Step-by-step: a fresh dining area with farmhouse charm

Traditional or modern: how to choose? Well, the lesson to be learned from this dining room is there is no need to pick a stylistic side! Equal parts quaint and up to date, it shows that you really can achieve a beautiful balance of both “then” and “now”, in just seven simple steps.

An age-proof colour palette

Colour trends may come and go, but a bright white backdrop will serve this dining area well for years and years to come. It goes with virtually everything, gives older furniture a fresh feel, and won't need to be updated if your style preferences change over time.

Next stop: storage

Display cabinets are a key to the farmhouse look, but this one serves an important function too: keeping all crockery and glassware close to the table. This wider unit is an almost perfect fit for the wall space behind it, with generous space above for ornament display and art.

The hand-me-down effect

Mixing and matching is an excellent way to bring that lived-in, country feeling into your home. Small groups of different plates, bowls and glasses are all housed together in this dining area's cabinet, with scalloped edges, embossed patterns and neutral colours as the golden thread throughout. Together, they give the impression of a collection gathered over many years.

Pretty as a platter

Move over, picture frames. Plates and dinnerware can look just as wonderful on your walls, and we're sure great-great-grandma would agree. Here they're paired with contemporary accessories like lamps, candle holders, vases and books, so you get the spirit of the good old days in a way that still looks fresh and new today.

Dining like they did way back when

The next addition is a dining table with plenty of charm, thanks to its turned leg and other little details that give you a glimpse of a different era. Its petite and round shape is smart for this small room, with a hidden extra leaf for seating two more people when the occasion calls for it.

A touch of here and now

Just when you thought things were looking really traditional, in comes this dramatic pendant lamp shade to shake things up. It's striking enough to grab your eye and pull your attention towards the dining table, but its soft rounded shape and white colour makes it look right at home with the rest of the room.

All that's left to do is take a seat

Chairs are the last missing puzzle piece of this dining area's country look – and adding two different styles reaffirms the idea that modern and traditional styles can be best of friends. Alongside two chairs that you might find in a farmhouse kitchen, are two more contemporary counterparts. They're handwoven from natural rattan, which gives them a textured, crafted look to balance out their modern silhouette. Dinner is ready to be served!