In Northern Virginia, designers are taking these dining rooms to the next level, whether through daring black-and-white designs, holiday-inspired glamour, or a blend of contrasting styles. These dining rooms prove that great design can create an atmosphere that’s both beautiful and functional.
In Black and White
When the owners of a newly built Fairfax home hired interior designer Alexis Dattoli to furnish this dining room, Dattoli’s challenge was to take its existing neutral black-and-white palette and create a finished, impactful space.
The bones of the room included a paneled black accent wall finished in Peppercorn by Sherwin-Williams and contrasting creamy white walls. The homeowners wanted the dining room, visible from the center hall, to make an impact.
“They primarily use the space for entertaining and wanted to have a modern, clean-lined room that wowed and was functional at the same time,” says Dattoli.
The family of five previously owned traditional furnishings, so for Dattoli, this project became a clean slate.
“It was important for me to give the room history,” she says. “I didn’t want it to look like it was done by one furniture showroom.”
Starting with a textural, tone-on-tone, geometric-patterned taupe rug, Dattoli began to layer in other pieces, such as fully upholstered dining chairs and a rectilinear table.
“We loved the angularity of the dining table mixed with the curves of the dining chairs,” she says.
She layered in a striking chandelier in a gold-brass finish and a pair of woven fiber display pedestals.
“We kept the neutrality interesting with textural contrasts, while adding eye-catching, large-scale black and white accessories to underscore both the palette and modernity of the room,” Dattoli says.
All Lit Up
Who doesn’t love a little sparkle for holiday dining? When interior designer Alex Deringer of Deringer Design undertook the refresh of an existing dining room for an Alexandria family of four, she knew lighting would be key. The dining room is tucked off a side screened porch — accessible by a pair of French doors — so it tends to be darker during the day.
“We selected a custom-designed Ro Sham Beaux chandelier, with mirrored and glass beads and gold-washed twine,” she says. “It adds just the right amount of relaxed glamour and also the kind of sparkle that lights up the room, which doesn’t get a lot of its own natural light.”
In addition to the stunning statement fixture, a pair of multi-shaded sconces on dimmers light up the space around the French doors as needed, sometimes adding a layer of ambient light for a candlelit soiree.
The dining room is mostly neutral in ivory and tan, with the barest hints of pale blue and coral. Deringer wrapped the room in a textured Phillip Jeffries grasscloth wall covering and then reupholstered the dining chairs in a Schumacher textile, which pulls its subtle palette from the washed area rug. Silk curtain panels frame the French doors and window, layering in warmth.
The space is used “for family gatherings during the season, as well as for entertaining their friends year-round,” says Deringer.
Clever Compromise
Though these Aldie homeowners love to entertain family and friends during the holiday season, they couldn’t entirely agree on how to update their dining room décor. Call it a classic case of Venus and Mars when it came to making selections.
In the end, it proved a stalemate. The couple hired interior designer Stacey Dobrovolny of Two Navy Lane to help them navigate the process.
“It was a fun challenge,” Dobrovolny says. “He preferred dark and moody décor, and she wanted something more feminine, with stylish elements.”
Dobrovolny began to put together suggestions, and the couple soon came on board with the designer’s idea of blending the yin and the yang in an artful manner.
“We selected an interesting vinyl wall covering in a chevron pattern, with the appearance of bleached wood, and painted the ceiling a dark charcoal gray. It was moody, yet elegant,” she says.
Dobrovolny set the overall palette with “him” in mind: a range of browns and grays. For “her,” she made the bold choice of hanging double chandeliers, something glamorous and completely unexpected. The textured, chic leopard skin–patterned rug is a nod to “her,” done in a more masculine colorway.
Dobrovolny paired a sleek wood dining table with softer upholstered chairs. Meanwhile, a sunburst mirror winks above an art deco–inspired sideboard. The dining room is open to the front foyer, so the darker palette adds an intimacy to the open plan and sets the tone for something special.
“It became something beloved by both of them in the end,” says Dobrovolny.
Packing A Punch
There is no doubt that Arlington-based interior designer Ame Gold of Ame Gold Design went big and bold with this dining room.
“The homeowners were open to daring! They wanted something that felt more like a work of art. They wanted to spark a reaction when you walked in the room,” she says.
The homeowners, a married couple with two kids and a dog, like to entertain, and this room is their primary dining space. Gold needed to balance drama with practicality.
“The wallpaper selection came first and really inspired the room’s décor,” says Gold. “It’s a large-scale graphic in a bold contrasting black-and-white, but it also has a woven texture that lends it another dimension.”
To this, Gold added an easy-to-clean glass-top table, with an Italian iron base that does not take up much visual space and comfortable sturdy chairs upholstered in a hot-pink Sunbrella fabric ideal for everyday use.
“Creating the mirror-backed wine storage above the built-in bar was yet another opportunity to bring drama into the room; at night, it can be backlit for additional ambience,” she says.
The dining room now offers both a practical dining space for the young family and a wow factor for when they entertain their friends.
“The wallpaper and mirrored wine bar are the superstars. Everything else is supporting cast,” Gold says.
Feature image by Robert Radifera
This story originally ran in our December issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
