Warm Up a Big Room

Rich fabrics and painted furniture are just two of the tricks that you can use to give a large dining space an intimate feel.

Creating a casual and festive atmosphere in a big dining room isn't always easy. After all, "There's only so much you can do with a table and chairs," says designer Cindy Zelazny-Rodenhaver. To bring the Dallas dining room of Molly and John Barns to life, Cindy went all out with color and pattern. "Molly is very energetic, so the room needed voltage," Cindy says.

Crazy for Color

Molly's vibrant personality is reflected in the room's colors. The yellow chosen for the walls keeps the room casual and cheerful, but finding the perfect shade proved challenging. "It looked too gold or too yellow. I wanted butter, and we finally got it," Molly says.

For the fabrics, Molly and Cindy went with simple cottons-an intricate toile for the windows and a floral and plaid for the chairs. "I didn't want a formal look, and I didn't want to spend the whole budget on fabrics, so these colorful cottons were perfect," says Molly. A patterned rug completes the lively look and softens the entire room.

Furniture Suited to Scale

For the rectangular-shaped room, a round table from the owners' old house proved a perfect contrast. "It gives a more intimate feel and brings down the room's size," says Cindy. The high-back dining chairs are generously proportioned so they don't look lost in the large room.

A showstopping pine hutch was placed between two windows to anchor the end of the room. Painted in shades of red and gold and topped by a crown piece, the formerly humble hutch gives the room pizzazz.

Having put together a wonderful room that suits their style, the couple now uses it as the center of most holiday gatherings. "The advantage of a big room is that you can have everyone over," says Molly. "We just add a drop leaf table if we need more seating."

"The more the merrier" could be the house motto. ALICE WELSH DOYLE

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Jun 2005
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