8 Dining Room Trends For 2025, According To Designers
Perhaps more than any other space in the Southern home, the dining room has evolved in both style and function over the years. For a time, some folks were even ditching the separate dining room altogether in favor of eat-in kitchens and open floor plans. But for those of us who never said farewell to our dining rooms—and those who bid them adieu and have since welcomed them back—we’re always eager to hear what trends designers are anticipating for the year ahead. Here’s what some of our favorite Southern decorators are excited to see in dining rooms in 2025.
Relaxed Atmospheres
For many of us, the dining room has long been a special-occasion spot, reserved for birthdays, holidays, and honored guests. But designers say they’re anticipating a welcome shift in this mindset. “I’m excited to see the trend embraced for daily usage of the dining room rather than seeing the space as solely formal,” says Trudy Stump, Lead Designer at Huff Harrington Design in Atlanta. “We’re focusing on larger, more comfortable seating and authentic wood grain or pedestal dining tables for our clients. In this way, the dining room is becoming a space for regular use and readily elevated for a more formal dinner party when necessary.”
St. Louis, Missouri, designer Amy Studebaker agrees: “The dining room doesn’t need to remain a room that is only enjoyed a few days or weeks out of the year—actually living in our homes and using every room, every day should be the goal.”
More of “The Good Stuff”
As with more everyday use of our dining rooms, designers are also encouraging their clients to regularly set the table with flair. “I’m excited to see homeowners entertaining at home more and using their best china whenever they wish,” says Raleigh, North Carolina-based designer Niki McNeill Brown. “Don’t save the ‘good stuff,’ actually use it and enjoy what you invested in.”
In her own home, and those of her clients, Gainesville, Georgia, decorator Maggie Griffin plans to “[embrace] the specialness that comes with setting a table with your more formal things, and celebrating all of life’s moments, big and small. Dining spaces will continue to be outfitted in pretty, comfortable seating, beautiful lighting, and layers of color, wall treatments, and window fabrics.”
Saturated Tones
Heads up, neutral lovers! 2025 will be the year of decadent hues, at least in these gathering spaces. “I expect to see people embracing saturated colors in dining rooms more than ever,” says Nashville designer Debbie Mathews. “My clients are gravitating toward rich, warm, jewel tones, and especially blues and greens. I think the dining room is the perfect space to experiment with these deep colors as it can be the perfect backdrop for a special candlelight dinner, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.”
Character-Filled Choices
Decorators are known to inject powder rooms with an extra shot of personality, but in the new year, they’re looking forward to taking this equally maximalist approach in the dining room. West Palm Beach designer Cece Bowman, for instance, is going all in on “Pattern, pattern, and pattern!” She adds, “Dining rooms are often a jewel box opportunity, and with the ‘more is more’ trend over the last few years, this is the room where you can really go for it.” Dallas decorator Lisa Henderson is on-board too: “Don’t be passive—no one regrets a bolder dining space.”
“Look Up!” Moments
Mathews is eager to expand her dining room canvas in the coming year. “I am seeing clients becoming more interested in designing what I call the ‘fifth wall,’ or ceiling, in the dining room,” she says. “Whether it be a contrasting paint color, wallpaper, or molding like a tracery ceiling, the ceiling is becoming more of a focal point.”
Plenty of Contrast
We’re all for reviving your great-grandmother’s hand-me-down dining set, but if you’re looking for a change, designers are seeing more clients welcome a more mix-and-match approach to furnishings. “I expect to see people continuing to embrace the idea of host and hostess chairs that are different from their side chairs…” says Mathews. “My clients no longer believe that dining chairs have to be a matched set but rather are more interesting when mismatched.”
This concept extends to the time periods in which the pieces were made too, says Austin decorator Annie Downing: “I also anticipate much play with contrasting eras—modern silhouettes paired with antique pieces,” she notes. For her, this is in the service of “creating spaces that feel curated rather than contrived.”
Singular Design Choices
While it’s tempting to copy/paste decorating selections from your kitchen to the dining room, one designer is hopeful that the new year will trigger a shift in people’s oft-repetitive thinking. “I’m excited to see more dining rooms as intentionally designated spaces with a unique design language versus a continuation of nearby spaces,” says Staver Gray of Ward and Gray. “ With a lot of our work in hospitality, we like to view dining rooms as separate entertaining spaces, apart from the rest of the kitchen. Sharing a meal can be a celebratory experience and we love to cultivate an environment for that mood through color and pattern.”
Smart Picks
It’s easier than ever to incorporate the latest technology throughout your home, and Mathews predicts that she’ll see people embracing this modern move in the dining room. “In the past, my clients have focused on a beautiful statement chandelier, and now they are still wanting this statement piece, but [they] are also interested in more high-tech [mood] lighting to complement this… that can be controlled by a phone app like Lutron Lighting.”
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