How do you make a dining room feel cosy and give it it's own identity?
/This post is in collaboration with Studio. I’m a brand ambassador for the company. All content is original and products are chosen and styled in my home – opinions all honest and my own. Read more about the collaboration here.
Keep reading to the bottom – there’s a giveaway I don’t want you to miss 👇
Fur rugs – online here // Lanterns – online here // Fur cushion – online here // White LED tree – online here // Dining chairs – online here* < affiliate link // Brass wall lights – online here* < affiliate link
Whether your dining room is separate from other rooms, an open plan kitchen diner like ours, or a dining room that joins onto your living room, you might have asked yourself this question before. It can be difficult to give a dining area its own identity, especially if it’s an open plan space that merges from one room design to another.
Whats more is that, when not in use, the dining room table is a natural ‘dumping ground’ for things like deliveries, headphones, batteries and basically anything you can’t be bothered to tidy away! (at least if you’re anything like me).
This can leave the room/area feeling a little bit unloved and uninspiring.
This time of year when the weather is grey outside and your calendar is filling with friends coming over for dinner and drinks over the festive season, you really want to style up your dining area so it’s cosy and ready for the good times ahead.
In fact, dressing the dining area ‘properly’ makes both Neil and I far less likely to dump things on the table and actually enjoy using the space.
We’ve changed the space so much through the seasons which you’ll have seen throughout the blog and on our instagram. And with companies like Studio offering such affordable home accessories, it really can be easy to make updates to your home, on a budget.
Our dining room – Christmas 2018
Our dining room – Autumn 2019
If you’re looking for ways to style your dining room to look a little cosier, here are items I really recommend.
5 items to easily make a dining room feel cosy
1. Drape faux fur everywhere you can
Over chairs, on the floor, along a bench, you really can’t have too much fur accents when you want to make a room feel soft and snuggly. This Faux Fur Sheepskin Quad rug is the perfect length for our dining bench. We ordered the 75x133cm option in Silver for the bench and the floor. Not the most practical if you’re prone to a few crumbs and gravy splashes as the thick pile can be hard to clean and hoover, but what I love about fur rugs (I own 5 now!) is how easy they are to pick up and throw to one side or decorate a different room with.
2. A twinkling tree will cosy up a tight corner
This White LED Birch Tree stands at 4ft on the floor, or a little higher when perched on a stool as I’ve done. It’s an absolute steal guys, it’s only £19.99 or £9.99 for the smaller 3ft version and I think it’s my favourite Winter decoration in the house at the moment. It’s narrow so it fits most tight corners leaving space to wriggle past to sit at the table. Twinkling lights transform any room from unloved to cosy at the flick of a switch.
3. Bring in a cushion or two
Comfort is a must if you want a cosy dining experience which is why I sometimes dress our dining room chairs with cushions. Fur (again! I’m obsessed) cushions peppered on one or two chairs might have people fighting over the comfy seat but you’ll be creating a really cosy, comfortable room for friends or family to eat together. We ordered the Catherine Lansfield Cuddly Cushion Cover which is the softest little thing (only £7.99).
4. Create ambience using winter lanterns as a centrepiece
I’m a big advocate of every table having needing a centrepiece to sit and dress up the table with even when not in use. I spotted these White LED Lanterns which are actually for the garden but make the dining table look very inviting and add height to the table.
5. Hang a framed happy memory
If you have hooks, a fireplace or console table in your dining area, then you can also create a really cosy environment by temporarily changing some of the frames to feature more seasonal/winter photos. We have a shaker peg shelf that I’ve hung the Nickel Plated Hanging Frame from and framed a pic I shot of last New Year’s Day walk. Happy memories out in the fresh, cold air!
What other items would you bring in to a dining space for a cosy vibe? We’d love to know how you style your dining room, or whether it ever tends to be a dumping ground like ours so often does! Leave a comment below and tell us about your space.
Take a look at Studio’s home accessories for really affordable items to spruce up corners of your home like we do :)
*at the time of this post going live, Studio have a Black Friday Sale running so hope you manage to pick up some bargains!
Would you like to win some of the products from my cosy dining room?
Studio + Fifi are running a joint giveaway and all you have to do is like this photo on my instagram and follow @fifimcgeee + @studio.co.uk to enter.
What you could win:
A Faux Fur Rug (75x133cm)
A Lantern
A Catherine Landsfield fluffy cushion
A Nickel 6x4” Hanging frame
…to style a Cosy Winter corner in your home!
*UK entrants only
*Giveaway closes Fri 22nd Nov
*Winner selected at random on Sat 23rd Nov
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Good luck!
Fifi (and Neil) xoxo
