Oh I wish!
My dining room is actually my living room as we have one big open space which serves as both. We have a huge oak dining room table and 6 high-backed chairs that are seriously under-utilised at the moment. Only three of the chairs, and a quarter of the dining table sees bums and food every evening. As the dining table is the only place where little hands can’t reach, the rest of the dining table has become a dumping ground for anything important or expensive that won’t otherwise survive the Dexter-treatment. As he has a mild case of OCD, this irritates Craig beyond belief and he’s forever on a one-man quest to re-home things.
In an ideal world, we’d replace our dining room table with something smaller and buy a lockable sideboard to make the room work better for us. With another baby on the way we could certainly use the space! I’d also feel so much better knowing we have somewhere safe to stow away our valuables.
So what better way to spend an afternoon than to delve into Marks and Spencer’s home and furniture section, and explore their dining room bits and bobs! Inspired by a competition by style-gurus Jen (Love Chic Living) and Jenny (The Treasure Hunter) in which they’ve challenged fellow bloggers to pop together their dream M&S Magical Dining Room, I had so much fun creating a romantic dreamy space that would coordinate with our living room.
1 Maxim Beer Glasses x4 @ £15 / 2 Nova Red Wine Glasses x4 @ £29.50 / 3 Autograph Bubble Base Ice Bucket @ £35 / 4 Marcel Wanders Etched Votive Set @ £20 / 5 Capiz Effect Coasters x4 @ £9.50 / 6 Mother of Pearl Coasters x4 @ £13 / 7 Sommelier Carafe Decanter 150cl @ £20 / 8 Conran Copper Wire Trim Glass Hurricane Candleholder @ £30 / 9 Metallic Filled Candle @ £15 / 10 Silver Dinner Candleholder @ £40 / 11 Dinner Candles x10 @ £4 / 12 Butterfly Tray @ £20 / 13 Colour Hit Carafe 0.5l @ £7.50 / 14 Pleated Runner @ £15 / 15 Enamel Jug @ £18 / 16 Stainless Steel Atlanta Cutlery Set (16 Piece) @ £40 / 17 Manhattan Box Dining Set (12 Piece) @ £79
Given we’d have somewhere child-proof to stow away glassware, I’d pick some posh beer and wine glasses for Craig and I when we’re entertaining - trust me this will seem like the height of luxury after drinking champagne out of plastic beakers for the last two years! I’d also buy this beautiful glass ice bucket and decanter as these will reflect candlelight far more effectively than a cheap bottle of plonk on the table!
Finally, I’d finally throw out our current square crockery as this barely fits in our dishwasher. I’d go for something incredibly feminine and simple such as the Manhattan range. As grey is the new beige, I’d set it all off perfectly with a silver pleated runner and add pops of colour using candle holders and this ‘colour hit’ carafe.
1 Greenwich Padded Dining Chairs x2 @ £383 / 2 Rosa Dining Table @ £679 / 3 Classic Bone Frame Mirror @ £199 / 4 Padstow 3-Door Sideboard @ £479
How ridiculously comfy do these Greenwich padded dining chairs look? I can definitely see myself spending more time at the dining table if it’s comfortable - It would transform my working life as I’d have somewhere far more practical than the arm of our sofa to bash at the laptop. The ornate and traditionally girlie Rosa dining table would therefore double up as a relaxing work desk to earn my millions.
I’d child-proof the shabby chic Padstow dresser and use it for glassware, crockery, tablets and laptops. I know these pieces aren’t necessarily supposed to appear side by side, and we might find the wood doesn’t quite match, but I love different colours and textures and am all about embracing imperfection (good job or I’d be disappointed every time I look in the mirror!).
Finally I’d find simple wall art with muted pink, grey/green and cream hues to pull it all together. Hopefully the effect will be really calming and relaxing.
So that’s it - a very simple, very grown-up, light and romantic dining room!
What do you think?
