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5 ways to fake a formal dining area

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In a tiny apartment, everything must have its place and space. When you’re working with just a few square metres of floor space, you need to prioritise form and function over spontaneous placement and be diligent about the design and structure of your humble abode.

This is especially so when it comes to hosting guests. Many people don’t have a formal dining table, but rather have a table that operates as a multi-purpose flat surface. Its use is limited to a workspace for projects or a place to lay all your belongings after a day out.

However, when you’re looking for something a little more formal, for family and friends to enjoy a meal around, the benefit of having this all-purpose surface is that it will act as a dining table as soon as you make minor adjustments to get it guest ready. A great way to make this happen is to play up the colours and decor.

Try matching your dining chairs, but not your table.

There is great style and aesthetic to mismatched chairs as they almost feel like collector’s items and can be effortless in arranging - although if you're looking to give your space a little more formality, you can achieve this look by matching your chairs. Don’t go overboard with the colour or pattern theme, there is still freedom in your choice of table and it’s encouraging to go for something subtle or bold, depending on the approach to your space.

Create a separate room with a rug

Visually separate the seating area to the kitchen or lounge area by placing a beautifully crafted rug on the floor between the two areas. This will define the walkway and the dining area, as well as bring warmth and tonality to the floor plan.

Integrate plants, even if they’re faux

It’s rare to find an elegant room in a blog or magazine that doesn’t have plants in it. If you don’t have a natural green thumb when it comes to looking after living organisms, then ceramic cacti or artificial potted plants are easy to maintain and don’t require upkeep - making the space guest ready all the time.

Take the lead from restaurants

The cafe culture in South Africa is super proactive. You will find salt and pepper shakers, sugar bowls or sachets, candle stick holders and condiments on a small tray wherever you go. You can adopt this idea in your own home and be a little more prepared for entertaining.

Set the atmosphere with art

Whether it's quirky or cute, distinguished or historic, uplift the layout of your space with an assorted size of artistic pieces. Take inspiration from The Lobby in Woodstock, Cape Town.

The Lobby Hairshop. #Capetown

A photo posted by Lia Zandberg (@liazandberg) on

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