B&A: A $500 Dining Room Redo Inspired by Vintage Dishes and a Museum Painting
51 Modern Dining Tables That Will Have You Dining In Style
Whether your dining table is an integral part of your open plan living space or tucked away in its own formal room, it’s a large piece of furniture that needs to be noticed for all the right reasons. To help inspire the right choice for your next purchase, we’ve pulled together 51 of our favourite modern dining tables that will have you dining in style. We’ve hand-picked a little of everything, from large rectangular tables to small and compact round silhouettes, there is something to fit every space and budget. You’ll find a plethora of materials at play here too, from marble and metal to glass and wood.
Curtain Lengths: How Long Should Your Curtains Be?
Is there a “right” option for curtain lengths? That depends on who you ask, and often just asking the question can leave you more confused than you were before. The long and short of it is (no pun intended): it’s up to you. But we’re here to help as you answer the question, “How long should curtains be?” We’ll be taking a critical look at curtain lengths, tall and small. What side are you on?
Basic Curtain Lengths: To the Floor
Let’s start with what’s probably the most common of the curtain lengths: to the floor. This is the standard length for hanging curtains – either hitting the floor exactly or hovering a half inch off the ground. Sheer white curtains hung like the ones above (from Little Green Notebook) and the ones below (via A Cup of Jo) are both modern and classic. The curtain lengths make the ceilings seem taller and the room more polished, maybe even a bit formal.
Cons to floor length? They may make your room look too formal for your liking. Dust will inevitably collect around the bottoms. Also, children may be more likely to grab them and use them as a climbing rope. If you’re asking yourself, “Should curtains go to the floor?,” and kids, pets, and dust aren’t a concern, then floor length is probably your best bet.
Floor-to-Ceiling Curtains
You may have heard that hanging your curtains from the ceiling will make your living space appear taller. But how? Visually, your eye tends to follow lines. Whether it’s the double yellow line on the highway, or the walkway to your front door, your eye is drawn towards (and up) pathways. By hanging your curtains from the highest point on the wall, your eye travels up the line, causing you to notice that there is height in the space you are standing in.
If your living space has high ceilings already, compliment them with tall curtain lengths. Floor-to-ceiling curtains can also help to divide space, whether you’re tucking away a window seat (like the floor-to-ceiling curtains via Lonny) or cutting a whole room in half. Heads up: The worst thing you can do when hanging curtains from the ceiling is to hang them too short. The heightening trick-of-the-eye doesn’t work well if the curtain line abruptly cuts off before it hits the ground.
Short Curtains
Then there’s the other end of the curtain lengths spectrum: short curtains. Visually speaking, high-water style is not the most appealing way to hang curtains. The shorter length can appear dated. Also, it can cut the visual height of your room in half. From a purely practical standpoint, however, short curtains are sometimes the best option. In the home, it seems like many parents choose shorter curtains for kids’ rooms, probably to avoid the whole Tarzan situation, or just to limit sticky fingers from touching the window treatments. You may also be forced to hang short curtains by the presence of heat-producing radiators or heaters.
If you hang short curtains, aim to hit a perpendicular mark on the wall. For instance, the curtain lengths should meet at the top of the baseboard, or the bottom of the windowsill.
Café Curtains
Café curtains are fairly common where there’s a window sill over, say, a sink in a kitchen. Or, in their namesake, cafés, where you wouldn’t want curtains dragging the floor of such a busy, public place.
Café curtains are hung usually at the halfway point of a window, or on the bottom pane of a two-part window. They’re great for when you need a bit of privacy (like in this bathroom pictured above), but don’t necessarily want to block out all the natural light coming through the window. Because café curtains are short and cute, they can give a room a more casual vibe.
Breaking at the Floor
We’ve discussed short curtains, and curtains that hit the floor perfectly. What curtain lengths are left? Long curtains. The more billowy a curtain becomes as it breaks at the floor, the more dramatic it will look. A simple “kiss” to the ground, like the curtains pictured above (via Amber Interiors), adds a touch of flair to this otherwise simple window treatment. This option is similar in style to floor length, but will require more care – dust bunnies like to live in the folds of the billowing curtains!
Last, there’s the most extreme curtain length: puddled. This is a typical French look (think the Rococo period), and is most successful with high ceilings and, usually, expensive fabric. Typically silks are going to billow the best, being both lightweight and a natural fiber.
Obviously, this look adds a lot of glam to even the simplest decor. But, you really need to have the right architecture to pull it off.
So, how long should curtains be?
The answer is up to you, your style, and your needs. Hopefully this primer on curtain lengths will help you pick the best window trimmings for your home!
So, what are the best curtain lengths for your space? Are you Team Shortie? Puddler? Somewhere in between? Leave us a comment and let us know!
How to Make a Built-In Dining Banquette (No Tools Required)
Aleksandra Zee and Antrom Kury live in a neutral, coastal-inspired 1,200-square-foot home in Oakland, California. Zee and Kury are both artists and woodworkers, and looking at the photos of the house tour, it shows. The couple’s design style is cool, minimal, and monochromatic with tons of texture, courtesy of the many wood accents. “My biggest inspiration is the California landscape — from desert to ocean — and the relaxed design that California is known for,” Zee says.
Over the past three years, they’ve customized their rental through art, thoughtful design, and amazing DIY projects. “A few of my fave DIYs are the deck in the backyard and the built-in bench seating at our dining room table,” Zee says.
“When you walk in the front door you are in the living room/dining room with a huge couch and sizable table with lots of places to sit and enjoy company,” Zee says, noting that she wanted to make the seating at the table another spot to recline and entertain. “I found the perfect size cushions and my husband and I built the bench,” she says.
Zee and Kury built a wooden base that’s the perfect size and width for their dining corner, but if you look closely at the bench, it almost looks like an armless sofa — and that’s exactly how you can fake their built-in design. When searching for an armless sofa to be used as dining table seating look for easy-to-clean performance fabrics and a not-to-deep seat depth.
For Zee and Kury, the best part about their home is having created a space to invite friends and family over. “Hosting gatherings is one of my favorite things to do, so we set up our home to be a comfortable and beautiful space to entertain,” Zee says. So if you love to entertain, but don’t feel like you have the space, you might want to consider a sofa-style dining banquette.
This Is the Most Sought-After Room for Homebuyers, According to One Study
It appears a dedicated home office is not the top priority for homebuyers any longer — at least in the U.K.
A new study from real estate agency Purplebricks has found that the home office is no longer the most popular room in British households, but rather, it’s now the dining room. Among buyers, 70 percent say they want a separate dining room for entertaining purposes, while only 64 percent seek en-suite bathrooms, 55 percent for offices, and 48 percent for kitchen islands.
Meanwhile, among property features, potential homeowners now prefer garages (79 percent) the most, followed by an open-plan kitchen (77 percent), a guest bedroom (73 percent), and a large garden (49 percent).
“Getting together with friends and family is now a priority for many, after so much time spent apart over the last few years. Properties with separate dining rooms or kitchens with space for eating and socialising are proving extremely popular with buyers,” said James Hummerstone-Pope, Divisional Sales Director at Purplebricks.
He added: “This trend is likely to continue, so those trying to sell their home may find that creating an inviting dining area will make their home more appealing.”
This study did not include data about American preferences, but Realtor.com notes a National Association of Home Builders report that states 70 percent of buyers still prefer to have a dining room — that is even though two thirds of homeowners use theirs for something other than dining, according to an Angi study from 2017.