This client has a preference for a Hollywood regency style with art deco and modern influences. She and her spouse purchased a new home with a partial open concept layout on the first floor. The formal living, dining, kitchen and family rooms share either a partial wall, or are fully open to other spaces. When working on a single room project, I typically only render the primary space that I'm redesigning. However, because this dining space is positioned within a partially open concept, I needed to sketch out a rough layout of the first floor to understand how the spaces interact together.

The dining space has a fairly square layout with 3 different entrances ( 1 from the main hallway, 1 from the kitchen area and 1 from the side porch French doors). The client wanted to keep the current layout of walls/ columns and wanted a dining room update that would not require large construction costs and long timelines. Within my 3D rendering I added a moderate budget upgrade to the columns and wall trim to better reflect the clients style. This upgrade requires carpentry skills for millwork and finishes.

For the dining chairs, I recommended slender legs and an open back chair to offer more negative space in the lower half of the room. If we were to place a solid base table and solid back chairs, the room might have "a box, in a box, in a box, etc" feel. Leaving areas open and unobstructed can be a simple way to regain balance and visual flow in partially constrained layouts. The final table design has been modified from this original 3D rendering. As this client's preference was to have a pedestal type table base. After discussing benefits of negative spaces within her layout, she decided to go with a spider leg base with a powdered brass finish to bring a little more brightness under the table. Which brings me to my final point.

When adding lighting to the space, it is important to consider a number of factors. What is the use of the space? Where is the light lacking? Where do I want the eye to travel? What type of mood do I want to communicate with this space? How large should the light be? Should there be more than one light source?

These questions and many more need to be considered. For instance, in this rendering I made sure that the central light fixture is smaller in diameter compared to the dining table. This design detail allows for a visually pleasing triangular flow over the dining room table. I also recommended inclusion of wall lighting to bring the light slightly downward by the credenza and half walls. Finally, mixing metal finishes is a great way to allow for the eye to easily travel in the space and for the light to bounce between different surfaces. The brushed brass finishes on credenza, sconces, window rods, (table base) and decorative items brings moments of soft brightness to those areas.