Is the dining room the less utilized space in your home? The reason for this may be because you reserve this room for special occasions, so it spends the majority of its days unoccupied. It's also common for people to use their dining room for storage or other activities entirely unrelated to dining. Yet, the dining room can be a special place, where family gathering is held daily. Plus, you might be more likely to entertain friends and close colleagues from work if you are proud of the dining area in your home. A well-designed dining area can help to reignite consistent family time spent at each meal. Having a pleasant scenery for enjoying the company of loved ones can be a great motivation for improving the dining room. Here are some ideas to help your upgrade your dining room.

The dining table should be the centrepiece and the largest piece of furniture in the room. A large table made of wood that seats 6 comfortably is a popular option, but obviously, the size of your table should be determined by the size of your family and the frequency of guests. The reason wood tables are a popular option is that they give a warm, elegant look that you won't get with other table materials.

The dining chairs can be as simple or stylish as you want. If you are going for an airy, lighter space, simple wooden chairs with clean lines and open backs might work well, and they are also a great option for rooms that are smaller. For a dining room for socialising, then upholstered chairs may be a more comfortable option to sit in for longer periods of time.

When it comes to materials, fabric chairs are cozy and allows you to play with texture and print, but cleaning stains may be a concern. Leather chairs are sleek classics, durable and easy to clean. Chrome or metal chairs are modern and often more lightweight, in case you need to stow them away.

Dining room chairs with arms are great options for the table ends, where there's more room, and to give an option for a cosier seat. But if space is an issue, focus on the comfort of the seat and back instead of if they have arms or not. Keep in mind that mixing and matching different dining chairs can help achieve a more eclectic approach. One easy way to do that is to choose a pair of matching end chairs that can contrast against side chairs - this will help you achieve a strong look.

If you don't have table lines, it may be time to start shopping for them. A simple yet stylish tablecloth can do wonders at changing the look and feel of an old table withing just seconds. A tablecloth is one of the easiest ways to cover up ugly scratches, watermarks, and other table blemishes and achieve a smooth, clean tabletop. Add interest to the look by choosing placemats and napkins of different colours. These accent pieces need to contrast nicely with the cloth, so go for complementing colours.

Only a few pieces of furnishing have as much of a dramatic look and expensive feel than a chandelier. Diamond and glass chandeliers certainly are the definition of fancy, but you don't have to go extravagant to enjoy some of the same mood-enhancing appeals these light fixtures have. Simply remember that their main purpose is to serve as statement lighting and by choosing a similar light fixture to hang over your table, you can transform your dining room into something more classic, seemingly more luxurious and at a fraction of the cost.

If you have furniture with shelves or built-in shelving that are going unused, then consider decorating them with glassware or some type of collectable, antique pots for example. Quality glassware is also one of these simple yet elegant things that really upscale a space.

No matter what kind of flooring you have, hardwood flooring, tile flooring, or even short-cropped carpet flooring, a different colour or patterned rug beneath your dining room table can cause a very dramatic effect on all flooring.

Putting a large mirror opposite a window help bring more natural light and make space feel much larger than it actually is. To get this benefit and also add a touch of elegance, don't just get the first mirror that crosses your way. Pick a nicely framed designer piece or one that's more artistically designed.

Unless you have a very large dining room, it is probably best to choose light, airy colours for your walls. This is because the design set-up of a dining room already limits the walking space, as the dining table generally sitting at the centre of the room with cabinetry and shelving on the walls. This means you should do whatever possible to keep the room feeling open. Light wall coloured is a key component of that. Good base colours are light blues, greys, light yellows and greens.