At one time, the dining room was a place that nobody dared tread through unless you were attending the most formal of family events or hosting an elite night of entertainment. Today’s dining room is more relaxed.

Furniture store retailers, like Jim Hobbs and Joe Levine, owners of Joshua Creek Furniture in Oakville, will tell you that casual dining is what’s trending. “We’re seeing tables that suit a casual environment for every day, then you can dress them up and make them look elegant,” says Levine. Tabletop bling can easily be added to the transitional look with special dinnerware, silverware and gorgeous centrepieces.  Pam Chisholm, owner of InHouse Etc in Burlington, agrees, stating that the look is “casual chic, functional surfaces, not fine furniture.”

Most tabletops continue to be round or rectangular, although varying in size, but there are several new finishes and styles.  “We’re seeing a lot of different finishes, like hand-planed solid maple, and we’re getting into some brushed finishes like wire brushed or hand brushed,” explains Levine. “It gives a real unique look to a table. It’s a little bit more durable and a bit more contemporary looking.”

In addition to the cool neutral gray that concrete tabletops offer, Levine says clients are going mostly for neutral grays and some lighter mid-tone browns. Dark brown espresso is still selling, but Hobbs interjects that the lighter stains are most popular. Chisholm notes that her tabletops are mostly wood and very little glass. “Concrete is also popular,” she adds.

Levine says that the table legs most requested are wood, although they do sell some with metal legs. In terms of leg style, pedestal and trestle tables are more in demand.  There are various leg styles available at InHouse, including wood, metal, stainless steel, gold or bronze. “Gold is very trendy right now,” says Chisholm.

There are a myriad of casual chair styles that pair well with these designs, including Parson chairs, leather, wood, metal, and a mix of both. Bench seating is also a great way to seat a crowd and you can tuck them away when not in use.

On its way out, perhaps, is the live edge look. Levine says that although they have sold many live edge tables, he thinks the trend is dissipating. “You’re starting to see that style at lower price points, and that typically signifies the end of a trend,” he says.

Before you buy a table style that catches your eye, think about the role it will play and the room it will be placed in. Hobbs suggests you determine how many people you will want to seat at the table, and whether or not you’ll want extensions or leaves or just a solid top. In order to get a balanced layout, he says to start at a centre point in the room, whether it’s a pot light or a ceiling fixture. “We want to make sure the table fits the space,” says Levine. “Once they find a table they like, we can go to their house and make sure they’re buying the right piece.”

Other factors to consider, says Chisholm, are whether there are kids who will also be using the space and how much entertaining you do. “A round table works well in small rooms,” she explains. “Remember to leave about two and a half feet on all sides so you can pull out the chairs and access them comfortably.” As for a gold standard in size: if you can accommodate it in the room, she suggests a 42” x 84” table, with or without leaves or extensions.

Once you’ve designed the space that reflects your needs, dinner can focus more on the company than the fuss of formality. Enjoying the food and the mood created around the table is what’s most important.

Local Links

Anderson’s Carpet & Home
andersoncarpetandhome.com

Joshua Creek Furniture, Oakville
joshuacreekfurniture.com

In House, Burlington
inhouseetc.com

House Warmings, Oakville
housewarmings.ca

Up Country, Burlington
upcountry.com

Swiss Interiors, Oakville
swissinteriors.com

We’ve been witnessing the re-incarnation of wallpaper for a few years now. Simply put, these are not the wallpapers of decades ago, but instead are wall coverings that breathe life into our spaces. From bold geometrics to vintage floral, with opulent metallic finishes or the natural uncomplicated look of grass cloth, we just can’t get enough of the design power of wallpaper.

Adding wallpaper to a space has the capability of delivering a large impact which simply goes beyond that of paint. A few rolls can transform and define your space in such dramatic and luxurious ways. Whether your room is large or small, wallpaper can instantly set a style, make a bold statement or add character and personality to an otherwise basic design. Don’t underestimate the power of wall coverings. Including it in your décor scheme can change a vastly spacious room by making it feel more intimate and cozy, just the same way a bold and busy pattern can transform a small room in your home to a charming and dynamic space. Crisp vertical stripes can be a clever solution to a room with low ceilings, and if you install your stripes horizontally, you can trick the eye and make the room appear broader and more spacious. Large patterns such as damasks and florals can be the perfect answer to camouflaging irregularities in your wall. 

When you’re overhauling a room, regardless of the scale, designers are ideal sources of inspiration since they have easy access to the latest look books and they know what’s trending. Tori Brock, owner and accredited interior designer of Fairhome Interiors in Burlington, says the geometric trend has also caught her eye, as have the “beautiful and colourful botanicals and the softer visuals that look like a watercolour painting.”

There are so many options to consider when looking to “paper” your walls. Murals are finding new life, and we’ve been hearing a lot of hype about “peel and stick” papers as opposed to traditional wallpaper. This is a great option for those of us that are a bit “commitment phobic”. NuWallpaper has a pretty impressive line of removable designs and they claim that it “goes up in minutes and comes down in seconds”. Brewster, Graham & Brown, and York Designs also have some fabulous options, and Ruth Baker Design manufactures their product right here in Ontario. All of these companies create high-end custom printed paper murals and wallpapers that are simple to install, and not only can peel off your walls with relative ease, but are also re-usable.

Moving the indoors out, they can also print on materials that can be used outside for privacy screening or backdrops for special events – what a great way to add personality to your outdoors!

Become inspired with your walls and give them a burst of colour and texture. Remember, today’s wallpaper trends are about adding a “wow” factor to your space, so be selective about the walls or rooms you wish to highlight and make a statement with what you select. With the abundance of options available to us today, the only limitation is your creativity – and the amount of wall space you have available.   

by Linda Mazur

Linda Mazur is a nationally recognized designer and Principal of Linda Mazur Design Group, known for creating relaxed stylish spaces and full-scale design builds in the Greater Toronto Area. lindamazurdesign.com

Local Links

Andersons, Burlington
andersoncarpetandhome.com

Burlington Paint & Wallpaper
burlingtonpaint.com

Painters Place, Oakville
paintersplaceblog.wordpress.com

Fairhome Interiors, Burlington
fairhome.ca