DESIGN IDEAS - Fine dining

Dining areas should have a special ambience, whether for cosy lunches or elegant dinner parties

CREATE JOY 

A dining space should bring joy to any mealtime, believes Kit Kemp, creative director of Firmdale Hotels. ‘In the apartment I designed in a house in Chelsea, the chairs, covered in a mix of ticking stripes by Robert Kime and Penny Morrison, are each distinguished by different coloured handle tops,’ says Kit. Above the table is a Buoy pendant by Akiko Hirai and Claire Norcross and on the wall is a painting by Andrew Johnston. ‘Don’t be too tempted to have every book standing up on a shelf,’ she adds. Horizontal stacks or leaning books diagonally adds more character. ‘For a touch of fun, a plaster lion’s head peeks out from the bookcase.’

SOUND DECISION

Something that’s not always considered when planning a dining room within a large space is acoustics. One of the fastest ways to undermine visual atmosphere is if sound bounces uncomfortably off lots of flat surfaces rendering conversations difficult. A clever way to address this is by using texture. Curtains are a time-honoured technique, but another trick is to use fabric walling. In this London project by Studio Peake, founder Sarah Peake opted for a linen wallpaper in terracotta. ‘We wanted to instil a warm, cosy atmosphere, and the weave and tone of the linen combines with the soft furnishings and hard finishes to create an understated but luxuriously comfortable room,’ she says.

OLD AND NEW