choose a Round Table

As you browse our list of best places to buy dining room furniture, consider using a round table to preserve flow in a smaller space. Interior designer Alvin Wayne paired a round table with mixed seating, wrap-around wallpaper, and a trio of sculptural pendant lights in this modest New York City apartment dining room that is packed with style.

Install a Wine Wall

Bring a wine cellar vibe to your dining room to create dining room wall decor that is both functional and aesthetic. This formal dining room from Kate Marker Interiors is structured by a floor-to-ceiling glass and metal wine wall that separates the seating area from an adjacent wet bar and wine room and doubles as decor.

Use Earth Tones

Warm earth tones like mustard wall paint, dark gold-colored drapes, and olive green upholstered chairs add warmth to this formal dining room from Twelve 15 Design Studio. A brass chain and globe light pendant anchors the dark wood table to create an eye-catching focal point.

Try Large-Scale Florals

Modernize the formal dining room in a traditional home with large-scale floral wallpaper. Leanne Ford Interiors chose a black-and-white pattern with hints of pale pink that sets the space apart from the adjacent kitchen.

Accent With Color

Layer in bold color accents to create a welcoming feel in a formal dining room. Mary Patton Design covered the walls with green grasscloth wallpaper, a large painting, a colorful rug, and a sideboard decorated with retro cake stands in this space decorated with midcentury modern furniture and lighting.

Add Pattern With Wallpaper

Define the formal dining room that is open to other spaces with bold graphic wallpaper. Cathie Hong Interiors refreshed the formal dining room in this San Francisco Edwardian-style home with neutral-toned wallpaper that adds contrast with the warm stained wood baseboards, door frames, and hardwood flooring.

Create a Moody Feel

Use a moody palette to create a relaxing feel in a formal dining room that will encourage guests to linger around the table.

Marie Flanigan Interiors decorated this spacious New York City apartment dining room with dark wood tones and a mix of brown and blue finishes and furnishings.

Choose Oversized Chairs

Bring some flair to your formal dining room with a pair of oversized chairs. Forbes + Masters chose black cane-backed chairs with a throne-like appearance to anchor this modern dining room, giving pride of place to the heads of the table.

Create Off-Duty Drama

If your formal dining room sits idle most of the time but is visible from other rooms, turn a pass-through space into a canvas for a dramatic wallpaper accent wall. Then add statement lighting and sculptural accents to turn it into an off-duty showpiece, like this dining room from Marie Flanigan Interiors.

Add Boho Style

Give a formal dining room an informal modern feel with boho-style decor. Leaf and Lolo decorated this bright space with a wooden dining table, mixed wood and woven seating, a tasseled pendant light, a patterned rug, a textured table runner, sheer curtains, and plenty of plants.

Customize the Walls

Create a modern twist in a formal dining room with custom hand-painted wallpaper and matching drapes in a bold abstract pattern. Forbes + Masters added extra-tall wainscoting for a bit of extra drama.

Frame the Wallpaper

Treat wallpaper like art by hanging individual panels rather than covering every wall. In this formal dining room from Candace Mary Interiors, wallpaper panels are framed with painted wood trim for a polished feel.

Hang Some Art

Hang framed art on your dining room wall to make it feel warm and inviting. Tyler Karu Design + Interiors decorated the walls of this light and airy formal dining room with eclectic pieces that complement the white walls and vintage midcentury modern furnishings.

Choose Black and White

Give a formal dining room of any style a timeless feel with a black-and-white palette. Sissy + Marley Interior Design decorated this modern space with a blackened wood dining table, black velvet Beetle chairs, black window shutters, and an opaque glass bubble pendant light.

Decorate With a Centerpiece

Decorate your space with a dining table centerpiece. Marie Flanigan Interiors displayed a vibrant bouquet of flowers in an elegant silver bowl to echo the style of this elegant space.

Focus on the Ceiling

When decorating a formal dining room, don't forget to consider the ceiling. Whittney Parkinson Design brought attention to the custom white moldings in this space with navy wall paint and a vintage chandelier.

Hang a Modern Gallery Wall

Complement a modern formal dining room with a gallery wall. Desiree Burns Interiors hung a series of color photos in neat rows in identical white frames to animate this casual space decorated with warm wood tones, a woven pendant light, and cool blue-gray paint on the walls.

Style With Books and Art

Decorate a semi-open plan dining room that is a pass-through space with extra attention to make it feel like part of the action even when not in use.

Caroline Andreoni Interior Design brought this formal dining room to life with colorful abstract art, midcentury modern furnishings, contemporary lighting, and a wall of built-ins stacked with books and styled with decor objects.

Decorate With Antiques

If you're decorating a formal dining room in an older home, mix in vintage and antique furnishings with custom pieces that feel authentic to the original while suited for modern living. Tyler Karu Design + Interiors renovated this 1700s family home in Newburyport, MA while honoring its Federal-style architecture to create a timeless and inviting space.

Anchor With an Area Rug

A large area rug will anchor the table and chairs in a formal dining room that is visible from other spaces. Ashley Montgomery Design kept this space feeling light but warm with a palette of pale pinks and soft greens mixed with wood tones and modern lighting.

Style With Plants

Give your formal dining room a boost with an assortment of plants. Leanne Ford Interiors styled this space with shades of white and wood, and accessorized with clusters of plants in baskets and vessels of varying shapes and heights in the corners that bring the outdoors inside.

Accent With Black

Use black accents to add interest to an earth-toned space. Ashley Montgomery Design chose a black-and-tan palette for this formal dining room finished with a coffered ceiling to add a sense of grandeur.

Hang a Triptych on the Wall

Hang a triptych on the wall to anchor the sit-down dining room area in an open-plan space. Desiree Burns Interiors chose a large-scale piece with neutral colors to complement the light wood furniture and sculptural lighting in this Japandi-style space.

Make It Cozy

In an older home, make a formal dining room with a smaller footprint feel extra cozy by saturating the walls in a soothing paint color. Sarah & Sons Interiors painted this self-contained space in a shade of medium blue, adding a small round table with comfortable seating to preserve flow.

Hang Statement Lighting

In a streamlined space with tall ceilings, anchor the dining room table with oversized statement lighting. Michelle Berwick Design added drama to a neutral-toned modern farmhouse dining room with a pair of oversized black wire pendants with fabric shades.

Try a Picture Rail

This Swedish country dining room from Fantastic Frank has vintage appeal, with its herringbone patterned hardwood floors, long farm table, and pair of pendant lights. The dark gray painted wainscoting topped with a wrap-around picture rail is a traditional touch that makes the room feel homey while serving as display space.

Highlight the View

In a modern open-plan layout, you can create the feel of a formal dining room by adding a large table and chairs in a designated corner and anchoring it with a statement pendant light.

Louis Duncan-He Designs positioned a 12-seater dining table in front of floor-to-ceiling windows that is located in plain view of the kitchen island seating and smaller breakfast table, creating multiple options in a single space.

Anchor With Lighting

In an airy, open-plan living room dining room combo, create the feel of a formal dining space by anchoring the table with a large pendant light. Marie Flanigan Interiors set the table and chairs on a large area rug to further define the zone from the adjacent living room.

Try Tile Flooring

If your formal dining room is an extension of the kitchen in an open-concept space, consider running the same tile throughout the space for a modern feel. Studio Peake gave this London space a lift with bold colors and graphic patterns.

Modernize the Furniture

Give the formal dining room in an older home a current feel by choosing modern furniture. Desiree Burns Interiors placed an emphasis on sculptural forms and mixed materials in this space, choosing rich wood tones to contrast with the original painted floorboards and decorated the space with colorful flowers and art.

Include a China Cabinet

Give a nod to the formal dining rooms of the past with a glass-front china cabinet to display your best pieces. Marie Flanigan Interiors paired shades of blue and green in this modern traditional space that includes decorative wood trim details on the walls and ceiling, and vibrant botanical wallpaper.

Add a Modern Rustic Feel

Create a modern rustic feel in your formal dining room with a focus on materials and volumes. Marie Flanigan Interiors paired a monumental wood table with slipcovered seating and a nature-inspired pendant to complement stone flooring and exposed ceiling beams.